Metaphysical Bible Interpretation of Isaiah Chapter 11
Metaphysically Interpreting Isaiah 11:1-10
11:1And there shall come forth a shoot out of the stock of Jesse,
and a branch out of his roots shall bear fruit.
11:2And the Spirit of Jehovah shall rest upon him,
the spirit of wisdom and understanding,
the spirit of counsel and might,
the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of Jehovah.
11:3And his delight shall be in the fear of Jehovah;and he shall not judge after the sight of his eyes,
neither decide after the hearing of his ears;
11:4but with righteousness shall he judge the poor,
and decide with equity for the meek of the earth;
and he shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth;
and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked.
11:5And righteousness shall be the girdle of his waist,
and faithfulness the girdle of his loins.11:6And the wolf shall dwell with the lamb,
and the leopard shall lie down with the kid;
and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together;
and a little child shall lead them.
11:7And the cow and the bear shall feed;
their young ones shall lie down together;
and the lion shall eat straw like the ox.
11:8And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp,
and the weaned child shall put his hand on the adder's den.
11:9They shall not hurt nor destroy
in all my holy mountain;
for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of Jehovah,
as the waters cover the sea.11:10And it shall come to pass in that day, that the root of Jesse, that standeth for an ensign of the peoples, unto him shall the nations seek; and his resting-place shall be glorious.
October 30, 1898: Isa. 11:1-10
As foretold by Isaiah’s vision given in our last lesson, the people of Judah hardened their hearts and turned deaf ears to those who would warn them of the consequences of their going after strange gods, and as a result they got farther and farther away from the service of the God of their fathers, until their cities were left desolate and the men removed into captivity. But the “Holy Seed” in the form of the good king, Hezekiah arose among them as a shoot from the stock of the tree whose substance remained in it, gathered the scattered members of the tribe together, opened and cleansed the temple and restored the worship of the true God. Isaiah was his councilor and at the time foretold Messiah’s kingdom - a prophecy fulfilled some 700 years later in the coming among men of Jesus, the Christ, and also in the coming into recognition in the consciousness of each individual the truth of our real being.
The text of the lesson is so plain in its meaning that it needs little interpretation. We will seek to apply the teachings of this prophecy in a practical way to help us in our daily living.
The meaning of the name Jesse is gift.
1. Each man receives from the Source of all life, from which he is derived, a germ of that life which becomes the life center in him, ever seeking expression. It is sometimes called the “Divine Spark in man."
When the time is ripe, we become conscious of this Divine life within us, and this knowledge grows and bears fruit. Then is the Christ born unto us.
2. The perfection of our spiritual endowment is represented by the seven (the perfect number) spirits which shall rest upon this “shoot from the stock of Jesse” - our Real Self.
3. Our delight shall be to give expression to this Christ - to manifest him in our lives. We will not judge according to appearances, but will
4. Give righteous judgement according to the eternal truth of things. “The word of the Lord is as a two-edged sword,” and with this true word (the rod of his mouth) will we deny mortal sense, and with the spirit of love (the breath) will all that seemed wicked disappear.
5. Righteousness and faithfulness shall be the strength of the Christ in our hearts.
6-8. We had partaken of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, and in consequence a duel consciousness was set up in our minds. Some things we pronounced good and some we called evil. Now under the new law of Christ in our hearts, we see things in their true light, and that which we called evil we see now to be undeveloped good, and like a little child who knows no fear, we trust in the power of the omnipresent Good to keep us in all our ways. When we are positive to the Good nothing external can hurt us.
9. The key to the whole situation is right here: “Knowledge of the Lord.” It has been ignorance which has hurt and nearly destroyed us, but in the “holy mountain” of higher consciousness where Christ has dominion over all things, knowledge of the Truth of our Being, of God, and what we are in him, will set us free from the chains of error with which ignorance has bound us.
10. “And I, if I be lifted up, will draw all men unto me.” All of us - body, soul and Spirit - will be one in this glorious realization that we are “one with Almightiness.”
UNITY magazine.
June 12, 1921: Isa. 11:1-10
Does our text from the book of Isaiah prophesy the advent of Jesus of Nazareth? It should not be narrowed to one individual - even Jesus of Nazareth. It points to the Christ Mind which is to be brought forth in all who are typified by Jesse, a man whose name means, “one who is strong in the Lord.”
Did Jesus endorse the teaching that his spiritual understanding came through human descent? No. He gave a lesson to his disciples on this very point in the twenty-second chapter of Matthew, verses 42 and 43, in which he said: “What think ye of the Christ? whose son is he? They say unto him, The Son of David. He saith unto them, How then doth David in the Spirit call him Lord?”
Jesse represents one who is grounded and rooted in the Spirit through the strength of the Lord. What fruit does this state of mind bring forth? “The Spirit of Jehovah shall rest upon him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, … the spirit of knowledge and of the fear [love] of Jehovah. And his delight shall be in the fear [love] of Jehovah; and he shall not judge after the sight of his eyes, neither decide after the hearing of his ears.”
What do we understand, metaphysically, this state of mind to represent? The Christ Mind.
What effect will the Christ Consciousness have upon the individual? He will become wiser, more powerful, happier, and have better judgement. His natural forces, represented as the beasts, will be harmonized with the human, represented here by the little child, and they will all be fed by the one Divine Substance.
Will this attainment upon the part of the individual, Christianize the world? It will Christianize my world and your world, and by letting our light shine, we shall make our good works known, and all men will be constrained to glorify our Father who is in the heavens.
May 7, 1922: Isa. 11:1-9
What is the shoot and branch that shall come forth out of the stock of Jesse? The Hebrew meaning of Jesse, is “strength in the natural man.” Jesse represents the physical ego, out of which arises the spiritual ego, David. David is the forerunner of the larger spiritual consciousness, Jesus Christ.
What is the evidence in man of the advent of the Jesus Christ consciousness? The evidence in man of the advent of the Jesus Christ consciousness is the expression of the Spirit of wisdom and understanding; of “the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of the knowledge and the fear of Jehovah.”
What do we understand by the “fear” of Jehovah? The word which has been translated “fear,” could as well have been translated “reverence.” Interpreted this way, the text would read, “His delight shall be in the reverence of Jehovah.” With this interpretation we would read in Proverbs: “the reverence of Jehovah is the beginning of wisdom.”
When man opens his mind to spiritual understanding and receives the uplift of reverence and devotion, what follows? There is a quickening of spiritual insight, and man does not “judge after the sight of his eyes, neither decide after the hearing of his ears.”
How does the spiritual man “smite the earth with the rod of his mouth,” and slay the wicked “with the breath of his lips”? According to Fenton, this passage of scripture should be translated: “By the rod of His mouth He will conquer the world. And its wickedness slay by the breath of His lips.” The prophet evidently saw that the word of Truth would conquer the world, and destroy its wickedness.
What will be the final conditions on the earth, when righteousness and truth are expressed by man? There will no longer be any destruction of life. Even the animals will cease to prey upon one another; they will become docile, and so harmless that a little child can lead them. Even venomous serpents will become friendly and “they shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain; for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of Jehovah, as the waters cover the sea.”
December 23, 1923: Isa. 11:1-10
What is the meaning of verse 1: “And there shall come forth a shoot out of the stock of Jesse, and a branch out of his roots hall bear fruit”? In Hebrew the root meaning of the word “Jesse” is “Jah” or “jehovah” or “I AM,” representing eternal existence. When man realizes the eternal existence of I AM, he is in the Jesse state of mind, and out of this state of mind will come God’s idea of man, or Christ. This is the “shoot,” the “fruit” of the root idea that man is the everliving I AM of God.
What are some of the attributes of God’s man? As God’s man realizes the Spirit of the everliving One, he develops spiritual wisdom, foresight, judgement, power, intelligence, and reverence, as described in verse 2. The attributes of God become the attributes of God’s man.
Is the judgement of God’s man based upon the evidence of the senses or upon spiritual wisdom? When man’s judgement is spiritually quickened, he, like Solomon, bases his decisions upon the revelations within, instead of upon the evidences without. Ferrar Fenton has translated verse 3 of the lesson:
And being inspired by the fear of the Lord.
He will never decide by the glance of the eyes,
Nor punish by rumor that comes to his ears,
But He, by the Right will decide for the weak,
And with justice will strike for the poor of the earth.
In this connection the poet Whittier sings:
The outward symbols disappear
From him whose inward sight is clear,
And small must be the choice of days,
To him who fills them all with praise.
What is the meaning of: “He shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth; and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked”? The man of God does not work with his hands; he works with his mind, his thought, and his spoken word. Ferrar Fenton translates this passage:
By the rod of his mouth He will conquer the world,
And its wickedness slay by the breath of His lips.
Verse 5 to 9 deal with the reconciliation that takes place between man and the animals. What is the metaphysical meaning of this? Spiritually minded metaphysicians find that to the extent to which they enter into the unity of all things to that measure they stop thinking enmity towards all the different animals, even towards the animal tendencies within themselves. In God’s holy mountain, meaning a place of high spiritual understanding, man beholds divine unity, and he therefore ceases thinking and acting destructively.
Will man attain peace within himself, or shall we have peace in the earth, so long as animals are killed for food? No. The taking of life cultivates cruelty and disregard for the sacredness of the forms through which God life is being made manifest. Man should not even be an accessory to the crime of killing animals in order that he may live, because by eating flesh he creates a demand for flesh food, and he is thereby an accessory to the killing of animals. Paul says: “It is good not to eat flesh, nor to drink wine, nor to do anything whereby they brother stumbeth.”(Rom. 14:21)
Does this prophecy of Isaiah’s refer to the historical Jesus? Isaiah’s prophecy was spiritually fulfilled by Jesus and may be fulfilled by all men who will put on Christ the I AM of God, as Jesus did.
December 24, 1933: Isa. 11:1-9
What is the meaning of verse 1: “And there shall come forth a shoot out of the stock of Jesse, and a branch out of his roots hall bear fruit”? In the Hebrew the root meaning of the name Jesse is “Jah” or “Jehovah” or “I AM,” reprinting eternal existence. When man realizes the eternal existence of I AM, he is in the “Jesse” state of mind, and out of this state of mind will come God’s idea of man, Christ. This is the “shoot”, the “fruit” of the root idea that man is the ever-living I AM of God.
What are some of the attributes of God’s man? As God’s man realizes the Spirit of the ever-living One, he develops spiritual wisdom, foresight, judgement, power, intelligence, and reverence, as described in the 2nd verse of the text. The attributes of God become the attributes of God’s man.
Is the judgement of God’s man based upon the evidence of the senses or upon spiritual wisdom? When man’s judgement is spiritually quickened, he, like Solomon, bases his decisions upon the revelations within instead of the evidence without. Ferrar Fenton has translated the 3rd verse of the lesson:
“And being inspired by the fear of the Lord,
He will never decide by the glance of the eyes,
Nor punish by rumor that comes to His ears,
But He, by the right will decide for the weak,
And with justice will strike for the poor of the earth.”
In this connection the poet Whittier sings:
“The outward symbols disappear
From him whose inward sight is clear,
And small must be the choice of days,
To him who fills them all with praise.”
What is the meaning of: He shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth; and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked”? The man of God does not work with his hands; he works with his mind, his thought, and his spoken word. Ferrar Fenton translates this passage:
“By the rod of His mouth He will conquer the world,
And its wickedness slay by the breath of His lips.”
The 5th to 9th verses deal with the reconciliation that takes place between man and the animals. What is the metaphysical meaning here? Spiritually minded metaphysicians find that in the measure in which they enter into the unity of all things, they stop thinking thoughts of enmity towards animals, even towards the animal tendencies within themselves. In God’s holy mountain, meaning place of high spiritual understanding man beholds divine unity, and he therefore ceases thinking and acting destructively.
Will man attain peace within himself or shall we have peace in the earth as long as animals are killed for food? No. The taking of life cultivates cruelty and disregard for the sacredness of the forms through which God’s life is being made manifest. Man should not even be an accessory to the crime of killing animals in order that he may live, because by eating flesh he creates a demand for flesh food and he is thereby an accessory to the killing of animals. Paul says: “It is good not to eat flesh, nor to drink wine, nor to do anything whereby they brother stumbleth.”
Does this prophecy of Isaiah’s refer to the historical Jesus? Isaiah’s prophecy was spiritually fulfilled by Jesus and may be fulfilled by all men who will put on Christ, the I AM of God, as Jesus did.
September 24, 1939: Isa. 11:1-5
Interpret the “shoot out of the stock of Jesse, and a branch out of his roots” that shall bear fruit. When man firmly realizes the eternal existence of the I AM, he is in the Jesse state of mind, and it is out of this state that the Christ, God’s idea of man, comes.
What qualities in man show that he possesses the “Spirit of Jehovah”? The spirit of wisdom and understanding, of counsel and might, of knowledge and of the fear (worship) of Jehovah, when developed and consciously used, show that man is possessed of the divine Spirit.
How are these qualities made manifest? Godlike attributes are made manifest in Godlike action. Action that springs from righteousness, equity, fearlessness, unswerving principle, and faithfulness reveal God at work in man.
December 25, 1949: Isa. 11:1-5
What divine attributes of the Christ consciousness are chiefly in evidence? The “spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of Jehovah.” All are spiritual attributes that find expression in righteousness and faithfulness.
Transcribed by Tracie Louise on 11-25-2013
