“Then the jealousy of Ephraim will depart,
And those who harass Judah will be cut off;
Ephraim will not be jealous of Judah,
And Judah will not harass Ephraim.
They will swoop down on the slopes of the Philistines on the west;
Together they will plunder the sons of the east;
They will possess Edom and Moab,
And the sons of Ammon will be subject to them.
And the Lord will utterly destroy
The tongue of the Sea of Egypt;
And He will wave His hand over the River
With His scorching wind;
And He will strike it into seven streams
And make men walk over dry-shod.
And there will be a highway from Assyria
For the remnant of His people who will be left,
Just as there was for Israel
In the day that they came up out of the land of Egypt.”
Isaiah 11:13-16 NASB1995
The promises continue in Isaiah 11, with the prophecy noting that the problems between Ephraim (ten tribes of the north) and Judah (two tribes) will ease off and they will join together. The Lord will make possible a second path to the promised land, like the one in Exodus across the Red Sea.
Precept Austin has this commentary from the Preacher’s Outline and Sermon Bible for us to ponder:
The Savior will remove all obstacles that hinder the return of His people to the promised land (Isaiah 11:15-16). A second exodus will actually take place. Interestingly, Isaiah predicted that the Gulf of Suez will be dried up and the great Euphrates River will become so dry that it will be divided into seven shallow streams (see Ex.14:21-22). In that day no obstacle will be able to prevent the return of the Jewish remnant back to the promised land (v.11). The Savior will actually make a great highway for His people to leave the land of Assyria, their brutal enslavers (v.16). Keep in mind that the land of Assyria was eventually conquered by Babylon and Persia and that the Jews were freed by Persia. This great highway symbolizes the absolute certainty of the Jews’ return to the promised land. Absolutely nothing will be able to stop their return. When Jesus Christ returns to earth, there will be a movement of God’s Spirit among the Jews. There will be a remnant of believers who will be saved. From every nation of the world there will be a stream of Jewish believers turning to the Lord as the true Messiah, the Savior who was promised to their father Abraham ( Ro.11:1-36) (Preacher's Outline and Sermon Bible - Commentary - Isaiah)
I also like this commentary from Barnes Notes on the Bible, found on BibleHub:
Like as it was to Israel... - That is, God will remove all obstructions as he did at the Red Sea; he will subdue all their enemies; he will provide for their needs; and he will interpose by the manifest marks of his presence and protection, as their God and their friend. The general view of the chapter is, therefore, that it, refers to the triumph of the Messiah’s kingdom; that it is not yet fully accomplished; and that the time is coming when the scattered Jews shall be regathered to God - not returned to their own land, but brought again under his dominion under the administration of the Messiah; and that this event shall be attended with a sudden removal of the obstructions to the gospel, and to its rapid spread everywhere among the nations. Comparing this with the present state of the Jews, we may remark, in regard to this prospect:
(1) That they are now, and will continue to be, scattered in all nations. They have been driven to all parts of the earth - wanderers without a home - yet continuing their customs, rites, and special opinions; and continuing to live, notwithstanding all the efforts of the nations to crush and destroy them.
(2) They speak nearly all the languages of the world. They are acquainted with all the customs, prejudices, and opinions of the nations of the earth. They would, therefore, be under no necessity of engaging in the laborious work of learning language - which now occupies so much of the time, and consumes so much of the strength of the modern missionary.
(3) The law of God is thus in all nations. It is in every synagogue; and it has been well said, that the law there is like extinguished candles, and that all that is needful to illuminate the world, is to light those candles. Let the Jew everywhere be brought to see the true meaning of his law; let the light of evangelical truth shine into his synagogue, and the world would be at once illuminated. The truth would go with the rapidity of the sunbeams from place to place, until the whole earth would be enlightened with the knowledge of the Redeemer.
(4) The Jews, when converted, make the best missionaries. There is a freshness in their views of the Messiah when they are converted, which Gentile converts seldom feel. The apostles were all Jews; and the zeal of Paul shows what converted Jews will do when they become engaged in making known the true Messiah. If it has been a characteristic of their nation that they would ‘compass sea and land to make one proselyte,’ what will their more than three million accomplish when they become converted to the true faith of the Redeemer? We have every reason, therefore, to expect that God intends to make great use yet of the Jews, whom he has preserved scattered everywhere - though they be but a ‘remnant’ - in converting the world to his Son. And we should most fervently pray, that they may be imbued with love to their long-rejected Messiah, and that they may everywhere become the missionaries of the cross.
This is such a hopeful prophecy for the future and for the Remnant. When we visited Israel on a cruise in 2018, we had two tour guides for our shore excursions (Jerusalem, Sea of Galilee) who were excellent guides but they both confessed to being agnostic. They didn’t believe in the rituals and laws of the OT and they also didn’t believe in Christ. Our tour guide to the Sea of Galilee area read the Beatitudes from the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew when we were at the Church of the same name high above the Sea. She did this reading in a very compelling manner that brought tears to many eyes. I asked her afterwards if she was moved by the words because she read them with such emotion and she said she wasn’t, but she had to admit that they were splendid words from Jesus. I’m hoping and praying that it is people like her that become the new missionaries for Christ from among His people of Israel.
Isaiah repeats this idea of a smooth highway allowing for many to return to Israel in future chapters, so this will be explored more.
My next devotional examines Isaiah 12:1 - Give Thanks to the Lord. Isaiah 12 ends what is considered the first part of the book of Isaiah.
Heaven on Wheels Daily Prayer:
Dear Lord - I pray for people like our tour guides in Israel to realize the truth of Your Word and Your Revelation. Amen.
Citations and Credits:
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. www.Lockman.org.
Precept Austin was accessed on 11/12/2026 to review commentary for Isaiah 11:13-16.
Biblehub.org was accessed on 11/12/2026 to review commentary for Isaiah 11:13-16.
Commentary from Enduring Word is used with written permission and without any alteration. ©1996-present The Enduring Word Bible Commentary by David Guzik – enduringword.com. At the link referenced, the bibliography used by David Guzik can be accessed.