Who is the branch in Isaiah 11:1, and what will He do?
The branch of Isaiah 11:1 is Christ, who will rule and reign. Under His reign the curse is lifted, righteousness and faithfulness gird Him, and the animal kingdom is restored: the wolf dwells with the lamb, the lamb is safe, and the wolf eats grass and berries like other creatures.
Les explains that Isaiah chapter 11 describes the time when the curse is lifted, and he identifies the branch of verse 1 as Christ, who is going to rule and reign. In verse 5, righteousness is the girdle of His loins and faithfulness the girdle of His reins. Then the animal kingdom reflects restoration after the curse is removed—what Romans chapter 8 looks forward to—where the wolf dwells with the lamb. The lamb will not have to worry because the wolf will not kill it; instead the wolf will eat grass and berries and everything else just like other creatures. Les illustrates the present cursed ecology with the prairie chicken and hawk, where the hawk catches the chicken the instant it blinks, showing nature laboring under the curse.
And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots:
And righteousness shall be the girdle of his loins, and faithfulness the girdle of his reins.