‘For he grew up before him as a tender plant,
And as a root out of out of a dry ground,
He has no form nor comeliness,
And when we see him there is no beauty that we should desire him.'
In His growing up this supreme Servant will not be the kind of king expected. He will not follow man's pattern. He will be like a plant growing out of dry land, wispy, struggling, fighting for life, a tender plant indeed, not growing in surroundings of wealth and opulence, but in surroundings where everything has to be worked for and struggled for, in times when life is hard (compare Isaiah 7:15 with Isaiah 7:21-22). In the words of Isaiah 7:14-16, He will eat butter and wild honey, the diet of the poor.
‘A root out of dry ground.' And therefore He will be struggling to survive. Can this be the root of Jesse? (Isaiah 11:10), it may be asked. Is Jesse to be brought down to this? Yes, comes the reply, for the ‘sons of Jesse' (and of David) had proved unfaithful, unbelieving. Yet although the ground was dry, the root grew, for God was there..
And there will be nothing of the ‘beauty' of a king about Him. No splendid physique, no well trimmed comeliness, no splendid clothing, no gorgeous apparel. No one will watch Him go by with admiration for His outward appearance. He will be a son of toil, complete with blisters and hardened hands. Surely this cannot be the Arm of Yahweh? Can any good thing come out of tiny Nazareth? (John 7:41-42). Can a prophet come from despised Galilee? (John 7:52). This verse says, ‘yes, He can'. Is not this the carpenter's son? The reply comes, yes, He is.