Isaiah 11:7

7 And the cow and the bear will be friends while their young ones are sleeping together.

Isaiah 11:7 Meaning and Commentary

Isaiah 11:7

And the cow and the bear shall feed
That is, together, in one church state, at one table, or in one pasture, upon the wholesome food of the Gospel, the salutary doctrines of Christ; who though before of different dispositions, the one tame and gentle, useful and profitable, dispensing the milk of the divine word, and gracious experience; the other cruel and voracious, barbarous and inhuman, worrying the lambs and sheep of Christ; but now of the same nature, and having no ill will to one another, and being without fear of each other: their young ones shall lie down together;
those like the calf and the young bear, shall lie in the green pastures of Gospel ordinances, and do no injury, the latter to the former, being of one mind, and agreeing in doctrine and practice: and the lion shall eat straw like the ox;
kings shall be nursing fathers to the church, and feed on the same Gospel provisions; and there shall be a great agreement between them who were before comparable to lions for their strength, power, and cruelty, and ministers of the Gospel, who are compared to oxen, for their strength and laboriousness, ( 1 Corinthians 9:9 1 Corinthians 9:10 ) "straw" here denotes true doctrine, though elsewhere false, see ( 1 Corinthians 3:12 ) . (See Gill on Isaiah 11:6) .

Isaiah 11:7 In-Context

5 And righteousness will be the cord of his robe, and good faith the band round his breast.

6 And the wolf will be living with the lamb, and the leopard will take his rest with the young goat; and the lion will take grass for food like the ox; and the young lion will go with the young ones of the herd; and a little child will be their guide.

7 And the cow and the bear will be friends while their young ones are sleeping together.

8 And the child at the breast will be playing by the hole of the snake, and the older child will put his hand on the bright eye of the poison-snake.

9 There will be no cause of pain or destruction in all my holy mountain: for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the sea is covered by the waters.