Isaiah 53:2 “For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him.”
Our Beloved Lord Jesus Christ grew “up … as a root out of dry ground”; that is, He grew up in a most unlikely place and manner. An intelligent mind would never expect the Messiah to grow up in a city that was in the heart of Israel; that is, Israel after the national division; for that nation deteriorated into gross idolatry of their own making and with pagan worship from other nations that conquered them. A rational mind would expect such a Great King to grow up as royalty, cultivated in the most superb etiquette, schooled in the social graces and sciences, trained by the best soldiers and military tacticians, and cultivated by royal princes. Furthermore, the “dry ground” denotes the absence of necessary water. John tells us that “rivers of living water” signify the presence and work of the Holy Spirit (John 7:38-39). Thus, there was little sign of the Holy Spirit guiding and provisioning the people in that region. Yet, astonishingly, our Lord chose such a place and manner to “grow up”; proving that He has the will and the power to push back human carnality and wickedness and immorality; and to make His Kingdom prosper even in the very heart of a spiritual drought. And He still reigns supreme today and is still prospering in even the most unlikely places!