Albert Barnes Commentary Isaiah 11:13

"The envy also of Ephraim shall depart, and they that vex Judah shall be cut off: Ephraim shall not envy Judah, and Judah shall not vex Ephraim." — Isaiah 11:13 (ASV)

The envy also—The word envy here is used in the sense of hatred, or the hatred that arose from the ambition of Ephraim and from the prosperity of Judah. Ephraim here is the name for the kingdom of Israel, or the ten tribes. The reasons for their envy and enmity toward Judah, all arising from their ambition, were the following:

1. This tribe, in connection with those allied to it, constituted a very large and flourishing part of the Jewish nation. They were, therefore, envious of any other tribe that claimed any superiority, and particularly jealous of Judah.
2. They occupied a central and commanding position in Judea and naturally claimed preeminence over the tribes on the north.
3. They had formerly been highly favored by the abode of the ark and the tabernacle among them and, on that account, claimed to be the natural head of the nation (Joshua 18:1, 8, 10; Judges 18:31; Judges 21:19; 1 Samuel 1:3, 24).
4. When Saul was king, though he was of the tribe of Benjamin (1 Samuel 9:2), they submitted peaceably to his reign because the Benjaminites were in alliance with them and adjacent to them. But when Saul died and the kingdom passed into the hands of David of the tribe of Judah, their natural rival, thus exalting that powerful tribe, they became dissatisfied and restless. David kept the nation united; but on his death, they threw off the yoke of his successor and became a separate kingdom. From this time, their animosities and strifes became an important and painful part of the history of the Jewish nation, until the kingdom of Ephraim was removed.

The language here is evidently figurative and means that in the time referred to here, under the messiah, the causes of animosity that previously existed would cease. Contentions between those who are by nature brothers, and who ought to show the spirit of brothers, would come to an end; and those animosities and strife would be succeeded by a state of amity and peace.

When the scattered Jews are regathered to God under the Messiah, all the contentions among them will cease, and they will be united under one king and prince. All the causes of contention that had so long existed, and which had produced such disastrous results, will come to an end. The strifes and contentions of these two kingdoms, once belonging to the same nation and descended from the same ancestors—the painful and protracted family broil—were the object that then most prominently attracted the attention of the prophets of God. The most happy idea of future blessedness that was presented to the mind of the prophet was that period when all this should cease, and when, under the Messiah, all should be harmony and love.

And the adversaries of Judah shall be cut off—That is, Judah will be safe; the people of God will be delivered from their enemies—referring to the future period under the Messiah, when the church should be universally prosperous.

Judah shall not vex Ephraim—This means Judah will not oppress, disturb, or oppose Ephraim. There will be peace between them. The church prospers only when contentions and strifes cease; when Christians lay aside their animosities, love as brothers, and are united in the great work of spreading the gospel around the world.

That time will yet come. When that time comes, the kingdom of the Son of God will be established. Until that time, any effort to bring the world to the knowledge of the truth will be in vain; or if not entirely in vain, the efforts of Christians who seek the conversion of the world will be hindered, hampered, and greatly weakened.

How devoutly, therefore, should every friend of the Redeemer pray that all causes of strife may cease, and that His people may be united as the heart of one man in the effort to bring the whole world to the knowledge of the truth.