Jesse's Stump

There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit. And the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord. And his delight shall be in the fear of the Lord. He shall not judge by what his eyes see, or decide disputes by what his ears hear, but with righteousness he shall judge the poor, and decide with equity for the meek of the earth; and he shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips he shall kill the wicked. Righteousness shall be the belt of his waist, and faithfulness the belt of his loins. (Isaiah 11:1-5 ESV).

 

Well it must be fall in Texas. We really can’t tell from the changing of the color of the leaves because that only lasts a few days and the colors go from green to brown almost overnight. We know its fall because we start to see the decorations of the seasonal holidays go on display at some of the local stores. Now, since I’m forbidden during the pandemic from going into any store other that those that are absolutely necessary I have been in two since March: Lowes and Harbor Freight. Those are absolutely essential for me. Just the other day as I entered Lowes to get a few necessary items, I saw the Christmas display was now occupying the space previously displaying summer items.

 

It gave me a good excuse to write a devotional dealing with Advent. This is that season when Christians look forward to the birth of the Savior. While Christmas joy rightly peaks at the birth of Jesus, sometimes we forget the Old Testament stories pointing to that moment at the manger. The Jesse Tree, which invites the retelling of many of those stories, can heighten our joy at Christmas as we see God’s promises unfold in history.

In the chapter leading up to our reading for today, Isaiah describes God’s wrath against human rebellion and sin. The prophet declares that it will be like God taking an ax to the arrogance of human evil, cutting a forlorn scene like a hillside stripped bare of trees, leaving nothing but barren looking stumps.

 

But wait, says, Isaiah: “A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit.” There’s hope for God’s people! God plans to raise up a Savior, both tender and powerful, a promise not only to Israel but to all nations. Isaiah declares, “In that day the Root of Jesse will stand as a banner for the peoples.” I’ll have a bit more to say about this in the next few days; however, as we recount the great, sweeping story of God’s faithfulness, my prayer is that we will abound in hope, joy, and faith in God’s promises of full life in Christ.