The Shoot of Jesse

 

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 she shall kill the wicked. Righteousness shall be the belt of his waist, and faithfulness the belt of his loins. The wolf shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the young goat, and the calf and the lion and the fattened calf together; and a little child shall lead them. The cow and the bear shall graze; their young shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. The nursing child shall play over the hole of the cobra, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the adder’s den. They shall not hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain; for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD as the waters cover the sea. (Isaiah 11:1-9 ESV).

 

God’s people had forgotten God; they had forgotten his call to act justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with him (cf. Micah 6:8). God grieved at this because he had planted the people “like a choice vine of sound and reliable stock” (Jeremiah 2:21) and had expected them to grow and flourish and carry out his purposes in the world. But they had become wild and corrupt. The prophets warned that there would be consequences, and the people faced seventy long years of oppression in exile in Babylon.

 

But in the midst of this tragedy, Isaiah speaks the sweetest words of hope the people could hear. Though the family line of King David, son of Jesse, had been cut down to a stump, out of the deep, thick humus of human faith and suffering a tender new shoot would grow. This little green sprig would be a sign of something new springing from the old.

 

We, too, long for deliverance from oppression in our slavery to sin. So even as we anticipate the birth of Jesus the Branch, the new shoot from the stump of Jesse, we also anticipate, in hope, a second coming of Christ. We await the completion of God’s promises of salvation—when God will free from sin’s grip his well-loved creation and come to live with us forever. That is the best message of Christmas!

 

The Dilemma of Joseph

 

Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly. But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet: “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name eImmanuel” (which means, God with us). When Joseph woke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him: he took his wife, but knew her not until she had given birth to a son. And he called his name Jesus. (Matthew 1:18-25 ESV).

 

Matthew makes clear that David is centrally important in the family line of Jesus. But with Joseph there is a disconnect. He is a son (descendant) of David, but Joseph is not the biological father of Jesus. If the birth of Jesus puzzles you, think how puzzling it was to Joseph. Joseph was engaged to Mary, and they had dreams of raising a family together. Before the wedding, however, she came to him with the news that she was pregnant; and, it was by “the Spirit of God.” One might try to picture what that conversation looked like, but I rather doubt any of us could possibly imagine the depth of hurt and betrayal Joseph felt.

 

Try to picture Joseph as he wrestled with his dilemma. He wanted to live God’s way. The law of God said he had the right to have her stoned to death. But Joseph was also gracious and did not want to disgrace Mary. Then an angel of the Lord appeared to him, to explain what God was doing. The angel began by saying, “Do not be afraid…” and then assured Joseph that the child conceived in Mary was from the Holy Spirit and would be the long-promised Savior. This child was to be named Jesus, because he would “save his people from their sins.”

 

Doing what is right and good while being just as graceful as Jesus always places us in a dilemma. We want to apply the law and justice; however, we must also apply the same grace as we have been given. We can because in Jesus, God is with us. And his promise at the end of Matthew still stands today: “I am with you always, to the very end of the age” (Matthew 28:20).

 

A Matter of Perspective

 

In those days Mary arose and went with haste into the hill country, to a town in Judah, and she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. And when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the baby leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit, and she exclaimed with a loud cry, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! And why is this granted to me that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For behold, when the sound of your greeting came to my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord.” (Luke 1:39-45 ESV).

 

As we continue looking at the family of Jesus we are departing from the direct genealogy to look at the mother of John the Baptist. The Scripture indicates that Elizabeth was of the "daughters of Aaron" (cf. Luke 1:5), that is, descended through Moses' brother, Aaron, from the Jewish tribe of Levi (cf. Exodus 6:20), who was one of the twelve sons of Jacob, or Israel. While Mary was from the tribe of Judah (one of Jacob's other sons, as well as Levi's full brother, since they had the same mother (cf. Genesis 35:23), and had descended from Judah through David (cf. 2 Samuel 7:16; Luke 4:23-31), Mary and Elizabeth would have at least been on some level cousins, based on that long-ago relationship between Levi and Judah. They were certainly “family.”

 

However, the key principle to highlight today is how Elizabeth maintained such an incredibly positive perspective. One of the popular Christmas songs have the lyrics of “it’s the most wonderful time of the year.” For some of us who are reading these words, today may be far from wonderful. Maybe your life has been devastated by disease, or you have recently lost a loved one, or some other painful event is causing you to cry out, “Why is this happening to me?”

 

Elizabeth knew such pain. She was old and childless, and in that culture she was therefore disgraced (cf. Luke 1:25). Long ago she had probably given up all hope of becoming a mother. Imagine the talk in her village: “What do you think she did to make God punish her this way?” God actually didn’t operate that way, but people often made that wrong assumption. Soon after God’s promise that she and her husband would have a son (cf. Luke 1:11-17), Elizabeth became pregnant. Then, six months later, her cousin Mary came with even greater news: an angel had said Mary would become the mother of God’s Son (cf. Luke 1:31-32)! Elizabeth was not disappointed or jealous. Full of excitement, she exclaimed, “Why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?” (v. 43). We have such favor too. To think that God would love us so much that He would send His only begotten Son to purchase our eternal freedom and inclusion in the family of God is too wonderful to imagine. We are indeed highly favored! Think on that this week!

 

The Song of Zechariah

 

“Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and awesome day of the LORD comes. And he will turn the hearts of fathers to their children and the hearts of children to their fathers, lest I come and strike the land with a decree of utter destruction.” (Malachi 4:5-6 ESV).

 

The last book of the Old Testament is the source of our reading today. In fact these verses are the last of the book. After the writing of Malachi, which details the rebellion, repentance, and restoration that God would bring to Israel and the Gentiles, there is no direct word from the Lord for 400 years. God had not forgotten His promises; nor had He unduly delayed. At the precise time as the world saw the convergence of all the right things politically, culturally, and spiritually a word from God came to a priest, Zechariah. His name means “God remembers.”

 

Zechariah and his wife, Elizabeth, were devoted followers of God. They were old and childless, and Elizabeth was a relative of Mary, who became the mother of Jesus (cf. Luke 1:30-31, 36). One day Zechariah had a rare opportunity to burn incense at the time of prayer in the temple. And while he was doing that, an angel of God came with startling news: Zechariah and Elizabeth would have a son! He was to be named John, and he would become a prophet like Elijah, bringing many people back to the Lord, just as prophesized in our reading today. This child became John the Baptist, who prepared people for the coming of Jesus, the promised Savior (cf. Luke 3). When John was born, Zechariah sang a hymn of praise because he knew salvation was coming. God had not forgotten his people.

 

My dear friends, if you are struggling with disappointments and God seems far away, take heart. God has not forgotten you. He wants to give you his peace today. In his mercy and love God remembers each one of us. That’s the good news of Christmas: Jesus, who forgives our sins and brings us new life, has come! So let’s join with Zechariah and sing God’s praises today.

 

Hemochromatosis

 

Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he began to reign, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. He did what was evil in the sight of the LORD his God. He did not humble himself before Jeremiah the prophet, who spoke from the mouth of the LORD. He also rebelled against King Nebuchadnezzar, who had made him swear by God. He stiffened his neck and hardened his heart against turning to the LORD, the God of Israel. All the officers of the priests and the people likewise were exceedingly unfaithful, following all the abominations of the nations. And they polluted the house of the LORD that he had made holy in Jerusalem. The LORD, the God of their fathers, sent persistently to them by his messengers, because he had compassion on his people and on his dwelling place. But they kept mocking the messengers of God, despising his words and scoffing at his prophets, until the wrath of the LORD rose against his people, until there was no remedy. (2 Chronicles 36:11-16 ESV).

 

What possible connection could there be between “hemochromatosis” and Christmas? Perhaps I should begin with a description of this medical condition known as hemochromatosis. It is commonly known as “iron overload.” I remember when I was first diagnosed with this disease twenty years ago. Hemochromatosis is a disease in which too much iron builds up in your body. Your body needs iron but too much of it is toxic. If you have hemochromatosis, you absorb more iron than you need. Your body has no natural way to get rid of the extra iron. It stores it in body tissues, especially the liver, heart, and pancreas. The extra iron can damage your organs. Without treatment, it can cause your organs to fail. It is hereditary, incurable, though manageable.

 

Here’s the Christmas connection. Matthew ends his list of kings with Josiah (Matthew 1:11) because the Bible says, “He did what was right in the eyes of the Lord and followed the ways of his father David” (2 Chronicles 34:2). Josiah, however, was not the last king of Judah. Zedekiah was. Though God persistently sent messengers and prophets to warn Zedekiah, he hardened his heart and would not turn to the Lord. The Bible says there was “no remedy.” So God sent the king of Babylon to destroy Jerusalem, and God’s people became captives in a foreign land.

 

But God’s story does not end there. Praise God, there is a remedy. In Hebrews 1:1-2 we read that although God spoke through prophets in the past, “in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, and through whom he also made the universe” (Hebrews 1:1-2). When we celebrate Christmas and the coming of Jesus, God’s Son, we must understand that He alone is the remedy for our sin. While sin is hereditary and unmanageable, it is curable. Jesus is the cure!

 

A Firm Faith

 

Again the LORD spoke to Ahaz: “Ask aa sign of the LORD your God; let it be deep as Sheol or high as heaven.” But Ahaz said, “I will not ask, and I will not put the LORD to the test.” And he said, “Hear then, O house of David! Is it too little for you to weary men, that you weary my God also? Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel. He shall eat curds and honey when he knows how to refuse the evil and choose the good. For before the boy knows how to refuse the evil and choose the good, the land whose two kings you dread will be deserted. The LORD will bring upon you and upon your people and upon your father’s house such days as have not come since the day that kEphraim departed from Judah—the king of Assyria!” (Isaiah 7:10-17 ESV).

 

Today’s reading in Isaiah takes place many years after the kingdom of Israel had divided. The northern part, made up of ten tribes, was still called Israel (and sometimes Ephraim) and their capital was Samaria. They had hopelessly walked away from God. The southern part, known as Judah (plus the tribe of Benjamin), was not far behind. Judah was under attack by Aram (Syria) and Israel. In a panic, King Ahaz of Judah turned away from God and looked to the powerful king of Assyria for help (2 Kings 16).

 

Isaiah told Ahaz not to fear but to stand firm with faith in God. Israel and Syria would soon be shattered, he said. God even offered to give Ahaz a sign of his own choosing to prove that he could trust God. But Ahaz refused. So God, the true King of kings, gave both Ahaz and the house of David a sign. God said a virgin would have a son, and he would be called Immanuel, which means “God with us.”

 

We are just two weeks away from Christmas. Matthew describes the birth of Christ as God’s miraculous fulfillment of the sign given to Ahaz. Jesus was born, and he is Immanuel, “God with us” (cf. Matthew 1:9, 23). We may be tempted to lose heart because of warring nations or life-threatening events, but this sign remains our hope. Immanuel has come and is coming again. Stand firm in faith for “if God is for us, who can be against us?” (Romans 8:31).

 

The Heavy Yoke of Rehoboam

 

And when all Israel saw that the king did not listen to them, the people answered the king, “What portion do we have in David? We have no inheritance in the son of Jesse. To your tents, O Israel! Look now to your own house, David.” So Israel went to their tents. But Rehoboam reigned over the people of Israel who lived in the cities of Judah. Then King Rehoboam sent Adoram, who was taskmaster over the forced labor, and all Israel stoned him to death with stones. And King Rehoboam hurried to mount his chariot to flee to Jerusalem. So Israel has been in rebellion against the house of David to this day. (1 Kings 12:16-19 ESV).

 

When King David died, his son Solomon became the next king. He had an excellent start, but Solomon later turned away from God. His actions angered the Lord (see 1 Kings 2-11). When Solomon died, his son Rehoboam was crowned as king. The coronation was interrupted by Jeroboam, who pleaded with Rehoboam to lighten the crushing taxes that Solomon had put in place. Rehoboam consulted with the elders. They advised him to serve the people by lowering the taxes. But Rehoboam refused. Instead, he decided to increase the burdensome taxes. The result was rebellion, division, and sin in the kingdom.

 

Philippians 2 describes Jesus’ attitude and actions when he came to be our Savior and King. It tells us that although Jesus was one with God, he humbled himself by becoming a human being like us. And he willingly served by giving his life on a cross to save us from sin and death. Therefore, God raised him not only from death but also to rule in heaven, promising that every knee will bow before our servant King and confess him as Lord.

 

There are many different kinds of “yokes.” However, they all fall into two categories: hard and easy. Many of us feel the weight of a hard yoke that may have been placed on us by the consequence of our decisions or the actions of others. Either way, that hard yoke can be eased. Jesus calls, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. For I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls” (Matthew 11:28-29). If you need some of that rest this Christmas season, concentrate on the gift won for us in the coming of Jesus to save us. Open His gift of grace and love and be free!