There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit. Isaiah 11:1 (ESV)
Imagine a strong, beautiful tree cut down to a stump. It sits for hundreds of years, drying out, cracking, and eventually rotting away. Then one day, a green shoot starts growing out of the rotten tree stump. The small shoot grows into a branch and bears fruit; fruit which gives hope, peace, and salvation.
Can you picture it? What was once dead is now alive! And not just alive, but giving new life to those who eat its fruit!
This is God’s message of hope for the future; the promise of a Branch.
A man whose name is the Branch (Zech. 6:12), whom shall be beautiful and glorious (Isa 4:2), and shall reign as king and deal wisely (Jer. 23:5).
Isaiah describes the branch, saying:
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 11:2-5 (ESV)
I had to privilege of writing this post as part of an advent devotional series called “O Come, O Come Immanuel: A Twenty Day Advent Devotional on the Names of Jesus. Head over to Unveiled & Revealed to continue reading about Jesus The Branch, and the hope this name holds for our future.
Linking up at Moments of Hope
I love the prophecies of old Testament. The story of Jesus started before he was born and I love how God had a plan to rescue us from the very beginning. Thanks for the insights!
Me too Anne! Thanks for visiting.