When we moved to Florida, we had the option of building a new house. I never thought we’d be able to do that. By the grace of God we had enough equity to build when startup costs were affordable. Before we move, we looked at lots of houses, but decided we needed to build new. It was the right decision.
David wanted to build. He wanted to build a house for God. A temple. A place of worship.
As usual, God has a better idea. This wouldn’t be David’s project. It would be his son’s. And God’s.
It was more important for God to build David’s house. It was more important for God to insure that David’s descendants would always rule his people. It was more important that God make a house, or dynasty, for David. Our projects are always so small compared to what God has planned.
In the end, we don’t have to do anything for God. He does everything for us. He creates, saves, and blesses us. We can do nothing in return, except to live as those who have been created, delivered, and blessed.
David is a part of our Jesse Tree because one of his descendants, Jesus, will be the king God’s people always needed.
Since I grew up in the United States of America, a representative democracy, I struggle to grasp the selection of a monarch. Candidates for elected office campaign for months before I and others vote for one of them.
A king or a queen is not elected. He or she inherits the throne from their father or mother. A person may have an opinion about the reigning monarch, but their voice has no weight.
When it’s time for Samuel to anoint the next king of Israel, neither his opinion nor anyone else’s matters. God chooses. God chose Saul. That didn’t work out. God chooses the next king, someone after his own heart. God chooses David.
God sends Samuel to Jesse the Bethlehemite to anoint one of his sons as the next king. It must be Jesse’s firstborn, Eliab. Nope. God is looking deeper than appearances. How about the next son, Abinadab? Nope. It’s going to be the youngest son, a good-looking, brave, eloquent, sheep-herding, song-writing musician named David (16:18). I know, that’s an impressive resume!
A thousand years later, the angel Gabriel would announce to Mary that God would give her Spirit-conceived child “the throne of his father David.” No one would choose this child to be king. He would be despised, rejected, and killed. But he would rise and ascend to rule and reign. From the very start he is the King of kings and Lord of lords.
Thank you, Lord, for David. Thanks for his songs, his victories, his descendants, and for Jesus. I would much rather be king or queen, but I am glad that he is my Lord. Only he can give me life!
David gets an ornament on the Jesse Tree; he is the ancestor of Jesus!
Did you ever stop and consider how many first-generation immigrants are a part of your life? My two neighbors across the street are from Portugal and Brazil. The family up the street who love my dogs are from Ukraine. The crew that put a new roof on my house came from Mexico. Our favorite take-out food is prepared by a family from China. One of my pastors just became a U.S. citizen. He immigrated from England.
The biblical world was a mess when there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes (Judges 21:25).
But then we read about Ruth. She is the Moabite daughter-in-law of Naomi, whose life is in shambles after the death of her husband and two sons. When Naomi decides to return to her hometown of Bethlehem, she assumes she’ll be going alone. Ruth won’t stand for that. She is going to be there for Naomi no matter what.
After meeting Ruth in his fields, gleaning barley, Boaz redeems Naomi from homelessness and marries Ruth. Their son is the grandfather of King David. And just like that, God grafts an unlikely immigrant into the family tree of the Messiah, Jesus.
God is skilled at making somebody out of a nobody. When you are feeling insignificant or unnoticed, you can be certain he’s paying attention to your life. When you pray, he listens to you. When you need help, he’s already arranged for assistance. When you spend a moment in his word, he has something to say to you. He created you, he redeemed you, and he takes up residence in your heart. You’re important to God. You are somebody.
Ruth gets an ornament on the Jesse Tree, a walk-on who gets a role in the advent of the Christ.
I like watching movies and reading books about spies. I’m fascinated by the way they blend into a community or corporation, earn the trust of many, and gain access to information that benefits their country.
When Joshua sends spies into Jericho, they find their way to the house of Rahab, a prostitute. She hides them and helps them escape after receiving the promise that she would survive the Israelite conquest of the city. When the walls come down and Israel wins it’s first contest in the promised land, she and her family are preserved.
According to Matthew’s genealogy of Jesus, Rahab is mentioned in the family tree of Jesus the Messiah. Unknown to everyone, including her, she became a part of God’s plan of salvation.
I like to spy on people. What I mean is, I like to sit and eavesdrop on conversations at Starbucks or Panera. I admit to glancing at people’s phones to see who they are texting. I’ve watched a few people tap out their PIN when they checkout. I’m not much of a spy. But I enjoy watching and listening to people.
I believe that if we just watch and listen closely, we’ll see or hear an opportunity to communicate God’s love in some way. We’ll help, we’ll listen, or we’ll be able to share a story about our faith and our God.
I love to think of myself as a spy from God, infiltrating a world in which many don’t know him. It makes everyday an adventure or a mission. I’m sneaking behind enemy lines with mercy, love, or hope that some have never experienced. Isn’t that cool?
Anyway, Rahab is a great example of how anyone can be grafted into God’s people. The scarlet thread hanging from her window was her subtle confession of faith in the God whose power and love was greater than anything she had witnessed before. “The Lord your God, he is God in the heavens above and on the earth beneath” (Joshua 2:11).
Rahab gets an ornament on the Jesse Tree for her willingness to help the spies from Israel and her confession of faith in the one true God.
After unboxing a game board and a variety of cards and pieces, it’s time to read the rules. They’ll be printed in a little folder, inside the box lid, or even on the back of the box. Until you know the rules, you can’t play the game.
When God powerfully brought his people out of slavery in Egypt, he declared, “I am the Lord your God” (Exodus 20:2). God then gives his people a list of “you shalls” and “you shall nots” that we call the Ten Commandments. They are not numbered in the Hebrew text, but later we read, “[The Lord your God] declared to you his covenant, which he commanded you to perform, that is, the Ten Commandments, and he wrote them on two tablets of stone” (Deuteronomy 4:13). That’s how we know they are ten.
These commandments (and many more) were not just rules for a game. They were rules for life. These commandments outline what God means when he says, “You shall be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy” (Leviticus 19:2).
Think about it. The descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob had emerged from 350 years of slavery. Every day someone told them what to do and how to do it. They never had to make a decision. They never had to make a choice. They never had a day off. And they always knew exactly what was expected of them.
Now, they are on their own. For the first time in their lives. For the first time in generations. Someone better find a way to reign in the natural selfishness, greed, and jealously that brings self-destruction to any group of people, from kids to grown-ups.
God loves his people enough to put up some guard rails for their life together. He loves them enough to show them they can’t do this on their own. They need him to save and preserve their lives. He loves them enough to show them the kind of life he has in mind for them, one that has an amazing future.
God gives his people the law. It is a gift that not only preserves their lives but draws them to him when they don’t get it right. It is a gift that shows them how much he loves them, even when they break the rules. It is a gift to remind them that their God is unlike any other so-called God in the world. He is the one who comes to give them life. It is a gift that holds God’s people together until that day when the Messiah is born.
The Ten Commandments get an ornament on the Jesse Tree, for they are God’s gracious curb, mirror, and guide for our lives.
“Israel loved Joseph more than any other of his sons, because he was the son of his old age. And he made him a robe of many colors.But when his brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers, they hated him and could not speak peacefully to him” (Genesis 37:3,4).
Joseph’s special robe reminded him of his father’s love and his brothers’ hate. I’ll bet he had mixed feelings every time he put it on.
Many years later soldiers would mock Jesus by putting a purple robe on him. Jesus came into this world as the ultimate expression of God’s love, and yet he was the object of intense hate.
Isaiah rejoiced that the Lord had clothed him in garments of salvation and robes of righteousness (Isaiah 61:10). Paul writes, “For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ” (Galatians 3:27). That outfit is a reminder of God’s steadfast love, but also a magnet for hate in this world. Jesus told his disciples, “You will be hated by all for my name’s sake” (Mark 13:13).
Joseph is a type, or a shadow, of who Christ will be. Joseph will not only be hated, but beaten, betrayed, and sold into slavery. Through that, though, he was able to save his family. Second only to the Pharaoh in Egypt, he fed his family and kept the Messianic line alive. Jesus was hated, beaten, betrayed, and crucified. But through it all he saved his people.
The cross declares that we are dearly loved. But that truth will also bring hate. Through it all, we will proclaim Christ in our words and lives. And by the grace of God, more will be saved.
By the grace of God, Joseph’s coat gets an ornament on our Jesse tree.
What a nightmare! Jacob pretends to be his brother Esau so his father will give him the blessing of the first born son. Esau is steamed, plotting to kill his brother. Mom tells Jacob to run away to his uncle’s house.
What a dream! With nothing but a rock for a pillow, Jacob goes to sleep under the stars. In his dream, he sees a ladder stretching up to heaven, crowded with angels going up and down. At the top of the ladder, he sees the Lord, who connects the covenant promise of a Savior to Jacob and his offspring (Genesis 28:13,14).
When he wakes up, Jacob says, “The Lord is here!” He thought he was running away. But he was actually running towards the plans and promises of God.
There are plenty of things in life we’d like to run away from. Who wants to be around angry people, dangerous places, past mistakes, and hurtful words?
But in stead of running away, let’s think of it as running towards our Lord. After all, God’s always a step ahead of us with protection, provision, and powerful promises. (How’s that for alliteration?)
Jacob gets an ornament on the Jesse Tree, heir of God’s promise of a Savior.
Sixth, seventh, or eighth on the bench? You’re not a starter. You can wait to sub in to show what you can do on the court.
A substitute teacher? That’s got to be one of the toughest jobs ever. It takes a special person to take on students you don’t know for little pay.
“Playing the part of…” The audience is disappointed that an understudy will be performing. The understudy is thrilled.
When the menu states, “No substitutions,” will you still ask for fruit instead of fries?
“Alexa, what can I substitute for buttermilk?” Answer: milk with vinegar; or sour cream.) Since we’re in the kitchen, you can also substitute granulated sugar and some molasses if you don’t have brown sugar for a recipe.
When God tells Abraham to sacrifice his only son Isaac, Abraham is confident that “God will provide for himself the lamb for a burnt offering”(Genesis 22:8). When “Abraham lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, behind him was a ram, caught in a thicket by his horns. And Abraham went and took the ram and offered it up as a burnt offering instead of his son” (Genesis 22:13). Just as promised, God provided a substitute for his son.
That is faith. Abraham has confidence. His obedience demonstrates absolute trust. In this story, God paints a picture of who his son Jesus will be. He’ll be a substitute for us, suffering and dying in our place on the cross, suffering the punishment for sin.
Advent is about the coming of a substitute. You could shoot spitballs at him in an unruly classroom. You can cheer him on when he step onto the court. You can applaud when he finally has a chance to take the stage. You can thank God that there are substitutions in his kingdom. You can worship him as the one who stood in for you and took the wrath of God for your sin.
Two words to sum up the gospel? “Instead of.” Forgiveness instead of punishment. Life instead of death. Joy instead of sadness. Hope instead of despair. Light instead of darkness.
And a ram instead of Isaac. Another image of Jesus. Here’s one for the Jesse Tree:
Pretty soon you don’t enough space for everyone at the table. You don’t have enough chairs. You blinked, and the family got a lot bigger. It began with the two of us. We had three children. Now we have ten grandchildren. We don’t have everyone together very often, but when we do, it’s a houseful. That huge dining room table must have shrunk. There’s always more than one conversation going on at a time, filling the room with voices.
Now the Lord said to Abram, “I will make of you a great nation…and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed” (Genesis 12:2-3).
It’s a powerful promise for a childless couple who have just moved into a new home. But you have to start somewhere, right? Plus, nothing is too hard for the Lord.
A little later, when Abram is wondering how God is going to do this, “[The Lord] brought him outside and said, “Look toward heaven, and number the stars, if you are able to number them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your offspring be” (Genesis 15:5).
Not only would Abram father a son named Isaac, but one of his descendants would be Jesus, who came to save his people from their sins. Jesus would be a blessing to all, for “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved” (Acts 2:21).
More importantly, Jesus is a blessing to me. I am one of those innumerable stars Abram saw in the sky. So are you.
So we hang a tent on the Jesse Tree to remind us of Abram (aka Abraham), to whom God made a wonderful Advent promise.
Waite for it... 