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. (Isaiah 11:1,2)
Where I live in Florida, winter means cooler temperatures, but certainly nothing like the cold I’ve experienced when I lived further north. The temperature might dip below freezing one or two days in January or February. When it does, all the leaves fall off my Hibiscus, Mandeville, and Bougainville plants.
That’s my cue to get to work. I cut everything down to the ground and fill up bags for the trash guys to haul away on Wednesday.
Within a week, though, small green shoots with leaves will begin to grow from the stumps I left behind. As the weather gets warmer those shoots will grow inches overnight until a new vine is reaching towards the sky. I gather the new vines and use some twine to keep them close to the backyard fence.
It’s not a wintry blast of cold air that freezes God’s people in the Old Testament. It’s the loving discipline of the Lord for his people who have forsaken him to worship idols. Foreign nations and kings destroy and disperse God’s people.
When God decided that someone with a heart like his needed to be on the throne of Israel, he chose David, the son of Jesse. Not only would David be king, but his descendants would always be king over God’s people.
But once a pagan ruler exiles the people to a pagan place far away from Jerusalem, there doesn’t seem to be much hope. All that’s left to hold onto is the promise that “a remnant will return (Isaiah 10:21). And “there shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse,” a king descended from David infused with the Spirit of the Lord (Isaiah 11:1,2).
This is a messianic promise. That shoot would not be just any king. “The Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end” (Luke 1:32,33).
That’s right, it’s not over till it’s over. God has the final word, and his word becomes flesh to rule and reign over his people. From that dead stump of disobedient and unfaithful people would come the one who would save his people from their sin, overcome death, and defeat the adversary, Satan.
When Jesus is born, a fresh green shoot starts to grow from the stump of Jesse, rooted in the promises of God. All that Jesus comes to be and do results in life, growth, and fruit. And guess what? By grace, you’ve been grafted into his family by faith. This isn’t just his story. It’s yours. You are part of God’s family.
In the song “Made for More,” Josh Baldwin sings, “I know who I am ’cause I know who You are.” Did you ever stop to think what a wonderful Christmas gift it is to know who you are? By grace you’ve been adopted into his family by faith.
If you’ve forgotten your identity, don’t just get out your wallet and look at your ID. Remember the shoot that comes forth from the stump of Jesse!
Since it’s December and Advent, I thought it would be fun to write some devotions for the season. Some decorate a Jesse Tree in the month leading up to Christmas, so I thought it would be interesting to write about the symbols that hang from its branches to remind us that Christ’s coming begins a long time before his birth in Bethlehem. In fact, we know that God had that day on his calendar before creation. “[God the Father] chose us in [Jesus Christ] before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ” (Ephesians 1:4,5).
When I searched online for a list of Jesse Tree symbols, I found many variations. These devotions are based on one list I found from Martin Luther College in New Ulm, Minnesota. You can find more here: mlc-wels.edu/publications/the-jesse-tree.
I really want to up my readership, so please share this post with anyone you think might be (or needs to be) blessed by some Advent devotions!
Waite for it... 