Sunday, November 27

Isaiah 11:1-5

Loren Walker

Isaiah 11: 1-2

A stump shall come out from the root of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots.

The spirit of the Lord shall rest on Him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding,

the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord.

The verses from Isaiah above do not show the entire selection, you should read it from the Bible. Jesse was the father of King David. It had been prophesied that the family of David would rule Israel forever. But 250 years after David’s glorious reign, at the time of Isaiah’s writing, this looked pretty hopeless. Israel was divided into the Northern and Southern Kingdoms. Both kingdoms were weak and facing conquest and exile. In those circumstances, Isaiah prophesied a new king of Israel, a king of the line of David. This would not be a warrior king, but a king of righteousness and peace. And we know that this promise was still about 750 years from becoming reality. So it took a lot of faith to have hope in that situation.

But the Children of Israel did keep that hope. At the time of the birth of Jesus, the wise men on their way to Bethlehem stopped by to visit  King Herod. Herod asked the chief priests and scribes where the Messiah was to be born. They quoted verses (Micah 5:2) from the prophet Micah,  who lived at the time of Isaiah. They had not forgotten the prophesy, nor given up hope of its fulfillment.

Prayer: Lord, may we follow this example of hope and faith. For these four weeks of Advent we will hope not only for the coming of Jesus but for the fulfillment of His promises in our lives.

In Jesus’ name, Amen.