Isaiah 11:1

A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse;
from his roots a Branch will bear fruit ~ Isaiah 11:1

First, this is a beautiful scripture which prophetically captures the ingredients of the Messiah to come. I encourage you to read Isaiah 11 in its entirety. Then we see what was cut down has a new branch growing out from its stump. It is a promise of a new Israel, one which will grow out from the stump of the Davidic line, a history now of fortune lost. There is nothing left of David's line but a stump. Out of that will grow One who will change the course of "Israel." That one branch will bear fruit. What follows in the next verses is the described fruit that one will bear, but the main point in what follows is that it will be done by the Spirit of the Lord. The Spirit will rest upon Him, meaning that all he does will be done in and through the power of the Holy Spirit. The prophet saw one with a perfect human character and one who would make for a perfect King. This King was born centuries later, arriving in a cave filled with cattle, and sheep, and hay. He was greeted by humble shepherds who rejoiced at being chosen to come and pay homage to a baby. This would have been a joy they would carry for the rest of their lives, to know that what they had seen would be something new for the world in which they lived. Humble beginnings for a new born King! A new green shoot from the line of Jesse of the house of David! Have you met this young shoot, this new tree, of which began a new community? His name is Jesus!
Devotion by Pastor Julia

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