December 3 – Day 4
Isaiah 11:1-5
A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit. The Spirit of the Lord will rest on him— the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of might, the Spirit of the knowledge and fear of the Lord – and he will delight in the fear of the Lord. He will not judge by what he sees with his eyes, or decide by what he hears with his ears; but with righteousness he will judge the needy, with justice he will give decisions for the poor of the earth. He will strike the earth with the rod of his mouth; with the breath of his lips he will slay the wicked. Righteousness will be his belt and faithfulness the sash around his waist.
Isaiah was a prophet of Judah who wrote his Book in two parts; the first between 740 BC – 700 BC (Chapters 1-39) and the second between 690 BC and 675 BC (Chapters 40-66). Isaiah lived roughly 670 years before Jesus was born to Mary. He lived approximately 400 years after the reign of David, the son of Jesse.
In Isaiah’s time, Israel and Judah were under siege by invading nations; the Assyrian leader Sennacherib had invaded Israel and surrounded Judah and Jerusalem, led by King Hezekiah. Hezekiah’s plea for God’s help was answered through Isaiah, before the Angel of the Lord killed 185,000 Assyrian troops, forcing Sennacherib to retreat to Nineveh where he himself was assassinated, as written in 2 Kings 19.
Isaiah also prophesied, in Isaiah 11:1-5, the coming of a Ruler, who will be Perfect. Isaish provides prophetic details about this ruler, who will be the Messiah to save His people the Israelites, with several references to the Messiah’s coming throughout his writings. In today’s passage, he foretold that the ‘stump of Jesse’, which David is directly from, will have an offspring in a later generation that will be by the Lord, for the Lord, and with the Lord.
Thus, this ‘Branch’ or offshoot from Jesse, is a King by birthright, being Jesse’s descendent through his son David. This king rules in Righteousness; and His Judgements on each person is not through the outwardly physical signs and accomplishments one does, but through the Spiritual signs each person displays.
This King’s words alone convict, provide judgement and proper retribution, and this King leads His people, who are those who not only believe in Him but accept Him as their King, regardless of their stature, wealth, or failings, to Eternal Peace. We know this King to be Jesus. Isaiah’s prophecies about Jesus takes 29 generations, or 1,000 years between Jesse and Jesus, to be fulfilled, per Matthew 1:1-17.
The wait for this King, over the course of the 1,000 years, was met by some with skepticism, as we see Israel and Judah often turning away from God. But some waited, in Righteousness, for the Messiah in Hope and Faithfulness. This Hope in a King that was strong enough to protect, wise enough to judge fairly, and loving enough to accept those in despair kept those Faithful to continue following the Word of God and not fall away.
Today we again are waiting for the King to come; this time, though, we who are waiting know who Jesus is, how to recognize Him, and listen for His call. Do not despair or grow weary of waiting! Keep your Faithfulness and Hope in Him in Righteous anticipation of His Triumphant Return.
