Isaiah 11:1–9 Another prediction of the coming Messiah King. Matthew 1:1–17 makes a point of showing us the generational link to the promised Messiah, as prophesied by Isaiah, who spoke of Jesus as a “shoot from the stump of Jesse.”1 A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit.2 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—3 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;4 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.5 Righteousness will be his belt and faithfulness the sash around his waist.6 The wolf will live with the lamb, the leopard will lie down with the goat, the calf and the lion and the yearling together; and a little child will lead them.7 The cow will feed with the bear, their young will lie down together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox.8 The infant will play near the cobra’s den, and the young child will put its hand into the viper’s nest.9 They will neither harm nor destroy on all my holy mountain, for the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.
REFLECT Have you ever seen what looked like a dead tree stump that had small green shoots growing out of the roots near the bottom? That’s the image Isaiah was using. When everything looked dead, finished, hopeless, that’s when the Messiah came! His second coming will be similar. No, he won’t come as a helpless baby born in a feed trough, but as the glorious resurrected King of the Universe. Wait for him. Expect him. Don’t let the darkness fool you. The King is coming.
PRAY Pray that you would willingly do all you can to help accomplish God’s great plan. And pray for God's help to live missionally and generously with the people he puts in your life.
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