Advent Day 9 – The Faithfulness of Jesus
Isaiah 11:1-5
Robin P.
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.
——
This prophecy of the coming Messiah says Jesus will come as a shoot springing forth from the stump of Jesse and bearing fruit. A stump is a remnant of a once vibrant, living, growing, producing tree. When I see a stump, I mourn the loss of a once majestic tree that provided shade, oxygen, maybe fruit or nuts, and homes for birds and animals. I imagine the people of Israel often felt like they had been chopped into stumps. Sometimes, we feel like that too. But a shoot springing from a stump speaks of new life. Through the prophet Isaiah, God was giving the promise of hope in a savior who would have his very spirit in him.
The following verses give us such a beautiful description of Jesus.
The spirit of the Lord will rest on him. Jesus told us that everything he said and everything he did was his Father living in him and working in him. The gift of Jesus to our world was a living portrait to show all of us what God was like. And through Jesus, the Spirit of God lives in us too! So, let’s contemplate what this looked like in Jesus and pray it will grow in us.
Jesus walked and spoke with the spirit of wisdom, understanding, counsel, and might. I know for myself there’s a big difference between head wisdom and heart wisdom. I can read and study all I want, but I need to download it from my head to my heart before understanding will result in any counsel or might. Jesus, give us your wisdom.
Jesus always modeled the complete knowledge and fear of the Lord: For us, knowing the Lord is a lifetime pursuit. Fearing the Lord means being in awe of who he is. We never stop trying to understand him better, yet our fear of him makes us realize we will never know him fully.
This next part especially moves me. He will not judge by what he sees with his eyes or decide by what he hears with his ears. Oh Lord, we so need to see and hear with your heart. Our eyes and ears are so quick to underestimate, judge, and even ignore when we need to pay attention. Jesus showed us through his interactions with so many people that he saw and heard beyond what eyes and ears could perceive.
Jesus taught us what Righteousness and Justice really looked like:
Oh, how we long for these, yet sometimes they seem the least attainable. We see so much unrighteousness and injustice in our world that we can’t control. But I remind myself that we can pursue these in small ways with the people and situations we encounter until Jesus makes everything right again.
The rod of his mouth and the breath of his lips: I am so thankful for the red letters, the words Jesus spoke and recorded for us to read generations later. Jesus taught us that if we love him, we will keep his words, hear his voice, and follow him.
Jesus is faithful: He is faithful in all he says and does. Jesus, may your faithfulness grow in us always.
Drawing by Adi, 2nd grade.