Advent · Day 9 · Monday, December 7
A shoot from a stump
A shoot will spring up from Jesse’s stump, and a branch out of his roots will yield fruit. The Spirit of Yahweh will settle on him—the Spirit of wisdom and insight, the Spirit of counsel and strength, the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of Yahweh.
Jesse was King David’s father. By Isaiah’s time, David’s family tree looked like a tree cut down. Only a stump was left, and a stump is what remains when everyone has given up on a tree.
Isaiah says a green shoot will come up from it. On that new branch the Spirit of God will rest: wisdom, insight, counsel, and strength.
Jesus came from that stump, from a builder’s family in a small town, far from any palace. God likes to start again from what looks finished.
Pray
God of new beginnings, bring life where I have given up. Thank you for Jesus, the shoot from Jesse’s stump. Amen.
Carry it today
What in your life looks like a stump right now?