Today our text comes from Isaiah which foretold of the coming Messiah. Written hundreds of years before the birth of Christ Jews held great hope in the coming of one who would reign forever. We see in these verses today that this ruler called a “branch” will come from the house of David, be qualified in every way, be just, bring peace, and be for all people.

This messiah is referred to as shoot from the stump of Jesse speaking of Christ’s humble origins that are still are rooted in God's royal lineage. The Messiah will be a ruler unlike anyone has seen before, righteous, just, strong, and wise. This will bring peace to all the ways of hate, death, and pain in the world. Things that seem unattainable or impossible will be done and bring all people together. Both the Jews and the gentiles.

Today as we look to Christmas we can know that this just ruler has come. That Christ came in obscurity, a shoot from the stump of Jesse, to be a branch that would bear fruit. The Church today bears this fruit today and looks forward to a day when all things a reconciled in peace and all people are drawn together in peace.

Isaiah 11:1-10

1 There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse,
    and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit.
2 And the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him,
    the Spirit of wisdom and understanding,
    the Spirit of counsel and might,
    the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord.
3 And his delight shall be in the fear of the Lord.
He shall not judge by what his eyes see,
    or decide disputes by what his ears hear,
4 but with righteousness he shall judge the poor,
    and decide with equity for the meek of the earth;
and he shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth,
    and with the breath of his lips he shall kill the wicked.
5 Righteousness shall be the belt of his waist,
    and faithfulness the belt of his loins.

6 The wolf shall dwell with the lamb,
    and the leopard shall lie down with the young goat,
and the calf and the lion and the fattened calf together;
    and a little child shall lead them.
7 The cow and the bear shall graze;
    their young shall lie down together;
    and the lion shall eat straw like the ox.
8 The nursing child shall play over the hole of the cobra,
    and the weaned child shall put his hand on the adder's den.
9 They shall not hurt or destroy
    in all my holy mountain;
for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord
    as the waters cover the sea.

10 In that day the root of Jesse, who shall stand as a signal for the peoples—of him shall the nations inquire, and his resting place shall be glorious.

[ WHAT ] is this passage saying and what is a key truth or thought that we learn?

+ What will come from the stump of Jesse? [v1]

+ What Spirit will be upon him? [v2]

+ How will he judge [v.3-4]?

+ What are the two belts he wears? [v. 5]?

+ What examples of peace are given? [v.6-8]

+ What will the earth be full of? [v. 9]

+ What is a signal for all peoples? [v.10]

[ HOW ] is the Lord calling me to action/obedience?

+ Is there sin to confess or a next step to take? How has it gone since last time?

+ What discord currently exists in your life that Christ could bring peace to? Does it seem as impossible as a wolf dwelling with a lamb?

+ What can you do in this advent season to be a signal of peace to all people?

[ WHO ] am I walking with and praying for to discover Jesus?

+ What is my next step?