Passage: There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit. 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. He shall not judge by what His eyes see, or decide disputes by what His ears hear, 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. Righteousness shall be the belt of His waist, and faithfulness the belt of His loins.
Journal: Isaiah uses imagery similar to that used in chapter 4 in his foretelling the coming Messiah. ("There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit.") However, here we have a vivid description of this man to come from the "stump of Jesse," this man who is also God. He shall have the Spirit of the Lord, and this indwelling will be obvious in the man. He is wise. He is understanding. He will counsel. He will be mighty. He will be feared. He will judge. His judgment will be with righteousness. He will embrace the poor and the meek. His judgment will be equitable. His judgment will be fierce. His judgment will be permanent. He is righteous. He is faithful.
For many, Jesus is primarily a baby born in a manger. He is meek and mild. To these, the later picture of Jesus on a cross is secondary and makes Him seem only more meek and mild, as He is captured and subdued at the hands of His enemies. Yet, in reality, Jesus on the cross is the ultimate picture of Jesus as a warrior in the midst of vanquishing His enemies. (". . . and He shall strike the earth with the rod of His mouth, and with the breath of His lips He shall kill the wicked.") The cross is the culmination of His great purpose, as He provides atonement for the children of God. Christ was waging war against the powers of darkness. Satan was in a bind, and couldn't help himself. The hatred he instigated in his children was marching Jesus up the hill toward Calvary, and yet he knew that at the top of the hill there was defeat for his earthly kingdom. Satan was powerless and defeated by an eminently stronger foe. His hate and pride were being enveloped by God's love and humility.
Heard 'Round the House:
Vera (age 8, down syndrome) got out of the bath the other night and decided to put on some of my clothes. It was an interesting selection - "workout" underwear (rather old, but almost like new for some reason), a t-shirt, some dress socks rolled down around her ankles, and my dress shoes. She then danced like Mr. Bojangles. Jill captured some of this on her digital camera video (no audio). This impressionist performance is inserted below (sorry, but I can't get it to "rotate" properly).
Journal: Isaiah uses imagery similar to that used in chapter 4 in his foretelling the coming Messiah. ("There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit.") However, here we have a vivid description of this man to come from the "stump of Jesse," this man who is also God. He shall have the Spirit of the Lord, and this indwelling will be obvious in the man. He is wise. He is understanding. He will counsel. He will be mighty. He will be feared. He will judge. His judgment will be with righteousness. He will embrace the poor and the meek. His judgment will be equitable. His judgment will be fierce. His judgment will be permanent. He is righteous. He is faithful.
For many, Jesus is primarily a baby born in a manger. He is meek and mild. To these, the later picture of Jesus on a cross is secondary and makes Him seem only more meek and mild, as He is captured and subdued at the hands of His enemies. Yet, in reality, Jesus on the cross is the ultimate picture of Jesus as a warrior in the midst of vanquishing His enemies. (". . . and He shall strike the earth with the rod of His mouth, and with the breath of His lips He shall kill the wicked.") The cross is the culmination of His great purpose, as He provides atonement for the children of God. Christ was waging war against the powers of darkness. Satan was in a bind, and couldn't help himself. The hatred he instigated in his children was marching Jesus up the hill toward Calvary, and yet he knew that at the top of the hill there was defeat for his earthly kingdom. Satan was powerless and defeated by an eminently stronger foe. His hate and pride were being enveloped by God's love and humility.
Heard 'Round the House:
Vera (age 8, down syndrome) got out of the bath the other night and decided to put on some of my clothes. It was an interesting selection - "workout" underwear (rather old, but almost like new for some reason), a t-shirt, some dress socks rolled down around her ankles, and my dress shoes. She then danced like Mr. Bojangles. Jill captured some of this on her digital camera video (no audio). This impressionist performance is inserted below (sorry, but I can't get it to "rotate" properly).
