Evergreen Devotions December 3 2019
The tree stumps say 'We are tree stumps torn out of the ground by men, sometimes by the
wind, we have big tendrils full of earth that drink out of the earth' - Jack Kerouac, 'Big Sur'
Tree stumps are the remnants of a life. Strong, rooted and vibrant...a living memory of a place.
Logs from these stumps should be polished, oiled and celebrated….(https://serenityinthegarden.blogspot.com/2010/08/ode-to-log-stumps.html)
And there shall come forth a shoot out of the stock of Jesse, and a branch out of his roots shall
bear fruit. Isaiah 11:1 ASV
Isaiah 10 ends in with the metaphor of God as a lumberjack hewing down the proud. Chapter
11 opens with is looking over the stumps, and causes a Branch to grow out of one of them, the
the root of the family of Jesse, David's father.
The first week of advent is a remembrance of the hope we have in the Almighty. Man-made
hope, is proud, arrogant, violent and short lived. Symbolical of man's faith is the ancient
Kingdom of Assyria. For 300 years, from 900 to 600 B.C., the Assyrian Empire expanded,
conquered and ruled the Middle East, including Mesopotamia, Egypt, the eastern coast of the
The Mediterranean, and parts of today’s Turkey, Iran, and Iraq. Since around 1250 B.C., the
Assyrians had started using war chariots and iron weapons, which were far superior to bronze
weapons. These tools and tactics made the Assyrian army the most powerful military force of
it's time. (https://www.historyonthenet.com/assyrian-empire-the-most-powerful-empire-in-the-world)
300 hundred years appears to mortals as eternity. But it's a speck in eternity, and it holds out
microscopic hope to men who die. God was letting his Children know, the Assyrians and others
would come and bring judgment, God would still use them to bring forth life. Even if they
looked like a long-dead stump, God can bring forth life. It is what we celebrate this first
week of advent.
God's hope is full of humility and life. . In calling the Messiah a Rod from the stem of Jesse,
the LORD is emphasizing the humble nature of the Messiah. Jesse was the much less famous
father of King David. It is far more humble to say "from Jesse" than to say "from King David."
We see a bare, withered tree stump, robbed of its trunk and top, and it looks as though the
stump will never bear any fruit anymore. But, a small shoot sprouts from the root of this dry
stump which is the Davidic dynasty. Because of its unsightliness and misery, it is not named
after David but after his father. When Christ was born, there was nothing royal about that
dynasty. But a new shoot sprang from this old stem." (Bultema)
Christmas hope is a promise that death does not have the final say.
Christmas hope is a promise that no matter how broken and
unrepairable you feel, God's not through with you yet. You may
be finished with yourself but God is not finished with you. You may feel unchosen, distant and
forgotten. But God has not forgotten you. You may have messed up so big morally, you think
there is no forgiveness. You may have messed u an important relationship in your life, and you
are certain that love has been cut down. But God is not shocked by your sinful behavior. I
promise he Saw it coming. And he sent his one and only son to die for what you would do one
day. And he is not at a loss how to overcome your sin! You may have run so far from God that
you think there is no way back. The family tree of Jesus is a clear demonstration that God is
not through with you yet. If God was not through with people like Tamar, Judah, Rahab, David
and Bathsheba then he is not finished with you! Christmas is the ultimate promise that God is
with you!
https://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/guzik_david/StudyGuide_Isa/Isa_11.cfm
What proud tree in your life needs hewed done?
How can you express and humility Today? Accept limitations? Open the door for someone?
Ask for forgiveness?
Who in your life needs to know the sprout, from the stump of Jesse??
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