Advent
“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. 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, 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.”
God gave a promise to humanity after the fall that a savior would come and redeem people and bring them back into a relationship with God. In Genesis 3:15, God says to the serpent: “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.”
Later, God chose a people (the Israelites) and extended His promise to man through Abraham, the father of these people. In Genesis 12:2-3, God says to Abram (whom God later called Abraham, according to Genesis 17): “ And I will make you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”
After some time had passed, God sent the prophets to remind us of the Savior to come.
Isaiah 11 is one of those reminders. Out of the family of Jesse would come the Savior.
As we enter the month of December, we are remembering that God’s promise was true and came to pass. Jesus came just as the Scriptures had foretold (Romans 5:6), and through His redeeming work on the cross, those who trust in Him are forgiven of sin and have their relationship with God restored (Romans 10:13).
The first time the world met the Savior, He was in a lowly stable with only the shepherds from the nearby fields coming to behold Him. It was in a humble state that Christ, the Savior, came to us, and it was in a humble state that He ministered to us.
However, this was only the first advent. The Scriptures not only give a promise of the first arrival of the Savior, but it also speaks of His Second Coming (Revelation 22:12)! At His return, He will come in majesty and as King overall. He will not be arriving in obscurity, but every eye will see Him. He will come and finish what He had started, which is judgment, redemption, and recreation. Christmas is a time of looking back, but let it also be a time of looking forward. God, Who spoke to us in the Old Testament, has spoken to us in these last days through His Son, Christ Jesus (Hebrews 1:2). Since God has shown Himself faithful to do all He said He would do to send the Savior, then we can trust that He will do all He promised regarding the Savior's return in the days to come!
May your Advent season be filled with hope and awe as you remember Christ’s coming at that first Christmas, and look forward to Christ’s coming again!
