December 9

Isaiah 11:1-10

A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse;
    from his roots a Branch will bear fruit.

The Spirit of the Lord will rest on him—
    the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding,
    the Spirit of counsel and of might,
    the Spirit of the knowledge and fear of the Lord—

and he will delight in the fear of the Lord.

He will not judge by what he sees with his eyes,
    or decide by what he hears with his ears;

but with righteousness he will judge the needy,
    with justice he will give decisions for the poor of the earth.
He will strike the earth with the rod of his mouth;
    with the breath of his lips he will slay the wicked.

Righteousness will be his belt
    and faithfulness the sash around his waist.

The wolf will live with the lamb,
    the leopard will lie down with the goat,
the calf and the lion and the yearling together;
    and a little child will lead them.

The cow will feed with the bear,
    their young will lie down together,
    and the lion will eat straw like the ox.

The infant will play near the cobra’s den,
    and the young child will put its hand into the viper’s nest.

They will neither harm nor destroy
    on all my holy mountain,
for the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the Lord
    as the waters cover the sea.

In that day the Root of Jesse will stand as a banner for the peoples; the nations will rally to him, and his resting place will be glorious. 

Life will come forth from death.  The kingdom of Judah was cut down and only a dead stump at the time of Christ’s birth.  Yet a thread of life lay in the ashes of David's lineage and from that stump Jesus was born.  He lived His life filled with the Holy Spirit giving him wisdom, understanding and knowledge.  Then Later in the New Testament we see more life from death as Jesus had to die and conquer death so that we could have eternal life. 

Then one day Jesus will return. He will rule with Wisdom, understanding and knowledge.  It will be a new earth, one where a wolf will live with a lamb. Can you imagine?  No fighting for survival.  No hatred.  No fear.  No war.  No death.  Only because Jesus gives me life from death.