life from a stump

“A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit.” Isaiah 11:1.

It intrigues me to think that in the prophesies of the Messiah, the stump of Jesse refers to one of the best men who ever lived - David, the man after God’s own heart.

I think about the fact that David was the man God anointed to replace Saul, who failed as Israel’s first king. David himself, although one of the godliest men in all history, proved in the end to be an adulterous murderer and disastrous father. Only a couple of generations after David his earthly dynasty fell apart.

But from the stump of this once-promising but now dead tree will grow a legacy that comes not from David’s efforts but by God’s grace. All those failed kings, all the faithlessness of God’s people, still could not derail God’s great plan of redemption.

I realize two things, in the end. First, even the best of human effort can’t bring about what God desires. And second, God in his mercy will save us anyway.

It’s why we who believe look so longingly for Christmas, and why we don’t really care about the parties and presents. And why we say, looking to His second coming, “Quickly, Lord Jesus.”