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Family Tree


In that day the Branch of the LORD will be beautiful and glorious, and the fruit of the land will be the pride and glory of the survivors in Israel (Isaiah 4:2) 

“The days are coming,” declares the LORD, “when I will raise up to David a righteous Branch, a King who will reign wisely and do what is just and right in the land. (Jeremiah 23:5) 


“ ‘In those days and at that time I will make a righteous Branch sprout from David’s line; he will do what is just and right in the land." (Jeremiah 33:15)


Branch
           What does your family tree look like? Mine is impressive not because the people were well-known, rich, or powerful (though there are some who fit that description.) It's impressive because it's been well-researched. It's a big, old chestnut that is admittedly a little lopsided in one direction. The family tree of Israel had some of the same problem. Ten of the twelve branches had been broken off. One of the remaining big branches (Judah) had a branch that started out strong (David.)  
            Today's passages were promises that someday, a branch would grow out of the David branch. That Branch would be beautiful, glorious, fruitful, the pride of Israel, righteous, wise, and just. Israel waiting for that Branch to appear. In fact, most of the world is still looking for that Branch to appear. Every politician elected, especially those for executive offices, is examined to see if they are the Branch, and every time, we're disappointed. That's because we've developed ideas about what the Branch should look like that don't fit Scripture. Those who are Christians know that the Branch is Jesus, but some of them still look for another political Messiah.
           The Branch isn't what you might call typical. Someone has sliced into it, and stuck branches from another tree into it. The process is called "grafting." The leaves on the various smaller branches and twigs don't all look alike. The important thing is that they are all part of the Branch. We've been warned that if a small branch doesn't produce the sort of fruit it's supposed to, that it will be removed and a new branch grafted in. We see this happening around us. This should be what we look for: not what the leaves look like, but whether there is the right sort of fruit.

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