Skip to main content

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.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Higher Thoughts

  “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the  Lord . “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. (Isaiah 55:8-9)           The person with the Spirit makes judgments about all things, but such a person is not subject to merely human judgments,   for, “Who has known the mind of the Lord      so as to instruct him?” But we have the mind of Christ. (I Corinthians 2:15-16) If you read about the ancient gods of the various peoples, you’ll find that they think just like people. In fact, they think just like the sort of people we really wouldn’t want to be around. They think like the most corrupt Hollywood producer or, like hormone overloaded teens with no upbringing.   It’s embarrassing to read. I have a friend who argues that because God is not just like us, He is so vastly dif...

Think About These Things

                 Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. (Philippians 4:8) This passage is a major challenge for me. Like everyone else, I struggle to keep my thoughts from wandering off into the weeds, then wondering what possible benefits those weeds might have… Sigh. But as a writer, I have to delve at least a little into the ignoble, wrong, impure, unlovely, and debased. After all, there’s no story if everything’s just as it should be and everyone’s happy. As Christians, there are times when we need to deal with all the negatives, but that makes it even more important that we practice turning our minds by force of attention to what is noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent, and praiseworthy. It’s just too easy to get stuck in a swamp. With my...

A Virgin?

           Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel. (Isaiah 7:14)           This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit. (Matthew 1:18)           But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God. You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end.”            “How will this be,” Mary asked the...