“Out of the stump of David’s family will grow a shoot— yes, a new Branch bearing fruit from the old root. And the Spirit of the Lord will rest on him— the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord. He will delight in obeying the Lord. He will not judge by appearance nor make a decision based on hearsay. He will give justice to the poor and make fair decisions for the exploited. The earth will shake at the force of his word, and one breath from his mouth will destroy the wicked. He will wear righteousness like a belt and truth like an undergarment.” Isaiah 11:1-5 NLT
In the language of ancient agricultural days, everyone would know what the “root” represents. In more modern concepts, we might think of it as kind of a sourdough “levain,” or “starter.” Of course using leaven or yeast is probably not the best object lesson because yeast was often compared to sin in the Bible. You can see how this mysterious mold is alive and incredibly enduring, but no one knows why.
The root survival object lesson is much more aligned with spiritual endurance. Plants or tree roots can be dormant for years and even appear to be dead. If you’ve ever cut down a tree in your yard, but did not pull up the roots, you know how durable the tree can be. The root was a common illustration used to describe the nation of Israel, the people of God.
The once flourishing, life- giving tree would be burned or cut down, but underneath there would be this enduring root. In Biblical writings this type of durable root was called the “root of Jesse.” Jesse, being King David’s father, the patriarch that began the kingly lineage so long ago. The unique and amazing thing about the particular family lineage, this “root” survival is that it would endure until its spectacular reemergence as the tree of life, otherwise known as the Messiah – Jesus.
The root illustration always gave the people of God hope, that although things looked awful, dead in fact, they knew that one day a young, healthy, green shoot of life would come out of this root, this promise of God. The reality is this root would not just survive, it would wait until the proper time to burst into new life, thriving, giving shade and bearing fruit for all of humankind!
This is yet another ancient illustration that gives hope still today. Even cooler than that, this glorious tree of life, personified by the Son of God means that we as non-Jews, heathens – Gentiles can be grafted into this tree! This would become our own heritage, our adoption, our salvation! The Apostle Paul extensively writes about this powerful miracle that God planned before the world began in Romans 11. So whether the tree is trimmed, burned or destroyed, the root of our faith – Jesus, yet endures!
Prayer
Dad,
As I have discovered in the later days of life, your stories are VERY long. To think about the eternal story-arch of the Bible is amazing, yet hard to grasp. This idea of our human effort and cyclical failure, even after Jesus’ work on the cross is both expected and disappointing. We are broken, and healed… but not yet fully so. It does make me ache for finality, fulfillment and truly an end to my constant disorder desires and failures. Come quickly Lord Jesus! Amen.