Christmas 2018 The Family of Jesse
Hello this is Eric again. A friend asked me, “How can I know that the Bible is true?” So, I am taking some time to answer my friends question and to do this I am looking at one of the evidences the Bible gives to answer this question, Prophecy.
(Read the previous blogs here)
What do you do when things get really, really hard?
The holidays have a way of amplifying all ready difficult circumstances don’t they? I’ve all ready talked about some of the emotional difficulties that the holidays exacerbate, but the Christmas season also gets our attention in other ways. It’s hard to see all of the advertisements and hear the little ones talk about toys that they want when money is tight. It’s heartbreaking when the messages aren’t returned, and the calls are left unanswered. When this season is supposed to be special, and it isn’t? What do you do then?
It’s hard enough if things are out of your hands...At the end of the day, when I’ve done my best and I can leave it at God’s feet and trust Him. In that there is a sense of peace and joy knowing that I have followed Jesus. But…
What do you do when things are really, really hard…and, it’s my fault?
What if your stubbornness and rebellion of “having to do it my way” has brought the consequences that inevitably come with that course of life? What if you have been the one to burn the bridges with others and have refused to repent; and now..those relationships are non-existent? What if you have made the foolish decisions to chase after every shiny bauble and trinket, and your budget is blown and you don’t have enough? What if you have bought the whole “Christmas-Advertising-Seasonal-Commercialization” pitch, and have fully drank the ‘cool-aid’ and... You have found that it doesn’t give you the satisfaction that it promised and it has left you wondering about the whole “meaning of Christmas thing”? What do you do then?
Israel, God’s own people, finds themselves at this very point.
In Isaiah God is dealing with Israel. You see, Israel has continued to sin against God, each other, and those around them for years. God has reached out to them through His word--delivered to them by prophets--but they won’t listen. They have not only stubbornly refused to obey God, they have decided to completely rebel against God—and have become worse than the sinful nations that God drove out before them. Israel thought that by drinking the ‘cool-aid' of the nations around them, that they would be satisfied. Not only were they not satisfied, they were so entrenched in their ‘stupid’ (Biblically this means that they were unwilling to receive correction—see Proverbs 12:1) that they couldn’t even recognize how bad it was for them (Isaiah 6).
God had told them when He made the covenant promise with them (See Deuteronomy 28) that if they disobeyed, God would punish them. Israel had been disobeying since the beginning of the covenant. God had been merciful and had continued to lean in with them, but it was now time to address their sin. God was going to allow Israel to be invaded and taken away to a foreign land, and only a few of them (the Bible calls this the remnant) would survive. And, it happened.
God not only dealt with the wicked nations around Israel, God also dealt with Israel. Israel finds themselves at the unenviable place where the mess that they are in is their fault. What do they do now—especially since it is God who has disciplined them and they deserve it; and they have nothing that they can say to make it right?
In Isaiah 6-10 God has been using the illustration of felling trees to describe how He was going to deal with the wicked nations. Yet in the middle of this scathing and terrifying judgement, God gives hope. Isaiah 10: 20-21a says,
“In that day the remnant left in Israel, the survivors in the house of Jacob, will no longer depend on allies who seek to destroy them. But they will faithfully trust the Lord, the Holy One of Israel. A remnant will return;”
God, in His gracious kindness and merciful love steps in and not only promises that a remnamt will return, but He promises that he Messiah—will come out of one of the families of the remnant who survives--out of one of the felled trees life will come. Isaiah 11:1 says,
“A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit.”
To Israel, it looked like all was lost but God had other plans. The felled tree would grow a new shoot and life would spread for Israel, and beyond.
God knew that Israel had deeper issues. Heart issues caused by the poison of sin. God knew that they were not going to be able to fix this problem themselves--they needed a Savior. They needed a King who would not only be able to lead them, but would be able to deal with their greatest enemies—Satan, Sin, and Death.
But God…I love this phrase..But God had more, so much more, in mind…
God wanted to save not only His people, but He wanted to take them…the sinful, broken, rebellious remnant that they were, and work through them to do something even more incredible. Isaiah 10: 10 says,
“In that day the heir to David’s throne (the Root of Jesse) will be a banner of salvation to all the world.”
Not only does Luke 3: 23, 27, 32 show us that Jesse's family was the family that God sent the Messiah through—from the remnant;
“Jesus was known as the son of Joseph…Rhesa was the son of Zerubbabel. Zerubbabel was the son of Shealtiel…David was the son of Jesse.”
God gave a hope to all of us who find ourselves in the mess we have made--with no way out. So now, when you are at a point where things are really, really hard…and, it’s your fault? 1 John 1:9 says,
"If confess our sins to Him [Jesus] He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and cleanse us from all wickedness."
God is in the business of rescuing, making a way for reconciliation, redemption, and restoration through His Son, Jesus Christ. This is the Gospel--the Good New of God! This is God's heart and passion because He loves us! Jesus invites us to trust Him and receive forgiveness, and to let Him lead our lives. He will lead us in a new life--eternal life--on a walk with Him as we learn to live out this Gospel Driven Disciplemaking Way of Life with Him.
Jesus commissioned those who trust Him and call Him their Savior and Lord (those who have been adopted into the family of God because of Jesus) to have the same heart God does--And to live this as a way of life because...This is what life looks like in God's family!
Matthew 28:18-20 says,
“Jesus came and told his disciples, “I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth. Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
Do you want to walk on this journey with us?
Subscribe here
(Read the previous blogs here)
What do you do when things get really, really hard?
The holidays have a way of amplifying all ready difficult circumstances don’t they? I’ve all ready talked about some of the emotional difficulties that the holidays exacerbate, but the Christmas season also gets our attention in other ways. It’s hard to see all of the advertisements and hear the little ones talk about toys that they want when money is tight. It’s heartbreaking when the messages aren’t returned, and the calls are left unanswered. When this season is supposed to be special, and it isn’t? What do you do then?
It’s hard enough if things are out of your hands...At the end of the day, when I’ve done my best and I can leave it at God’s feet and trust Him. In that there is a sense of peace and joy knowing that I have followed Jesus. But…
What do you do when things are really, really hard…and, it’s my fault?
What if your stubbornness and rebellion of “having to do it my way” has brought the consequences that inevitably come with that course of life? What if you have been the one to burn the bridges with others and have refused to repent; and now..those relationships are non-existent? What if you have made the foolish decisions to chase after every shiny bauble and trinket, and your budget is blown and you don’t have enough? What if you have bought the whole “Christmas-Advertising-Seasonal-Commercialization” pitch, and have fully drank the ‘cool-aid’ and... You have found that it doesn’t give you the satisfaction that it promised and it has left you wondering about the whole “meaning of Christmas thing”? What do you do then?
Israel, God’s own people, finds themselves at this very point.
In Isaiah God is dealing with Israel. You see, Israel has continued to sin against God, each other, and those around them for years. God has reached out to them through His word--delivered to them by prophets--but they won’t listen. They have not only stubbornly refused to obey God, they have decided to completely rebel against God—and have become worse than the sinful nations that God drove out before them. Israel thought that by drinking the ‘cool-aid' of the nations around them, that they would be satisfied. Not only were they not satisfied, they were so entrenched in their ‘stupid’ (Biblically this means that they were unwilling to receive correction—see Proverbs 12:1) that they couldn’t even recognize how bad it was for them (Isaiah 6).
God had told them when He made the covenant promise with them (See Deuteronomy 28) that if they disobeyed, God would punish them. Israel had been disobeying since the beginning of the covenant. God had been merciful and had continued to lean in with them, but it was now time to address their sin. God was going to allow Israel to be invaded and taken away to a foreign land, and only a few of them (the Bible calls this the remnant) would survive. And, it happened.
God not only dealt with the wicked nations around Israel, God also dealt with Israel. Israel finds themselves at the unenviable place where the mess that they are in is their fault. What do they do now—especially since it is God who has disciplined them and they deserve it; and they have nothing that they can say to make it right?
In Isaiah 6-10 God has been using the illustration of felling trees to describe how He was going to deal with the wicked nations. Yet in the middle of this scathing and terrifying judgement, God gives hope. Isaiah 10: 20-21a says,
“In that day the remnant left in Israel, the survivors in the house of Jacob, will no longer depend on allies who seek to destroy them. But they will faithfully trust the Lord, the Holy One of Israel. A remnant will return;”
God, in His gracious kindness and merciful love steps in and not only promises that a remnamt will return, but He promises that he Messiah—will come out of one of the families of the remnant who survives--out of one of the felled trees life will come. Isaiah 11:1 says,
“A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit.”
To Israel, it looked like all was lost but God had other plans. The felled tree would grow a new shoot and life would spread for Israel, and beyond.
God knew that Israel had deeper issues. Heart issues caused by the poison of sin. God knew that they were not going to be able to fix this problem themselves--they needed a Savior. They needed a King who would not only be able to lead them, but would be able to deal with their greatest enemies—Satan, Sin, and Death.
But God…I love this phrase..But God had more, so much more, in mind…
God wanted to save not only His people, but He wanted to take them…the sinful, broken, rebellious remnant that they were, and work through them to do something even more incredible. Isaiah 10: 10 says,
“In that day the heir to David’s throne (the Root of Jesse) will be a banner of salvation to all the world.”
Not only does Luke 3: 23, 27, 32 show us that Jesse's family was the family that God sent the Messiah through—from the remnant;
“Jesus was known as the son of Joseph…Rhesa was the son of Zerubbabel. Zerubbabel was the son of Shealtiel…David was the son of Jesse.”
God gave a hope to all of us who find ourselves in the mess we have made--with no way out. So now, when you are at a point where things are really, really hard…and, it’s your fault? 1 John 1:9 says,
"If confess our sins to Him [Jesus] He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and cleanse us from all wickedness."
God is in the business of rescuing, making a way for reconciliation, redemption, and restoration through His Son, Jesus Christ. This is the Gospel--the Good New of God! This is God's heart and passion because He loves us! Jesus invites us to trust Him and receive forgiveness, and to let Him lead our lives. He will lead us in a new life--eternal life--on a walk with Him as we learn to live out this Gospel Driven Disciplemaking Way of Life with Him.
Jesus commissioned those who trust Him and call Him their Savior and Lord (those who have been adopted into the family of God because of Jesus) to have the same heart God does--And to live this as a way of life because...This is what life looks like in God's family!
Matthew 28:18-20 says,
“Jesus came and told his disciples, “I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth. Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
Do you want to walk on this journey with us?
Subscribe here
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