Today's Daily Lesson comes from Isaiah chapter 11 verses 1 and 2:
There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse,
and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit.
2 And the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him,
the Spirit of wisdom and understanding,
the Spirit of counsel and might,
the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord.
When the Israelites were carried off into bondage the family tree was cursed. The sin, plight, and consequences of one generation poisoned the tree and the future of all its branches. One generation was carried off into bondage in Babylon and the following generations were imprisoned there also. There was now no hope for the children of Israel and no future for the tree of Jesse.
We know families afflicted with generational curses. Poverty, debt, drug and alcohol abuse, mental illness, and tragedy and their many and effects are passed on generation to generation. The whole family tree is cursed from root to branch.
To get one look at this family or it's community is to shake your head and write them off forever.
Yet Advent speaks of a stunning surprise. Suddenly a rod of green life shoots forth from the old, dried stump. And a branch begins to blossom. What was thought to be dead is suddenly alive again.
Advent comes with its surprising good news. Suddenly from a long line of folly their is wisdom, from generations of languidness there is empowerment, and from within the ranks of the sufferers a Savior is born.
Advent promises no tree will be cursed forever. No family will be in bondage forever. From the dry, desiccated stump of Jesse suddenly a shoot shall come forth. And the curse will be broken -- "far as the curse is found".
And the word we have for believing in this promise is Hope.
No comments:
Post a Comment