The Branch – Isaiah 11

Isaiah and other prophets sometimes refer to the coming Messiah as the “Branch”. For instance, in one prophecy found in chapter 11, Isaiah writes:

¹ There shall come forth a Rod from the stem of Jesse,
And a Branch shall grow out of his roots.
² 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 of the fear of the Lord.  Isaiah 11:1-2 (NKJV)

The prophet Zechariah also refers to the Messiah this way:

⁸ ‘Hear, O Joshua, the high priest,
You and your companions who sit before you,
For they are a wondrous sign;
For behold, I am bringing forth My Servant the BRANCH.
⁹ For behold, the stone
That I have laid before Joshua:
Upon the stone are seven eyes.
Behold, I will engrave its inscription,’
Says the Lord of hosts,
‘And I will remove the iniquity of that land in one day.  Zechariah 3:8-9 (NKJV)

The Lord planted the nation Israel as His toehold for the kingdom of God, intending it to grow and multiply believers throughout the earth as a faithful witness to His power, love, and goodness.  He tended Israel’s rich soil as a garden, with the holiness of His pure commandments and a generous abundance.  From Israel’s genealogy of Abraham through David’s father Jesse, God nurtured the roots of His chosen lineage for its future Messianic King, in the line of Judah.

God promised King David that He would always have a descendant on his throne to rule over the earth with a Spirit of true justice, equity, and righteousness.  This King will rule into eternity with God’s goodness, knowledge and understanding, and would, in fact, be Immanuel, “God with Us”.

Isaiah refers to this future King as the Branch, coming with the Spirit of God resting upon Him, with six divine attributes. The prophet Zechariah describes Him as a BRANCH and a stone, with seven eyes.  Seven is often regarded as the number of God, the number of completeness, and these prophetic images are another way that the coming Messiah is foretold to be God Himself.

Unfortunately, just like many of us, Israel did not rely on the Person and power of God, and failed in their divine mission.  The kings and their people mostly turned away from the Lord to worship false gods and idols, choosing to follow their own ways instead of God’s.  As the result of turning their backs upon Him, the Northern Kingdom of Israel would fall to invading Assyrians, and later, Judah would also fall to Nebuchadnezzar and his conquering Babylonian Empire.

Despite this chastening for their unfaithfulness, God would never give up on Israel.  Their kingly line might have failed in the short-term, but, as revealed through Isaiah and the other prophets, God knew that He would need a better plan.  He would place His own Messiah on the throne, restoring the line of David and his father, Jesse. This King will not only rule over the nation of Israel, but over the entire world.  The tree of Jesse’s line might have been cut off, but God’s Branch would spring up from its roots, bringing the offer of salvation to the entire world.

When Jesus Christ came into the world as the fulfillment of these prophecies, He came in the fullness of the Holy Spirit and its many attributes and fruits.  Through His cleansing death on the cross and resurrection from the dead, Jesus removed all the iniquity of the land in one day, as Zechariah had written. We are all able to lay claim to Jesus’ eternal cleansing through our faith in Him.  We are then grafted onto these Holy roots of blessing, no matter our personal history or background.  Jesus came into the world because He loves to save sinners and He loves us. For that, we all qualify and and are in need of the Branch and His redemption.

Reflection

The root of Jesse has given sprout to God’s Branch, the Messiah, Jesus Christ, who loves each of us deeply and is calling us into a personal relationship with Him.  Do you know Him?  If you have been walking far away from Him, do not hesitate to turn and run to Him today. He will never turn you away.

Dear Lord, graft us onto Your Holy Branch from the root of Jesse, an offer made through the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross and His resurrection from the dead.  We acknowledge the goodness and purity of your commandments and recognize that we have fallen well short of obeying them, following after our own selfish ways.  Only Jesus was able to live a life in pure fulfillment of these, and we reach out to Him and His sacrifice on the cross to cleanse and cover us, removing all of our sin and iniquity in one day.  We thank you, asking this in Jesus’ name.  Amen.

Have a blessed day today, walking in the purity and righteousness offered to you and to me through the goodness and sacrifice of the Branch.