The Great Homecoming
Opening Prayer
Lord Jesus, You are the source of truth and the Lord of life. I acknowledge that You are Lord of my life today and every day.
Read ISAIAH 11
A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse;
from his roots a Branch will bear fruit.
2 The Spirit of the Lord will rest on him—
the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding,
the Spirit of counsel and of might,
the Spirit of the knowledge and fear of the Lord—
3 and he will delight in the fear of the Lord.
He will not judge by what he sees with his eyes,
or decide by what he hears with his ears;
4 but with righteousness he will judge the needy,
with justice he will give decisions for the poor of the earth.
He will strike the earth with the rod of his mouth;
with the breath of his lips he will slay the wicked.
5 Righteousness will be his belt
and faithfulness the sash around his waist.
6 The wolf will live with the lamb,
the leopard will lie down with the goat,
the calf and the lion and the yearling together;
and a little child will lead them.
7 The cow will feed with the bear,
their young will lie down together,
and the lion will eat straw like the ox.
8 The infant will play near the cobra’s den,
and the young child will put its hand into the viper’s nest.
9 They will neither harm nor destroy
on all my holy mountain,
for the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the Lord
as the waters cover the sea.
10 In that day the Root of Jesse will stand as a banner for the peoples; the nations will rally to him, and his resting place will be glorious. 11 In that day the Lord will reach out his hand a second time to reclaim the surviving remnant of his people from Assyria, from Lower Egypt, from Upper Egypt, from Cush, from Elam, from Babylonia, from Hamath and from the islands of the Mediterranean.
12 He will raise a banner for the nations
and gather the exiles of Israel;
he will assemble the scattered people of Judah
from the four quarters of the earth.
13 Ephraim’s jealousy will vanish,
and Judah’s enemies will be destroyed;
Ephraim will not be jealous of Judah,
nor Judah hostile toward Ephraim.
14 They will swoop down on the slopes of Philistia to the west;
together they will plunder the people to the east.
They will subdue Edom and Moab,
and the Ammonites will be subject to them.
15 The Lord will dry up
the gulf of the Egyptian sea;
with a scorching wind he will sweep his hand
over the Euphrates River.
He will break it up into seven streams
so that anyone can cross over in sandals.
16 There will be a highway for the remnant of his people
that is left from Assyria,
as there was for Israel
when they came up from Egypt.
New International Version (NIV)
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Meditate
Difficult situations have never been mastered by discouragement, but always by trust in Jesus.
Think Further
At the time of writing, migrants are pouring into and across Europe in their tens of thousands, despite the cold, the rain, the mud, hoping and looking for a better life. I pause to remember these people, especially the old and the sick and the young and those who are trying to help them. My reading today speaks of a David figure, called the Shoot and the Branch and the Root of Jesse, who will raise a banner and vast numbers of people will rally to him from all directions. (Only the New Testament will reveal how Jesse’s Shoot is actually Jesse’s Root!)
This mission of God is the central theme of the Bible, namely his intention to create a new heaven and a new earth and to people it with an innumerable crowd from every conceivable human group (Rev. 7:9). My imagination leaps as I picture this new Edenic world, reversing the effects of the fall and “filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea” (Hab. 2:14). The New Testament reverses the centripetal theme, picturing Jesus’ disciples going out from Jerusalem to Judea, Samaria and the uttermost parts of the earth—but the theme is the same: a new evangelization, a new Exodus, a new homecoming. As this year draws to a close I give thanks for those who have entered the kingdom this year; for those who have gone to glory; and I express my joyful hope that your kingdom, Jesus, may continue to grow through this coming year.
God, I thank You for Jesus, endowed with the Spirit, full of righteousness and justice and faithfulness, delighting in the fear of the Lord, reclaiming the nations with his powerful word, accomplishing a new Exodus and a new homecoming.
Apply
The New Testament interprets the “Branch” as the Messiah, Jesus (Rom. 15:12; Rev. 5:5). What stories, teachings or sayings about Jesus come to mind as you consider the qualities described in verses 2–5? Which qualities of Jesus have made a difference in your life?
Closing prayer
Lord, make me one of Your banners, inviting people to Your glorious place of rest (10). Make me your freeway, on which people can travel home to You.
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