DAY 3 (2nd week)

​PREPARE TO LISTEN
Light a candle and pray: The LORD is like the light of morning, like the sun rising on a cloudless morning, gleaming from the rain on the grassy land.
Request for Presence: May God be gracious to us and bless us and make his face to shine upon us.
READ Isaiah 11:1-10
A shoot shall come out from the stump of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots.  The spirit of the Lord shall 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.  His delight shall be in the fear of the Lord.  He shall not judge by what his eyes see, or decide by what his ears hear; but with righteousness he shall judge the poor, and decide with equity for the meek of the earth; he shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips he shall kill the wicked.  Righteousness shall be the belt around his waist, and faithfulness the belt around his loins.  The wolf shall live with the lamb, the leopard shall lie down with the kid, the calf and the lion and the fatling together, and a little child shall lead them.  The cow and the bear shall graze, their young shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox.  The nursing child shall play over the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put its hand on the adder’s den.  They will not hurt or destroy on all my holy mountain; for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.  On that day the root of Jesse shall stand as a signal to the peoples; the nations shall inquire of him, and his dwelling shall be glorious.
REFLECTIVE WORDS
There are 3 main ‘characters’ in this text.  The first one appears in the first and again in the last verse—‘the root of Jesse’.  This is a reference to Messiah Jesus.  The Spirit of the LORD will rest upon him.  Note the somewhat detailed description the prophet gives about Jesus, the Messiah.  An important task of Messiah is to bring peace to all creation.  This is evident in the second character. the animal kingdom.  Twelve different kinds of animals are named, mostly wild, a reminder that salvation isn’t confined to human beings.  All creation is waiting with us for Messiah’s coming to restore it to original goodness.  The third ‘character’ is ‘the little child’ who will safely lead and play with the wild animals.  There are no adult humans in this passage.  The picture is beautiful, of peace and harmony; a picture to keep us longing for Messiah, Jesus to come again.
REFLECTIVE WONDERING
List the attributes of the Spirit that will rest upon Jesus and then wonder how you, called to be like Jesus, can promote these this Advent of waiting.
RESPOND TO JESUS IN PRAYER.  
Lord Jesus, our Messiah and King, we long for this vision of perfect peach and harmony in all creation.  Show me how to live today so that I begin to display such harmony in the small bit of world that wonder in today.  And may the earth be full of the knowledge of the LORD as the waters cover the sea.  Amen.
BE SILENT AND STILL (for as long as you want).  Simply be in the presence of Jesus, who loves you, regardless.