Day By Day Grace Readings July 1
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God Promising an Anointed King
There shall come forth a Rod from the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots. 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)
Already, we have seen our God of promises guaranteeing to call out a people for Himself, to deliver His people from bondage, to fight for His people, and to give them an everlasting kingdom. Now, God promises an anointed king for His people.
This anointed king was promised through David's family. "There shall come forth a Rod from the stem of Jesse." Jesse was a son of Obed and the father of David. "Obed begot Jesse, and Jesse begot David" (Ruth 4:22). This king is here given a Messianic title, Branch. "A Branch shall grow out of his roots." Other prophets had made similar prophetic promises concerning this royal Branch. "'Behold, the days are coming,' says the LORD, 'That I will raise to David a Branch of righteousness; a King shall reign and prosper, and execute judgment and righteousness in the earth'… 'I am bringing forth My Servant the Branch…' Behold, the Man whose name is the Branch!'" (Jeremiah 23:5 and Zechariah 3:8; 6:12).
This king ("the Branch") would serve by the empowering of the Holy Spirit. "The Spirit of the LORD shall rest upon Him." The Spirit of God would not merely come upon Him at times (as with King Saul): "Then the Spirit of God came upon him, and he prophesied among them" (1 Samuel 10:10). The Spirit would continually be upon Him for ministry: "The Spirit of the LORD shall rest upon Him." Of course, this king, the Branch, would be Jesus Christ. Jesus applied a similar Messianic passage to Himself. "The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He has anointed Me" (Luke 4:18). Yes, Jesus Christ is the Messiah, the anointed King. In fact, Christ is the Greek term for "anointed One." Whereas, Messiah is the Hebrew term for the same.
The Messiah's ministry would be characterized by godly wisdom, heavenly understanding, perfect counsel, divine might, complete knowledge, and holy reverence for the Father. All of this was produced by the work of the Holy Spirit 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."
Jesus, my anointed King, all that You demonstrated in Your days upon this earth are the very needs that I have in my daily life. By Your promises, through the work of Your Spirit, please supply these realities in my walk, Amen.