A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit.  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—and he will delight in the fear of the Lord.  Isaiah 11:1 – 3

At least there is hope for a tree: If it is cut down, it will sprout again, and its new shoots will not fail. Its roots may grow old in the ground and its stump die in the soil, yet at the scent of water it will bud and put forth shoots like a plant. Job 14:7 – 9

During the colder months I take a daily walk of almost two miles.  Today was a bit special.  After almost a month of cold, cold winter weather, one, perhaps with a bit of imagination, could feel spring in the air. A verse from Isaiah 11 danced around in my heart and head. “There is hope for a tree if it is cut down.”

The long form is that King David’s father, Jesse, began a line of rulers who loved God and built on his promises.  As Isaiah was writing that was about 300 years earlier.  We know the story well, from David’s son Solomon on the nation or nations of Israel and Judah lost their way, so to speak, especially Israel who constructed their own “Zion” and compromised with unbelievers.  Judah did a bit better but still was on the slide to being overtaken by the powers of the Euphrates. Isaiah used the simile of a great, productive tree being cut down. There it is – a dry, hopeless stump. Now what?

A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse, from his roots a branch will bear fruit.  Look closely, the stump looks dead but the roots of that stump contain life, eternal life, that will produce a shoot that will become a great tree, producing precious and plenteous fruit.  The shoot of promise is, of course, our savior and Lord, Jesus Christ.

I recall that years earlier Job used the felled tree as a metaphor to explain his own faith journey.  He said, “At least there is hope for a tree: If it is cut down, it will sprout again, and its new shoots will not fail.” Job 14:7

On my hike today my hope was strengthened as I experienced another season.  So often what looks like a dead tree, a stump, can surprise us.  We forget that the unseen roots of that stump are alive and well and in due time will spring up, sprout again and once again bear fruit.  I need this word of promise and hope as a life-giving word for today.

If God is in the root, it will bear fruit!