Advent Is Over: Day 13-16

{This month I will be journeying through Advent in a new way. Grab a cup of coffee & 5 minutes a day so you can journey with me. Missed days 1-12? Check it out here.}
 
 

More promises of deliverance.

Day 13

Out of the stump of David’s family will grow a shoot— yes, a new Branch bearing fruit from the old root. And the Spirit of the Lord will 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. He will delight in obeying the Lord. He will not judge by appearance  nor make a decision based on hearsay. He will give justice to the poor and make fair decisions for the exploited. The earth will shake at the force of his word, and one breath from his mouth will destroy the wicked. He will wear righteousness like a belt and truth like an undergarment.  In that day the wolf and the lamb will live together; the leopard will lie down with the baby goat. The calf and the yearling will be safe with the lion, and a little child will lead them all. The cow will graze near the bear. The cub and the calf will lie down together. The lion will eat hay like a cow. The baby will play safely near the hole of a cobra. Yes, a little child will put its hand in a nest of deadly snakes without harm. Nothing will hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain, for as the waters fill the sea so the earth will be filled with people who know the Lord. In that day the heir to David’s throne will be a banner of salvation to all the world. The nations will rally to him, and the land where he lives will be a glorious place (18).

Day 14

 “The day will come, says the Lord, when I will do for Israel and Judah all the good things I have promised them.  “In those days and at that time I will raise up a righteous descendant[a] from King David’s line. He will do what is just and right throughout the land. In that day Judah will be saved, and Jerusalem will live in safety.  And this will be its name: ‘The Lord Is Our Righteousness.’ For this is what the Lord says: David will have a descendant sitting on the throne of Israel forever (19).

Day 15

But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah,  are only a small village among all the people of Judah. Yet a ruler of Israel will come from you, one whose origins are from the distant past (20).

Day 16

In the past, when Saul was our king, you were the one who really led the forces of Israel. And the Lord told you, ‘You will be the shepherd of my people Israel. You will be Israel’s leader (21).’”