The concept of the Jesse Tree originates from Isaiah 11:1, which prophesies, "A shoot will spring forth from the stump of Jesse, and a branch out of His roots." The branch, serving as a biblical emblem of renewal amid adversity, becomes a means to discuss the anticipated Messiah. It symbolizes Jesus the Christ, fully God and fully man, full of grace and truth.
These devotions aim to unravel the narrative of God in the Old Testament, linking the Advent Season to God's steadfastness.
“So God blessed Noah and his sons, and said to them: “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth…And God said: “This is the sign of the covenant which I make between Me and you, and every living creature that is with you, for perpetual generations: I set My rainbow in the cloud, and it shall be for the sign of the covenant between Me and the earth.”
Genesis 9:1, 12-13
There came a time early in human history when the wickedness of man was so great that God’s heart was deeply grieved. He was sorry to have made man on the earth. The time had come for Him to judge sin. God sent rain and the world flooded, destroying all the people and animals that were not on the ark.
Though sin was judged, it was not yet defeated. God would keep His promise to send His Son to defeat sin and death once and for all.
When the flood waters receded and Noah finally left the Ark, he built an altar to worship the Lord who had saved him (Genesis 8:20). God called this worship “a soothing aroma” (Genesis 8:21.) In response to Noah’s faith, obedience, and worship, God placed a rainbow in the sky as a perpetual reminder that He would never destroy the Earth with a flood again.
The covenant God made with Noah renewed the blessing of fruitfulness despite man's sin.
Noah was a type of the Savior, saving the natural life of all found within the Ark. Little did he know that one day, Jesus would bring supernatural life to all found hidden in Him.
Just as Noah was saved from the judgment of sin by the wood of the Ark, so shall all who call on the name of Jesus be saved by the wood of the cross soaked in the Savior’s blood.
The outpouring of the flood in Noah’s day foreshadowed the new birth to come from the outpouring of blood and water from the Savior’s side.
Jesus, thank You that You love us and keep Your promises. May we, like Noah in the Ark, be found hidden in You. May our only response be worship unto You, Jesus. Thank You for Your marvelous work upon the cross.
