O come, Thou Branch of Jesse’s stem,
Unto Thine own and rescue them!
From depths of hell Thy people save,
And give them vict’ry o’er the grave.
O Come, O Come Emmanuel (8th or 9th century)
Latin: Germany (1710)
Listen to this modern version of this popular hymn/carol as you prepare to ponder the lyrics. Please make certain to enjoy the video below.
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Transcript may be found below, at the end of the blog.
We continue our journey through Advent with this ancient text that invokes several powerful images of Emmanuel and invites Him to come even as we rejoice. Let’s tune our hearts.
Stump
The writer has taken a bit of poetic liberty here. Emmanuel is more accurately a branch or shoot from the stump of Jesse, not his stem. The word stump may not rhyme as well, but it conjures a more accurate picture of the dismal state of the people of God as they waited on the promised Emmanuel. We would do well to consider for a moment just how dire that position was.
Because of their failure to keep their covenant with God, He had fulfilled His promise to them that He would exile them from His presence. They chose to follow their own desires as opposed to the clear commands of God. They had been scattered to the four corners of the earth, driven out of their inheritance, cut off from the promises of God with no hope of return.
There are many ways in which our experience parallels theirs.
Because of our failure to honor God with our lives, He kept His word to have nothing to do with those in sin, so we were separated from His presence. We chose to follow our own desires as opposed to the clear commands of God. We had been scattered to the ends of the earth, driven away from the ways and will of God, cut off from the roots of our relationship to Him with not hope of reconnecting.
So our cry echoes theirs.
O come, Thou Branch of Jesse’s stem,
There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit. Isaiah 11:1 ESV
He came, not because we deserved it. He came to keep His word, and provide a way for us to once again bear the fruit. We, like they, are reconnected, even grafted into the shoot that sprang forth to fulfill this promise.
Indeed that Branch came, the One promised from ages past. Jesus is the shoot, the fulfillment of the promise and He will bear fruit. And who is the fruit? We are! Connected to the stump of Jesse we should bear good fruit. Are you?
We invite Him again to come, the One who is the fulfillment of all the Old Testament prophecies. The implication to this name is that we be connected to Him as He is the source of our life. Are you connected to the Branch of Jesse’s stem?
RESONATE!
Ask the Spirit to reveal if you are bearing fruit. Whether you are or not reveals the strength of your connection to Him. Healthy, well-connected branches bear fruit. Jesus, show me the strength of my connection to You and help me to bear fruit.
Branch
There are seasons in each of our lives when we fail to bear fruit. While that may seem natural since there are seasons for every purpose under heaven, it is not the supernatural reality the Branch of Jesus has invited us to live. We are to be evergreens.
So how do we escape the cycle of bearing fruit and not bearing fruit? We look to God for help staying connected. That connection and the constant nurturing of it rescues us from ourselves.
And it is His promise and our prayer that gives us the hope reconnection is possible, even probable. That connection, based on our faith in Him, is what makes us His own. Our rescue flows out of that relationship. Are you nurturing that connection and relationship? If you are going to bear the fruit of that connection you must.
Unto Thine own and rescue them!
He will raise a signal for the nations and will assemble the banished of Israel, and gather the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth. Isaiah 11:12 ESV
Like Israel, our sins had kept us from walking in the presence of God. Even still, He made a way for us to become His own, and rescue us from our exile. He grafted us into the Branch and gave us life.
RESONATE!
We deserved our banishment, and we do not deserve being gathered back to God, yet that is exactly what He has promised and accomplished. Thank the Father for making a way for our banishment to end and the opportunity to be grafted into His life it creates. Now we must continue to look to Him for the grace to stay connected. Ask the Holy Spirit to help you stay connected. Spirit, help me nurture my connection to the Branch of Jesse, Jesus my Savior.
Jesus, thank You for being the Branch of Jesse, and providing a way for me who was banished to be brought back to You. Help me stay connected so I can enjoy the life You offer. In Jesus’ name. Amen!
Connected Tuning!
Keep coming back, and we will work to help you remove the things that may hinder your longing for His return by cultivating an awareness of God’s presence. We will help you tune your heart to live out your worship by providing resources like this to help you acknowledge the greatness of God as you become more Resonant, 7 days a week.
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Video 24.3 Transcript
Welcome to Tuesday Tunings at Resonant 7, where we reflect on the reality of God and resolve to let it resound in our lives, repeatedly. Let’s tune our hearts.
O come, Thou Branch of Jesse’s stem,
Unto Thine own and rescue them!
From depths of hell Thy people save,
And give them vict’ry o’er the grave.
We invite Him again to come, the One who is the fulfillment of all the Old Testament prophecies. The implication to this name is that we be connected to Him as He is the source of our life. Are you connected to the Branch of Jesse’s stem? Ask Him to reveal your connection.
Jesus, show me the strength of my connection to You.
That connection, based on our faith in Him, is what makes us His own. Our rescue flows out of that relationship. Are you nurturing that connection and relationship? If you are going to bear the fruit of that connection you must. Ask the Holy Spirit to help you stay connected.
Spirit, help me stay connected to Jesus.
So what does that connection rescue us from? Eternal separation from God in the depths of hell. His coming to us not only fulfilled prophecy, but in so doing saved us from the wages we had earned, death and hell. Give praise to God for not giving you what you deserved.
God, thank You for not giving me what I deserved.
Not getting what you deserved, and getting what you did not deserve are two very different things. Not only did we not get hell, and eternal separation from God, but we do get victory over death and an eternity with God. Give praise to God for getting what you did not deserve.
God, I praise You for giving me what I did not deserve.
Take a few moments to talk to Jesus about what has surfaced in your heart, or just listen to what He is saying to you, then we will sing once more.
Refrain:
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel.
Take the awareness of God’s presence cultivated in these last few minutes into the next ones and beyond. Until next time, Be Resonant.
The post Reconnecting, and Remaining So appeared first on Resonant 7.
Image Attributions
O Come, Thou Branch of Jesse’s Stem – https://pixabay.com/photos/annual-rings-wood-sawed-off-474927/
Unto Thine Own and Rescue Them – https://pixabay.com/photos/stump-bud-hope-nature-3581917/
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