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Anointed One

By: Sarah Bishop

Posted: April 14, 2021

Category: Daily Devotional

Names of Christ: Who do you say that I am?

A shoot shall come out from the stump of Jesse,
and a branch shall grow out of his roots.
The spirit of the Lord shall 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.
His delight shall be in the fear of the Lord.

He shall not judge by what his eyes see,
or decide by what his ears hear;
but with righteousness he shall judge the poor,
and decide with equity for the meek of the earth;
he shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth,
and with the breath of his lips he shall kill the wicked.
Righteousness shall be the belt around his waist,
and faithfulness the belt around his loins.

The wolf shall live with the lamb,
the leopard shall lie down with the kid,
the calf and the lion and the fatling together,
and a little child shall lead them.
The cow and the bear shall graze,
their young shall lie down together;
and the lion shall eat straw like the ox.
The nursing child shall play over the hole of the asp,
and the weaned child shall put its hand on the adder’s den.
They will not hurt or destroy
on all my holy mountain;
for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord
as the waters cover the sea.

10 On that day the root of Jesse shall stand as a signal to the peoples; the nations shall inquire of him, and his dwelling shall be glorious.

11 On that day the Lord will extend his hand yet a second time to recover the remnant that is left of his people, from Assyria, from Egypt, from Pathros, from Ethiopia,[a] from Elam, from Shinar, from Hamath, and from the coastlands of the sea.

12 He will raise a signal for the nations,
and will assemble the outcasts of Israel,
and gather the dispersed of Judah
from the four corners of the earth.
13 The jealousy of Ephraim shall depart,
the hostility of Judah shall be cut off;
Ephraim shall not be jealous of Judah,
and Judah shall not be hostile towards Ephraim.
14 But they shall swoop down on the backs of the Philistines in the west,
together they shall plunder the people of the east.
They shall put forth their hand against Edom and Moab,
and the Ammonites shall obey them.
15 And the Lord will utterly destroy
the tongue of the sea of Egypt;
and will wave his hand over the River
with his scorching wind;
and will split it into seven channels,
and make a way to cross on foot;
16 so there shall be a highway from Assyria
for the remnant that is left of his people,
as there was for Israel
when they came up from the land of Egypt.

Isaiah 11

The Anointed One of God is synonymous with Messiah in the Old Testament. The future hope of the Davidic kingly line to arise and lead the Jewish people triumphantly again as a whole and prosperous nation, is weaved through the faithful who gathered at Jesus’ side. While clearly, Jesus’ ministry did not fulfill all these dimensions of prophetic hope, we are confident of Jesus messianic claims as having a unique and special relationship with God. He is the source of ultimate judgement and salvation for the people. In claiming this title, we can speak both of that whispered hope of the Old Testament and the fervent prayers answered in the New Testament. Jesus, the Anointed One, opens that covenantal relationship to those who call this name. A gift of grace we can never earn, but we receive nonetheless, may we respond with grateful praise and righting of our relationship with him.

Prayer

Gracious and Loving Lord, we give thank, for through Your Son we have been justified by faith. It is a special relationship with You, as the Anointed One, to be gathered at Your side on that final day. We pray for His strength and compassion to be our guide in our relationships. It is in Jesus’ powerful name that we pray. Amen.