Five-minute read.
There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit.
And the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him,
the Spirit of wisdom and understanding,
the Spirit of counsel and might,
the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord.
And his delight shall be in the fear of the Lord.
He shall not judge by what his eyes see,
or decide disputes by what his ears hear,
but with righteousness he shall judge the poor,
and decide with equity for the meek of the earth;
and 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 of his waist,
and faithfulness the belt of his loins.
The wolf shall dwell with the lamb,
and the leopard shall lie down with the young goat,
and the calf and the lion and the fattened calf 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 cobra,
and the weaned child shall put his hand on the adder’s den.
They shall not hurt or destroy
in all my holy mountain;
for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord
as the waters cover the sea.
In that day the root of Jesse, who shall stand as a signal for the peoples—of him shall the nations inquire, and his resting place shall be glorious.
Isaiah 11:1-10
Jesus, King of Kings and sovereign Lord came with a purpose that Isaiah prophesized 700 years before the Messiah’s birth. God’s Spirit upon Him, Christ came with wisdom, understanding, counsel, might, knowledge, and the fear of the Lord. Jesus knew His mission and connected to His heavenly Father, He respected God’s authority. Three-in-one, they work together.
Marriage exemplifies the Trinity: God, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, three in one. When I married Ron, committing my life to him before the Lord, we became a cord of three strands.
“And though a man might prevail against one who is alone, two will withstand him—a threefold cord is not quickly broken.”
Ecclesiastes 4:12
Single for 41 years, learning to submit to Ron takes work. In Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, he tells wives they must submit to their husbands as they submit to the Lord. And He tells husbands to love their wives as Christ loves the church (Ephesians 5:22-33). To do those things, we must know and follow Jesus. But I can testify that submitting becomes much easier if Ron loves me like Christ loved the church.
How do we follow Jesus? We acknowledge that our way doesn’t work and seek and find His will for our lives. As we learn how Christ responded to the world around Him, we do what He did. With God at the center of our marriage, Ron and I strive to put Him first and then actively do what the Lord’s word tells us.
For instance, when I dish out dinner, giving Ron the more significant portion helps me remember to put his needs above mine. Thinking about how Jesus washed the disciples’ feet helps me metaphorically wash Ron’s. Without Christ at the center of our marriage, I wouldn’t know how to submit to Ron, and my husband wouldn’t know how to love me. We must constantly seek God’s will before our own and strive to do what pleases the Lord, not our fleshly desires.
The Trinity becomes a reality in marriage when we strive to become one with Jesus and each other. Each part influences the others and works together to form one. Difficult to understand, the more we give our lives to Christ, the more He helps us become one with Him and the Father.
Isaiah predicted Jesus’ birth centuries before it happened. The Messiah came, united with God the Father and the Holy Spirit, bringing salvation to the world. As we celebrate the Lord’s birth in the days ahead, ask God for a deeper understanding of the Trinity and how it applies to your life.
Prayer:
Lord, thank You for the prophet, Isaiah and his words that predicted the birth of Jesus. Thank You for the Messiah, who fulfilled all the prophecies about Him. Please help us better understand the Trinity as we seek You.
IJNIP. Amen
