OUR DAILY BREAD 21ST OCTOBER 2024 DEVOTIONAL, MONDAY ODB MESSAGE
Our Daily Bread 21st October 2024 Devotional TOPIC: Jesus the Branch
Bible in a Year: Isaiah 62-64; 1 Timothy 1
Key Verse: “ ‘In those days and at that time I will make a righteous Branch sprout from David’s line; he will do what is just and right in the land. Jeremiah 33:15
Today’s Scripture
Jeremiah 33:14-16
Today’s ODB Insight
Despite David’s general success as king over Israel, the story of his successors grew increasingly problematic. King after king failed to live in obedience to the God who delivered Israel from Egypt and gave them a home in Canaan. The books of 1 and 2 Kings and 2 Chronicles describe the spiraling descent of the nation’s rulers, punctuated only with a handful of bright spots.
By the time of Jeremiah, the rulers of Israel and many of the kings of Judah were thoroughly corrupt and the nations were facing exile. The mighty tree of David’s dynasty may have seemed like it had been hewn to the root. The promise of Jeremiah’s prophecy, however, was that God wouldn’t give up. He would bring forth a righteous king out of a seemingly dead dynasty who would make Jerusalem and the people righteous once again. Both Matthew (1:1-17) and Luke (3:23-38) trace Jesus’ lineage back to David, the once-great king.
OUR DAILY BREAD 21ST OCTOBER 2024 – MONDAY ODB DEVOTIONAL MESSAGE
Rising among the red mountains of Sedona, Arizona, is the beautiful Chapel of the Holy Cross. Entering the small chapel, I was immediately drawn to an unusual sculpture of Jesus on the cross. Instead of a traditional cross, Jesus is shown crucified on the branches of a tree with two trunks. Horizontally, a severed, dead trunk represents the tribes of Israel in the Old Testament that rejected God. The other trunk grows upward and branches out to symbolize the flourishing tribe of Judah and the family line of King David.
The symbolically significant art points to an important prophecy in the Old Testament about Jesus. Although the tribe of Judah was living in captivity, the prophet Jeremiah gave a hopeful message from God: “I will fulfill the good promise I made” (Jeremiah 33:14) to provide a rescuer who would “do what is just and right in the land” (v. 15). One way the people would know the identity of the rescuer was He would “sprout from David’s line” (v. 15), meaning the rescuer would be a physical descendant of King David.
The sculpture skillfully captures an important truth that in the details of Jesus’ family lineage, God was faithful to do all that He promised. Even more, it’s a reminder that His faithfulness in the past gives us reassurance that He’ll be faithful to fulfill His promises to us in the future.
REFLECT: What are other significant promises from God that Jesus fulfilled? How does their fulfillment encourage you?
PRAY: Thank You, Almighty God, that You fulfill all Your promises.
Our Daily Bread Ministries (ODB) is a Christian organization founded by Dr. Martin De Haan in 1938. It is based in Grand Rapids, Michigan, with over 600 employees. It produces several devotional publications, including Our Daily Bread. our daily bread devotional for today audio our daily bread booklet