Isaiah 11:1-9 (NRSV)
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Chapter 11A shoot shall come out from the stump of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots. Verse 2The 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. Verse 3His 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; Verse 4but 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. Verse 5Righteousness shall be the belt around his waist, and faithfulness the belt around his loins. Verse 6The 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. Verse 7The cow and the bear shall graze, their young shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. Verse 8The nursing child shall play over the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put its hand on the adder's den. Verse 9They 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.
Devotion
Come Lord Jesus and be my Messiah today. Baptized into your death and life, Jesus, I too have been given the Spirit of the Lord. Clothed with your identity, Lord Jesus, I too have been given the Spirit of wisdom and understanding: I too can live out of the fecundity of the new creation you are bringing about within and around me. Clothed with your identity, Lord Jesus, I too have been given the Spirit of counsel and might: the judgments and decisions I make today can be based not on human criteria but on God's righteousness—which always defends the poor—and God's equity—which always vindicates the meek. Clothed with your identity, Lord Jesus, I too have been given the Spirit of the knowledge and fear of the Lord: I too can, with boldness, wear God's righteousness and faithfulness in every moment of my life today.
Prayer
Come Lord Jesus into my life. Clothe my mind and my body with God's righteousness and faithfulness wherever I find myself today. Amen.