Advent-Christmas Devotions
Tuesday, December 2
Isaiah 11:1-10
1 A shoot shall come out from the stump of Jesse,
and a branch shall grow out of his roots.
2 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.
3 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,
4 but with righteousness he shall judge for the poor
and decide with equity for the oppressed 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.
5 Righteousness shall be the belt around his waist
and faithfulness the belt around his loins.
6 The wolf shall live with the lamb;
the leopard shall lie down with the kid;
the calf and the lion will feed together,
and a little child shall lead them.
7 The cow and the bear shall graze;
their young shall lie down together;
and the lion shall eat straw like the ox.
8 The nursing child shall play over the hole of the asp,
and the weaned child shall put its hand on the adder’s den.
9 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.
“… 4 but with righteousness he shall judge for the poor and decide with equity for the oppressed of the earth; …”
The Lord favors the poor and oppressed. It’s not that God doesn’t care for those who are wealthy or well-off. God loves them also. However, it is the poor and oppressed that need the love of God more. Their lives are often filled with wants and needs those with means seldom experience. Therefore, God looks with favor upon those most vulnerable in the world.
So, if God so cares for such as these, perhaps our focus should be there was well. Deciding for the poor and oppressed in society is not just God’s job. It is ours as well. While we cannot fix every problem facing those on the margins, we can work to ease their burdens and improve their lives.
This begins, obviously, with our willingness to share what we have been given. Generosity toward those who are poor, marginalized, and outcast is self-evident. It doesn’t end there, however. We also must advocate for local, state, and national policies that benefit the needy in our society. Rather than focusing on the accumulation of wealth by a few, we should concentrate on making sure those who have little have enough, not just to survive, but to thrive.
The favor of the Lord is upon the poor and oppressed. Following God’s lead, we should redirect our own efforts toward the same both in generosity and advocacy.
Prayer: Thank you, Lord, for the many blessings we have received from Your hand. Inspire me this Advent season to be “for the poor” through personal generosity and strong advocacy. Amen.