Due to their continued sinful slide, the “tree” (life, growth, and fruitfulness) was reduced to a stump. The kingly lineage failed due to their sin. Israel was a stump like a mighty tree that had been cut down. Israel had been given terrifying warnings of judgment and destruction, but it was not final. Despite David and his sons’ failures, God keeps His promise to provide a faithful descendant of David to reign. However, at the time, it seemed this would never happen because the family of David was removed from ruling over Israel after four centuries due to the compounding evil in the land. Then the prophet Isaiah tells us about a lifeless stump, all that was left of a once mighty tree that had been cut down. There was the appearance of no life in it, but God brought forth a sprout that would bud and bring forth a righteous ruler and redeemer of Israel. It would be close to 1000 years later in a small village called Bethlehem where Jesus would be born. Jesus was called the Son of David, referring to the everlasting kingship of David’s house, according to the covenant, making Him the King promised by God. It had been so many years since God made this promise. It was a promise to David and a promise to the world and to you and me. The “sprout” from the stump was part of God’s plan all along, His salvation was not about David and his kingly lineage, but One whom God had planned for before He spoke creation into existence. 37
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