Jesse Tree Advent Devotional

My family started doing Jesse Tree devotions together when my oldest children were three or four years old. It was one of the highlights of the Advent season for us. My kids loved finding the right ornament every evening and we enjoyed our time together reading the Bible story and talking about it. Over the years we used a few different devotionals, and though they were all good, I always wondered why Jesse Tree devotionals were named for a piece of scripture that prophesied about the Messiah’s lineage when they had no focus on genealogy.

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There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit. —Isaiah 11:1-2

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Over the years, I began to look into Christ’s bloodline, and I was amazed at what I found. God’s character is put on display in a special way through who He chose to be His ancestors. He wasn’t just related to faithful shepherds and kings, but also people who did some horrible things. Some of them were from countries that hated God. He frequently passed over people with obvious power or birthright and chose people who were unexpected. God made covenants with people and then kept those covenants. He even included women by name in the record of His genealogy, something that would have been unheard-of at the time it was written. The more I’ve learned as I’ve delved into Christ’s bloodline, the more excited I’ve become about our perfect God and His perfect, and extremely detailed, plans.

I hope your family enjoys this particular view of God’s character. May your Advent season be filled with delight and excitement for our Lord!

Amy Aunger