W.o.G. Wednesday: Advent Week 1 {Isaiah 11:1-10}

Starting this past Sunday and lasting through Christmas many churches and denominations celebrate the Advent season.

Advent means "coming" as in, a King is coming. Advent represents our expectation, anticipation, and preparation for Him. As a Christian I believe this King has arrived in the form of Jesus Christ! So the Advent season for us Christians refers to the events foretelling and proceeding Jesus Christ and His birth. Isaiah and Jeremiah (Old Testament prophets) foretold Jesus' coming--the Word made flesh.


At our church, we light an Advent Candle every Sunday leading up to Christmas. The candles represent the light of God coming into the world through the birth of God's son, Jesus Christ. Each candle also has a special meaning. The first candle, which is traditionally purple, is the candle of hope and represents God's promise and Hope given by the gift of His son, Jesus.

Each week we also read traditional passages from the Bible that correspond with the lighting of the candles. Unfortunately, I was not in the service last week (nursery duty!) but i did find this website that talked about corresponding advent verses...and Isaiah 11:1-10 was my favorite from this week:

Isaiah 11:1-10

¹ A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse;
from his roots a Branch will bear fruit.

² The Spirit of the LORD will rest on him—
the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding,
the Spirit of counsel and of power,
the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD -

³ and he will delight in the fear of the LORD.
He will not judge by what he sees with his eyes,
or decide by what he hears with his ears;

⁴ but with righteousness he will judge the needy,
with justice he will give decisions for the poor of the earth.
He will strike the earth with the rod of his mouth;
with the breath of his lips he will slay the wicked.

⁵ Righteousness will be his belt
and faithfulness the sash around his waist.

⁶ The wolf will live with the lamb,
the leopard will lie down with the goat,
the calf and the lion and the yearling ^a]">[a] together;
and a little child will lead them.

⁷ The cow will feed with the bear,
their young will lie down together,
and the lion will eat straw like the ox.

⁸ The infant will play near the hole of the cobra,
and the young child put his hand into the viper's nest.

⁹ They will neither harm nor 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 In that day the Root of Jesse will stand as a banner for the peoples; the nations will rally to him, and his place of rest will be glorious.