December 19, 2025
Beautiful
and Glorious
In that day the branch of the Lord shall be beautiful
and glorious, and the fruit of the land shall be the
pride and honor of the survivors of Israel. And he
who is left in Zion and remains in Jerusalem will be
called holy, everyone who has been recorded for life
in Jerusalem, when the Lord shall have washed away
the filth of the daughters of Zion and cleansed the
bloodstains of Jerusalem from its midst by a spirit of
judgment and by a spirit of burning. Then the Lord
will create over the whole site of Mount Zion and
over her assemblies a cloud by day, and smoke and
the shining of a flaming fire by night; for over all the
glory there will be a canopy. There will be a booth
for shade by day from the heat, and for a refuge and
a shelter from the storm and rain.
I S A I A H 4 : 2 - 6
“In that day the branch of the Lord shall be beautiful and
glorious” (v. 2). This “branch” is a title for the Messiah in the
Old Testament, the one who branches forth from the stump
of Jesse to become the new and better Tree of Life, beautiful
in mercy, glorious in power.
He gathers us to himself and makes us holy by his Holy
Spirit, everyone who has been recorded for life in Jerusalem.
He has inked your name indelibly in the Book of Life, written
in the red of his sacrificial blood, marking you as a citizen of
his kingdom, a temple of his Spirit, a member of the body of
Christ.
The Lord has washed away the filth of the daughters of
Zion and cleansed the bloodstains of Jerusalem. In the flood
of forgiveness that flowed from the pierced side of our crucified Savior, all the filth of our sin is gone, all the bloodstains
of iniquity purged. He has baptized us with the Holy Spirit and
fire, burning away the dross of death and filling us with the fire
of his love.
As he did for Israel in the wilderness, guiding and sheltering them with a pillar of cloud and fire until he brought them
to their new home in the land of promise, so he does for us.
He brings us to our new home in him, the fulfillment of all God’s promises. Then the Lord has created over the whole
site of Mount Zion and over her assemblies a cloud by day,
and smoke and the shining of a flaming fire by night. We are
shaded, sheltered, and shielded by our Immanuel, God with us.
And over all the glory there will be a canopy—a wedding
canopy, for the Son of God makes us his bride, resplendent in
his righteousness, betrothed to him, and wearing a wedding
band crafted from the nails of his cross. Under the protection
of his grace, we are safe from whatever may threaten us, for
nothing and no one can separate us from his love.
LORD JESUS, THANK YOU THAT YOU ARE
OUR BEAUTIFUL AND GLORIOUS BRANCH,
WHO CLEANSES US AND SHELTERS US
IN YOUR CANOPY OF MERCY AND GRACE. AMEN.
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Coming Home for Christmas: Advent in Isaiah © 2025 1517
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