From the beginning

Foretold

Jesus said Moses wrote about Him. It is not a secret code. It is a lot of page: a line, the numbers He counted, the signs He named, and the days He appointed.

Walk it the way the text walks. The Hebrew is still on the page. When a preacher stretched a name, or forced a number, we say so.

The line

It runs from a garden to a town, in the order the text already walks.

01Seed02Names03Nations04Priest05Ram06Joseph07Scepter08I AM09Lamb10Bread11Rock12Curtain13Goat14Serpent15Prophet16Redeemer17House18Pierced19Stone20Immanuel21Branch22Egypt23Bethlehem24Donkey25Silver26Covenant

The numbers

It counts a week, a wait, and a people, then fourteen generations, ten words, a third day, seventy, and a tally.

SevenFortyTwelveFourteenThird dayTen wordsSeventy447

The signs

He named them Himself: a fish, a star, a prophet, a rest, and a bow.

JonahStarElijahSabbathBow

The days

These are appointed times: first fruit, fifty days, booths, and a year of release.

01First fruit02Weeks03Booths04Jubilee

The line · 21 of 26 · Isaiah 11 · Jeremiah 23

A branch from Jesse’s stump

The tree is cut down. A shoot still comes. A name: the Lord our righteousness.

The text
A shoot will come from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots will bear fruit. Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch.

The word

צֶמַח

branch, sprout, a shoot from a stump (tsemach)

Walk this word

What happens

  1. 01A shoot from the stump

    Isaiah 11:1

    Jesse’s tree looks dead. A rod comes from the stump, and a branch comes from the roots. The Spirit of the Lord will rest on Him.

  2. 02A righteous Branch

    Jeremiah 23:5

    Days are coming. A Branch for David. He will reign as king and deal wisely. His name: the Lord our righteousness.

  3. 03My servant the Branch

    Zechariah 3:8

    I will bring My servant the Branch. Later: He will build the temple of the Lord, and sit as priest on a throne. The shoot is king and priest in one.

  4. 04The root of Jesse

    Romans 15:12

    Paul opens Isaiah for the nations. The root of Jesse will come, He who rises to rule the Gentiles. In Him the nations will hope.

  5. 05Called a Nazarene

    Matthew 2:23

    He lives in Nazareth, so that what was spoken might be fulfilled: He shall be called a Nazarene. Netzer is nearby. We do not force the letters. Matthew hears the rhyme.

Read it this way

Jesse’s line looks finished. Isaiah sees a stump, then a shoot. Choter is a rod from the stump. Netzer is a branch from the roots. The Spirit of the Lord rests on Him. He will judge the poor with righteousness. Jeremiah later names it: a righteous Branch for David. Tsemach (צֶמַח) is a sprout. His name: the Lord our righteousness. Zechariah says the Branch will build the temple and sit as priest on a throne.

Paul quotes Isaiah: the root of Jesse will come, even He who rises to rule the nations. Revelation still calls Him the Root of David. Matthew says He will be called a Nazarene — a word that sits near netzer. We do not pretend that is a neon sign in Isaiah’s spelling. It is a rhyme the Gospel is willing to hear. The stump is the sure thing. The shoot came.

Then it is named

The other room. Same line. A Person with a name.

Romans 15:12Revelation 5:5Matthew 2:23

Some sayBranch is poetic gardening. Nazarene is a pun the church invented.

The tree was a stump. The prophets still promised a Branch. Paul still uses Jesse’s name.

Open Isaiah 11Jeremiah 23:5

The copies sometimes differ — that is Witness. Words you already say out loud sit in Words with weight. Foretold is what the page already says. It is not a decoder ring.