Isaiah 61, Day 7

As the earth brings forth its shoots,
and a garden makes its seeds spring up,
So will the Lord God make justice spring up,
and praise before all the nations.

Isaiah 61:11

---

A Righteous Branch

In the organic garden of the biblical world, spiritual and material fruit spring from the same source—the Lord God who made the heavens and the earth. Tsedaqah (righteousness, justice) and tehillah (praise) sprout from the earth like a bud or branch (tsemach) in spring. Also translated as “shoots,” tsemach in the literal sense carries Messianic significance in Jeremiah and Zechariah as the “shoot” or “branch” of David.

See, days are coming—oracle of the Lord—
when I will raise up a righteous branch for David;
As king he shall reign and govern wisely,
he shall do what is just and right in the land.

Jeremiah 23:5

In those days, at that time, I will make a just shoot spring up for David; he shall do what is right and just in the land.

Jeremiah 33:15

“Hear, O Joshua, high priest! You and your associates who sit before you! For they are signs of things to come! I will surely bring my servant the Branch.

Zechariah 3:8

And say to him: Thus says the Lord of hosts: There is a man whose name is Branch—and from his place he will branch out and he will build the temple of the Lord.

Zechariah 6:12

Ethics and Agriculture

Harmonizing with Jeremiah and Zechariah, Isaiah prophesies a branch or rod (choter) blooming from Jesse’s stem and a sprout or shoot (netser) springing from his roots. In his mission to regenerate the earth, the Messianic branch from the stump of Jesse will blossom out of virgin soil. Ethics and agriculture interpenetrate as one luminous globe proceeding from the Godhead.

Faithfulness springs up from the ground,
and righteousness looks down from the sky.

Psalm 85:11 (ESV)