Breath

 This Advent week we begin worship with:

Isaiah 11:1-5
There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit. 
And the Spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the LORD. 
And his delight shall be in the fear of the LORD. 
He shall not judge by what his eyes see, or decide disputes by what his ears hear,
but with righteousness he shall judge the poor, and decide with equity for the meek of the earth; 
and he shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips he shall kill the wicked. 
Righteousness shall be the belt of his waist, and faithfulness the belt of his loins.

Up from a lifeless stump a shoot will grow, put down roots, and bear fruit.  That tree, our Lord Jesus Christ, upon whom the Spirit would come to rest, would have authority to stand as judge over all the earth. 

Yet, with all that authority, it would not be His own will that He would do.  For his “delight” (rîaḥ) would be in the fear of the LORD.  It would be like a fragrance so wonderful, He would repeatedly seek it out for His next breath. 

He would find it in judging with equity and He would execute that justice with that very same breath.