Isaiah 4-6; Proverbs 21:11-21

Thursday's Bible Reading: Isaiah 4-6; Proverbs 21:11-21

Last night I finished writing an ODB about Meijer Gardens and the teamwork between God and man required to make such a beautiful place. Humans can plant seeds, but only God can make them grow.

Then this morning, the prophet Isaiah used a gardening metaphor to remind me of the holy seed planted in the land to be raised at a future time. At the very end of today's often used (and frequently misused) passage of Scripture is this verse:

And though a tenth remains in the land,
it will again be laid waste.
But as the terebinth and oak
leave stumps when they are cut down,
so the holy seed will be the stump in the land. —Isaiah 6:13

Isaiah later elaborated on the seed from this stump: "A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit " (11:1; click here to read more of Isaiah 11).

Christians believe the seed is Jesus, a descendant from the stump of Jesse (Matthew 1:5-6), the firstfruits from this holy seed:

But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive. But each in his own turn: Christ, the firstfruits; then, when he comes, those who belong to him. —1 Corinthians 15:20-23

Paul said of this fruit, "if the root is holy, so are the branches" (Romans 11:16). Click here to read more of this chapter.

All of this brought to mind one of my favorite songs, which I sometimes refer to as the song of the wild flute. Don't skip this. It's the best part of today's blog: Click here to hear Steve McConnell sing "First Fruits." It will bless your day.

After listening to this song several times, I received an email from aish.com telling me that this week's Torah portion has to do with First Fruits. Amazing! Click here to listen.