Jesse Tree 

DATE

TEXT

THEME

SYMBOL

December 1

Isaiah 11:1  "But a shoot shall sprout from the stump of Jesse,
and from his roots a bud shall blossom."

 Jesse 

 He was a Judahite who lived in Bethlehem, the son of Obed and the grandson of Boaz and Ruth. He had eight sons, of whom David was the youngest, and two daughters.

 

December 2

Genesis 1:26

"Then God said: "Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. Let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, the birds of the air, and the cattle, and over all the wild animals and all the creatures that crawl on the ground."

Creation  

  Genesis is a book about beginnings. The centerpiece of the book is God's redemptive activity following the fall of man. God began by calling Abram out of Ur, by entering into a covenant with him, and by making promises to bless him and to bless all the families of the earth through him.

 

December 3

Genesis 3:3

"it is only about the fruit of the tree in the middle of the garden that God said, 'You shall not eat it or even touch it, lest you die.'"

The Fall

 Adam and Eve introduced sin into human history by their rebellious actions. The Bible affirms that every person who has lived since has followed their example.

December 4

Genesis 6:17

"I, on my part, am about to bring the flood (waters) on the earth, to destroy everywhere all creatures in which there is the breath of life; everything on earth shall perish.
6:18 But with you I will establish my covenant; you and your sons, your wife and your sons' wives, shall go into the ark.
"

Noah 

 God warned Noah that He was going to wipe mankind from the face of the earth. Because Noah walked with God and stood blameless among the people of that time, God gave him specific instructions for building the ark by which Noah and his family would survive the coming flood

 

December 5

Genesis 12:1 The LORD said to Abram: "Go forth from the land of your kinsfolk and from your father's house to a land that I will show you.

12:2 "I will make of you a great nation,
and I will bless you;
I will make your name great, so that you will be a blessing.

12:3 * I will bless those who bless you  and curse those who curse you.
All the communities of the earth shall find blessing in you."

 

Abraham  

The first Hebrew patriarch, he became known as the prime example of faith.

 

December 6

Genesis 17:19

 God replied: "Nevertheless, your wife Sarah is to bear you a son, and you shall call him Isaac. I will maintain my covenant with him as an everlasting pact, to be his God and the God of his descendants after him."

 

Sarah 

When Sarah was almost 90 years old, God changed her name and promised her a son. In her old age she bore Isaac.

December 7

Genesis 22:7 "As the two walked on together, Isaac spoke to his father Abraham. "Father!" he said. "Yes, son," he replied. Isaac continued, "Here are the fire and the wood, but where is the sheep for the holocaust?"
22:8 "Son," Abraham answered, "God himself will provide the sheep for the holocaust." Then the two continued going forward."

Isaac 

Isaac was the child of a promise from God, born when Abraham  & Sarah when they were elderly.

 

 

December 8

Genesis 28:12-13   "Then he had a dream: a stairway rested on the ground, with its top reaching to the heavens; and God's messengers were going up and down on it.
28:13 And there was the LORD standing beside him and saying: "I, the LORD, am the God of your forefather Abraham and the God of Isaac; the land on which you are lying I will give to you and your descendants."

Jacob 

Original ancestor of the nation of Israel and father of the twelve ancestors of the twelve tribes of Israel.

In a vision, Jacob (son of Isaac) saw a ladder reaching from heaven to earth, with angels descending and ascending. Christ, the Incarnate God, is the Ladder reuniting earth to heaven, mankind to God.

 

 

December 9

Genesis 41:39 "So Pharaoh said to Joseph: "Since God has made all this known to you, no one can be as wise and discerning as you are.
41:40 You shall be in charge of my palace, and all my people shall dart at your command. Only in respect to the throne shall I outrank you.
41:41 Herewith," Pharaoh told Joseph, "I place you in charge of the whole land of Egypt."
41:42 * With that, Pharaoh took off his signet ring and put it on Joseph's finger. He had him dressed in robes of fine linen and put a gold chain about his neck."

 

Joseph

Joseph in the Old Testament primarily refers to the patriarch, one of the sons of Israel. Joseph was the eleventh of twelve sons, the first by Jacob's favorite wife, Rachel.

 

December 10

Deuteronomy 5:1

"Moses summoned all Israel and said to them, "Hear, O Israel, the statutes and decrees which I proclaim in your hearing this day, that you may learn them and take care to observe them

Moses 

Moses wasthe leader of the Israelites in their Exodus from Egyptian slavery and oppression, their journey through the wilderness with its threats in the form of hunger, thirst, and unpredictable enemies, and finally in their audience with God at Mount Sinai/Horeb where the distinctive covenant bonding Israel and God in a special treaty became a reality.

December 11

Joshua 2:14 "We pledge our lives for yours," the men answered her. "If you do not betray this errand of ours, we will be faithful in showing kindness to you when the LORD gives us the land."
2:15  Then she let them down through the window with a rope; for she lived in a house built into the city wall."

Rahab 

 lived in Jericho who hid two Hebrew spies Joshua sent there to determine the strength of the city

 

December 12

Ruth 1:16  "But Ruth said, "Do not ask me to abandon or forsake you! for wherever you go I will go, wherever you lodge I will lodge, your people shall be my people, and your God my God."

Ruth

 an ancestor of David and Jesus, and the biblical book which tells the story of the reversal of fortunes for Ruth and her mother-in-law, Naomi.

 

December 13

1 Samuel 16:13 "Then Samuel, with the horn of oil in hand, anointed him in the midst of his brothers; and from that day on, the spirit of the LORD rushed upon David. When Samuel took his leave, he went to Ramah. "

Samuel & David

 Samuel's relations with Saul highlight the conditional nature of kingship in Israel.

 

December 14

2 Samuel 5:1 "All the tribes of Israel came to David in Hebron and said: "Here we are, your bone and your flesh.
5:2 In days past, when Saul was our king, it was you who led the Israelites out and brought them back. And the LORD said to you, 'You shall shepherd my people Israel and shall be commander of Israel.'"

David

CROWN - Symbolizes David, son of Jesse and an ancestor of Jesus. 

 

December 15

Isaiah 9:6 "His dominion is vast
and forever peaceful,
From David's throne, and over his kingdom,
which he confirms and sustains
By judgment and justice,
both now and forever.
The zeal of the LORD of hosts will do this!
"

 

Prophets  

 The prophets influenced almost every institution of Israel, despite the fact that they were often viewed with contempt:

December 16 Jonah 2:1  But the Lord sent a large fish, that swallowed Jonah; and he remained in the belly of the fish three days and three nights." Jonah

 In the Gospels, especially at Matthew 12:40, Jonah's stay in the fish (1:17) is represented as a type of Jesus' brief confinement to the grave.

December 17

1 Kings 18:36

"At the time for offering sacrifice, the prophet Elijah came forward and said, "LORD, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, let it be known this day that you are God in Israel and that I am your servant and have done all these things by your command."

Elijah  

He was a complex man of the desert who counseled kings.

December 18

Esther 4

D:8 "But God changed the king's anger to gentleness. In great anxiety he sprang from his throne, held her in his arms until she recovered, and comforted her with reassuring words."

Esther 

The scepter represents the King, whom Ester had to go to, to plead and intercede with him in behalf of her people.

 

December 19

1 Kings 3:3

" Solomon loved the LORD, and obeyed the statutes of his father David; yet he offered sacrifice and burned incense on the high places."

Solomon

 Although not the oldest living son of David, he was crowned king after his mother and Nathan the prophet intervened with David and secured David's decision to have Solomon succeed him  Solomon is remembered most for his wisdom, his building program, and his wealth generated through trade and administrative reorganization.

 

 

December 20  1 Kings 3:2-4
However, the people were sacrificing on the high places, for up to that time no temple had been built to the name of the LORD.
3:3 Solomon loved the LORD, and obeyed the statutes of his father David; yet he offered sacrifice and burned incense on the high places.
3:4 The king went to Gibeon to sacrifice there, because that was the most renowned high place. Upon its altar Solomon offered a thousand holocausts.
SAMUEL
Samuel became a prophet, the light of God to His people.

The lamp is a symbol for the Word of God, "Thy word is a lamp unto my feet." (Psalm 119:105)


 

December 21

Mark 1:2 "As it is written in Isaiah the prophet: *
"Behold, I am sending my messenger ahead of you;
he will prepare your way."

John the Baptist

 Mark 1:3-4 records that John was in the wilderness until the time of his public ministry. He came to announce Jesus as the Messiah.

December 22

Luke 1:26 " In the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a town of Galilee called Nazareth,
1:27 to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph, of the house of David, and the virgin's name was Mary.
1:28 And coming to her, he said, "Hail, favored one! The Lord is with you."
1:29 But she was greatly troubled at what was said and pondered what sort of greeting this might be.
1:30 Then the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.
1:31 Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name him Jesus.
"

 

Mary

The Virgin Mary, mother of Jesus. 

December 23

Luke 2:4

 "And Joseph too went up from Galilee from the town of Nazareth to Judea, to the city of David that is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and family of David,
2:5 to be enrolled with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child.
2:6 While they were there, the time came for her to have her child."

Joseph 

Tools symbolize Joseph, the foster-father of Jesus

 

December 24

Luke 1:46 And Mary said: *
"My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord;

1:47 my spirit rejoices in God my savior.

1:48 For he has looked upon his handmaid's lowliness;
behold, from now on will all ages call me blessed.

 

MARY

"Jacob the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary. Of her was born Jesus who is called the Messiah."

 

 

December 25 John 1:1 
"In the beginning was the Word,
and the Word was with God,
and the Word was God.

1:2 He was in the beginning with God.

1:3  All things came to be through him,
and without him nothing came to be.
What came to be

1:4 through him was life,
and this life was the light of the human race;

1:5  the light shines in the darkness,
and the darkness has not overcome it.
"

 

Birth of Jesus 
STAR - Symbolizes the STAR over Bethlehem, the birthplace of Jesus. 

December 26 Luke 2:10

"The angel said to them, "Do not be afraid; for behold, I proclaim to you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.
2:11 * For today in the city of David a savior has been born for you who is Messiah and Lord.
2:12 And this will be a sign for you: you will find an infant wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger."
2:13 And suddenly there was a multitude of the heavenly host with the angel, praising God and saying:

2:14 * "Glory to God in the highest
and on earth peace to those on whom his favor
rests."

 

Holy Family 

Mary & Joseph fled to Egypt to protect the child Jesus.

 

December 27  MT 2:13 " When they had departed, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, "Rise, take the child and his mother, flee to Egypt,* and stay there until I tell you. Herod is going to search for the child to destroy him."
2:14 Joseph rose and took the child and his mother by night and departed for Egypt."

Journey to Egypt

Joseph rose and took the child and his mother by night and departed for Egypt.

 

For a HISTORY of the Jesse Tree see:
http://www.cresourcei.org/jesse.html

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