We have been thinking about the story of Old Testament Israel as the growth of a great family tree. This tree was to become the means by which God would save the world. He would save people by grafting them as branches into this divine family. At key points in the story of Israel God prunes the tree to ensure that his family is always connected to and united together around one single trunk. Of Abraham’s sons, God chose Isaac. Of Isaac’s sons, God chose Jacob who was renamed ‘Israel’. Of the twelve tribes of Israel, God chose Judah and the family of David in particular to become this trunk. God’s promise to David to make his family and his tribe the trunk of this tree is found in 2 Samuel 7. Read and remember this passage because it is a key moment in the story. The Davidic dynasty is important most of all because it was into this family line that God incarnated himself in the person of Jesus Christ. Of all the sons of David, it was Jesus who became the ultimate trunk. This is what all the pruning was leading towards. Jesus is now inviting all people to be grafted into him and thereby to join his family and enjoy his blessing. He is the tree trunk, the vine, and we are the branches (John 15:5-8). Throughout the Old Testament, Israel is referred to as a vine. The vine of Israel led to Jesus Christ so that Jesus might become the trunk of a new vine into which people of all nations are being grafted. You are part of something great.
Pray for God’s vine to flourish in the world today, specifically for your church family.
Read 1 Chronicles 3 and 2 Samuel 7:1-17
