Romans 15:12             

NASB	NLT	VOICE
12 Again Isaiah says: “There shall come the root of Jesse, and He who arises to rule over the gentiles in Him will the Gentiles hope.”	12 And in another place Isaiah said, “The heir to David’s throne will come, and he will rule over the Gentiles. They will place their hope on him.”	12 Again Isaiah says, “Then, the root of Jesse will emerge – He rises to rule all the peoples of the world who come to Him for guidance and direction. In Him, they place their hope.”

Paul is quoting from the prophet Isaiah about the lineage of Jesus. It was important to the Jewish Christians in Paul’s day to connect the lineage together because of how high valued it was for their culture. This is why we see SO many chapters about family trees scattered all throughout the Bible. King David was the youngest of Jesse’s family but was the chosen ruler by God because his heart was exactly like God’s. The people wanted Saul, but God wanted David. When Samuel went to Jesse to bless David, Jesse couldn’t believe David was the chosen one, but God’s choice will remain. David has some good and bad moments, but there was the promise that the future Messiah would come from the line of David.

Jesus will come to rule over everyone, Jews and Gentiles. God is the only true God in the Christian religion. He reigns supreme over all other gods that different cultures, religions, and denominations worship as their primary deity. Jesus is known as the king of kings and the Lord of lords. It’s a reminder to us Christians that we need to keep God is our primary focus on who provides, cares, and loves us deeply. The other idols/gods we worship are tangible ones that come and go with time we’re in, but God remains strong and steadfast alongside us and will never leave us.

Revelation 5:5

NASB	NLT	VOICE
5 And one of the elders said to me, “Stop weeping; behold, the Lion that is from the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has overcome so as to be able to open the scroll and its seven seals.”	5 But one of the twenty-four elders said to me, “Stop weeping! Look, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the heir to David’s throne, has won the victory. He is worthy to open the scroll and its even seals.	5 The one of the elders consoled me. Stop weeping. Look there – the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David. He has conquered and it able to break its seven seals and open the scrolls.

The Lion of Judah is something that’s mentioned all the way back in Genesis. I talk about this a little more in “Prophetic Preview – Part 1” if you’d like to read that. The Lion is Jesus. He proved himself to break the seals of the scroll by living a perfect life of obedience to God, dying on the cross for all of our sins and rising from the dead to show his power of evil and death. This was only done by Jesus and could only be done by Jesus. The lion shows Jesus’s fierceness, while the lamb that Jesus was his true sacrificial wonder. Jesus came from the line of Judah, just as David did.

Revelation 22:16

NASB	NLT	VOICE
16 “I, Jesus, have sent My angel to testify to you of these things for the churches. I am the root and the descendant of David, the bright morning star.”	16 “I, Jesus, have sent my angel to give you this message for the churches. I am both the source of David and the heir to his throne. I am the bright morning star.”	16 I, Jesus, have sent My messenger to show you and guide you so that you in turn would share this testimony with the churches. I am the Root and the Descendant of David, the Bright Morning star.”

Jesus is both David’s “source” and “heir.” As the creator of all, Jesus existed way before David was born. As a human, he was one of David’s direct descendants. As the Messiah, he is the “bright morning star,” the light of salvation to everyone. Again, the imagery we see here is important to the Jewish culture at the time. Learning that he is the source, and descendant was very important to the Jewish Christians of the time. For us, it’s important to know that he is the source of salvation of all people. Nothing can save us from our sins except Jesus, and Jesus does this for all people. Those who accept his salvation and follow him as Lord and Savior will become a Christian and ensure their spot in eternal life.

Next slice of Manna: Manna for the Mind #188