A Righteous Branch

O. T. #1779  "A Righteous Branch"
Sept. 16, 2020
Jeremiah 23-Part 2
Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth. (verse 5)

LET IT GLOW

As I have shared before, there was an old pecan tree in our back yard, at least 50 years old. As a child, I played in that tree, climbing to the middle branches, overlooking my kingdom as a queen.
Well, due to high winds throughout the years, large branches fell off of the tree. Eventually, it was cut down. Then a sprout grew out of the sawed off tree trunk, which still had its roots in tact. The sprout grew, so I though we would have a new pecan tree there, but it did not happen. Today, we read about a sprout growing. Continue to find out who it is.

Jeremiah gives us a contrast between the bad shepherds, leaders in Judah and The Good Shepherd which is to come. The bad shepherds scattered God's flock, drove them away, and did not visit them. Their false teachings of false prophets and pastors gave assurance to the people that they were ok and promised peace, but their sin of idolatry and immorality was not pleasing to God. In fact, it angered Him, so much that judgment was coming for Judah and Jerusalem in the form of the Babylonian army. We know that they paid for their sins 70 years in captivity.

Now, the contrast hope was coming in the form of a Good Shepherd, Jesus Christ.  He would feed them the Truth because He is the Truth. In our key verse, what is Jesus called? He is a righteous Branch from David and a King.

In the Hebrew language, branch is a sprout; bud; that which grew; spring (forth, up).

The Branch (tsemash) was not an individual twig or branch of a tree, but a sprout from a fallen tree or a sprout directly out of the ground from a root, forming a second tree. Therefore, out of the fallen dynasty of Israel life would spring through an individual Messiah, upon whom the nation's, as well as the world's hopes, would rest. (Liberty Bible Commentary)

Isaiah predicted this Branch in 11:1-2, And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots. 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 of the fear of the LORD.

Secular history and the Bible both teach that Jesus Christ was that Branch that came.

This righteous branch is Jesus Christ, who will reign one thousand years, establishing His kingdom on earth as King. What will He do?

• He shall reign (to ascend the throne; make king; to induct into royalty).
• He shall prosper (teach. instruct, wisdom, intelligent, understanding, prudent, skillful).
• He shall execute (to do or make; appoint; fulfill; use) judgment (a verdict; divine law; a sentence or formal decree) and justice (rightness; virtue).

In other words, Jesus Christ will ascend the throne as King over all the earth at that time. He will use wisdom to use the divine law and rightness as He reigns. The Messiah came the first time as Savior; the next time He comes, He will be Judge. This judgment and justice has not happened yet on a local, let alone worldwide, scale. Israel will dwell safely and Judah will be saved.

What a time that will be for Israel. They shall recognize that Jesus is the awaited Messiah that came to save them from their sins.

LET IT GROW

Today, it seems that the word "righteous" is thrown around carelessly. People do not understand its meaning. They do not recognize that we are not righteous, but it take the blood of Jesus to make us righteous.

Unlike Zedekiah and those last kings of Judah, this King will do what is right. What does verse 6 call Him? The LORD is our Righteousness is His name Jehovah Tsidkenu is His name. The Hebrew word for righteousness is tsedeq (tseh'dek), which means the right; equity; just.

Jesus was without sin when He died on the cross, for He was God in the flesh. He had overcome the temptations of Satan while living on earth. He was the Perfect Lamb of God that overcame the world, as Peter called Jesus. Do you know this Lamb as your Savior today? Simply ask Jesus to forgive you of your sins and be your Savior. He willingly awaits you, dear one.

Next time, we will see how Jesus is our Righteousness, for ours is but filthy rags. And it is by faith in Him that we are counted as righteous before a Holy God.

LET IT GO

O Holy One, Righteous King, You alone are LORD of everything.
We bow before You, Jesus, praise and adore You, thank You for being our Righteousness.