Jeremiah 23:5
The Bible says in Jeremiah 23:5-6, “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. In his days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely: and
this is his name whereby he shall be called, THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.”
At the end of Jeremiah chapter 22 the Lord had pronounced a judgment upon King
Jeconiah, stating that no other kings would come to power through King
Jeconiah. But in order to fulfill the great promises that God had made to King
David, there needed to be at least one more king who would be set up. These
verses in Jeremiah 23:5-6 tell us about that one new king. As we look at the
description of this new king who will come, we understand very clearly that
this is describing the Messiah, whose name is Jesus Christ.
The first thing that we see in
Jeremiah 23:5 is a little bit of God’s use of time. Of course, God is in no way
limited by time. Something that happens a thousand years from now is the same
as happening today to God. God said, “the days come…” It was over
500 years after God said this that Jesus was born in a manger, and it has been
over two thousand years since the day of His birth, but we still have not yet
seen the promise of Jeremiah 23:5-6 completely fulfilled. God said that He
would “raise unto David a righteous Branch.” This means
that the Messiah would be in the lineage of David. As we have stated before,
that is exactly why the New Testament opens with words that emphasize the fact
that Jesus was born in the lineage of King David. It says in Matthew 1:1, “The book of
the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.”
In Jeremiah 23:5 the Messiah is called
“a
righteous BRANCH.” Of course, the word “branch” is used because in His human
lineage Jesus branched out of King David. Normally human lineages are not that
important other than for matters of curiosity. But in the case of Jesus, being
in the lineage of King David was essential. The Messiah had to come in the
lineage of King David. Just as important as being in the lineage of David is
the fact that the Messiah is called “a righteous BRANCH.” One of the
many problems with
One of the promises about the Messiah
in Jeremiah 23:5 is that “a King shall reign and prosper.” It is
interesting to notice that the greatest government that will exist upon this
earth will be a monarchy and not a democracy. There are several things that can
be said about this fact. Perhaps a democracy is better than a monarchy in the
world as we know it because any king that man would set up would be corrupted
by power, and would end up oppressing the people. But with the Messiah we will
have a righteous king, and therefore the best possible ruler for the people.
There is a reason that Jesus is called “King of kings.” Of course,
as well as being in authority over other kings, Jesus will surpass in
righteousness and in goodness and in judgment any other king.
The fact that the Almighty God chooses
a benevolent monarchy over a democracy tells us what is the best type of
government ultimately for mankind. As we have said before, no human being will
ever qualify to be this type of monarch. In my opinion the most important type
of government for the age in which we live is a government that allows freedom
for the people. Nothing is more important than freedom of speech and freedom of
religion. All other freedoms get their roots from these two basic freedoms. If
those freedoms are restrained greatly or taken away, then no type of government
will be able to overcome the human misery that will follow. One of the problems
with democracy is that people just might vote for their own demise, and the
people just might vote for a limitation on the freedoms that they once so
highly cherished. Since the vast majority of people do not serve God, what good
can come from giving the vast majority of people the final say in elections? In
the history of the human race there have not been very many democracies, but
even with the form of government that we call democracy, human history will
ultimately prove mankind to have greatly failed. We need the Messiah. We need a
great King who is both powerful and good and who loves all the people. His name
is Jesus.
Jeremiah 23:5 says “a King shall
reign and prosper.” It is a blessing to mention the scope of the King’s reign. He
will be a greater king than all who have come before, and he will have a
greater kingdom. Instead of ruling only in
Jeremiah 23:6 is a great salvation
verse. It is very applicable to talk about a king and to talk about salvation
in the same context, because when a person accepts Jesus Christ as their Savior,
that person is also submitting to Jesus’ authority over their lives. Jeremiah
23:6 says, “In his days
The book of Romans is the great
writing of the New Testament that goes into infinite detail about the
righteousness of Christ, and why it is applied to believers and how it is
applied to believers. There are many verses in Romans on this subject all the
way from chapter one to chapter 12. If you are saved, you do not really
understand the full significance of what happened to you when Jesus saved you
unless you understand the doctrine of salvation as it is revealed in the book
of Romans. It says in Romans 3:21-24, “But now the
righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law
and the prophets; Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus
Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference: For
all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; Being justified freely by
his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus:”
The key phrase in Romans 3:21 is “without
the law.” God has established the means of
obtaining righteousness before Him, and this means is without the law. The law
has to do with all the commandments and restrictions that human beings were
required to observe. The law is made up of the Ten Commandments and all the
other “dos and don’ts.” Under the requirements of the law your possibility of
obtaining righteousness had to do with keeping the commandments. The problem
with becoming righteous through the keeping of the law is found in Romans 3:23.
Everyone has already sinned, and therefore it is impossible for anyone to
obtain righteousness through the keeping of the law. It says, “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.” Any good works that you might do, cannot overcome the
sinful actions that you have already committed. Therefore you and everyone else
will “come short of the glory of God.” Thankfully, Jesus died on the cross for us, and thereby
God has provided a solution to the problem of our “unrighteousness.”
Notice that Romans 3:21 says that the
righteousness of God without the law was “witnessed by the law and the
prophets.” We just read in Jeremiah one of the places in the Old Testament
where we are told very clearly where true righteousness comes from when
Jeremiah 23:6 calls the Messiah, “THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.” It is good
also to quote from two other passages in the Old Testament that reveal this
same truth. These two passages are also quoted in Romans chapter 4. The first
is a reference to Abraham, and the second is a reference to King David. The
Apostle Paul quotes from Genesis 15:6 and the Bible says in Romans 4:1-5, “What shall
we say then that Abraham our father, as pertaining to the flesh, hath found?
For if Abraham were justified by works, he hat whereof to glory; but not before
God. For what saith the scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted
unto him for righteousness. Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned
of grace, but of debt. But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that
justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.” Abraham’s
faith caused him to be “counted” as a righteous person. The good works that
Abraham performed (and Abraham did many good works) did not result in Abraham
becoming justified before God. But Abraham’s faith is what caused Abraham to be
accounted as a righteous person. The principle here is the principle of grace.
It says in Titus 3:5, “Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according
to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy
Ghost.”
And then the Apostle Paul quotes from
Psalms 32:1-2 and the Bible says in Romans 4:6-8, “Even as David also describeth the
blessedness of the man, unto whom God imputeth righteousness without works,
Saying, blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are
covered. Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin.” We cannot establish our own
righteousness because of our own failings. God created us, and God created a
means by which we can obtain righteousness so that we can live in the holiest
of holies in heaven forever.
When Jeremiah called the Messiah “the Lord our Righteousness,” we were in effect being told that the Lord Jesus Christ is our
righteousness. Romans chapter four tells us that this is having righteousness
accounted to us, and this is having righteousness imputed to us.
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Copyright; 2012 by Charles
F. (Rick) Creech
All Rights Reserved