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Jehovah-Tsidkenu: The Lord Our Righteousness 

Finally, a righteous king 

Jeremiah 23.5–6 

Don Ruhl • Savage Street, Grants Pass, Oregon • May 26, In the year of our Lord Christ, 2019 

Scripture Reader and Reading: Carl Peugh – Jeremiah 23.1–4 

Song Leader and Song Suggestions: Larry Amberg – No Suggestions 

Prelude: 

  1. Rather than just jumping all over the Bible to get verses together for a subject, 
    1. you should make a habit of just reading the story of the Bible. 
    2. For example, have you wondered why the Book of Genesis lists 
      1. all those people who lived long lives before the Flood? 
      2. There are several reasons why the genealogy is in the Bible, but 
        1. why did Moses give us their ages? 
        2. He wrote of how long a man lived until he begot a certain son, 
          1. then how many more years that man lived. 
          2. Then Moses does the same with the son of that man. 
      3. The Bible does this in other places without revealing their ages at death. 
        1. Why in the case of the pre-flood years and 
        2. even some people after the Flood. 
  2. If you read the Book of Genesis, 
    1. ignoring the chapter and verse divisions, 
    2. you will discover something. 
      1. In the beginning, God created man with the ability 
      2. to live forever on the earth, but 
        1. something happened to prevent that. 
        2. Adam and Eve sinned, and 
          1. once sin entered the world, 
          2. death invited itself into the world also, and 
            1. that means that all of the suffering associated with death, or 
            2. merely how we grow old and die, 
              1. also started to happen. 
              2. Then Moses shows the reader 
                1. that the human body is capable of living a long time 
                2. by showing people who lived almost a thousand years. 
    3. With help from the tree of life, 
      1. man could keep on living, 
      2. never dying by natural means. 
  3. Likewise, why do the Books of Samuel and Kings 
    1. focus almost exclusively on the kings of Israel? 
    2. When you start reading First Samuel, 
      1. you learn about a great Judge, Samuel, 
      2. who may have been the greatest of them all. 
        1. However, as he grew older his sons became judges, but 
        2. they did not walk in the ways of their father. 
          1. They turned aside to dishonest gain, 
          2. took bribes, and 
          3. perverted justice. 
    3. As a result the Bible records these sad words, 
      1. which became a turning point in Israel’s history:

        4 Then all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah, 5 and said to him, “Look, you are old, and your sons do not walk in your ways. Now make us a king to judge us like all the nations.”

        – 1 Samuel 8.4–5
      2. Samuel thought the people were rejecting him, but 
        1. God told Samuel that Israel was rejecting God as their king. 
        2. God then had Samuel warn Israel about having a human king. 
    4. The rest of First and Second Samuel, and First and Second Kings 
      1. shows what happened when they wanted a king like the nations. 
      2. There were some righteous kings, but 
        1. for the most part those kings led Israel and Judah into wickedness. 
        2. It was the kings who got the nations into trouble. 
          1. It was Israel who wanted a human king. 
          2. Listen, it does not work to abandon God’s plan. 
    5. For over 400 years Israel had kings. 
      1. During that time the kings just kept leading Israel lower into sin. 
      2. During the days of the prophet Jeremiah, 
        1. the downward spiral accelerated. 
        2. Would Israel ever have a king who would lead in righteousness?

Persuasion: 

  1. Jeremiah 23.5–6 | The King 
    1. Jeremiah began his book revealing 
      1. that he prophesied during the days of Josiah and 
      2. during the days of the sons of Josiah, namely, Jehoiakim and Zedekiah. 
        1. Josiah’s grandfather, Manasseh, had reigned 55 wicked years. 
        2. Manasseh’s son, Amon, Josiah’s father, 
          1. also reigned with evil. 
          2. After his two-year reign ended, 
            1. Josiah became king and 
            2. he did many wonderful things 
              1. to restore the true religion of the Lord in Israel. 
              2. However, he did something foolish and 
                1. died when he was only 39 years old. 
                2. All of his sons continued in evil 
                3. like great-grandfather Manasseh and grandfather Amon. 
    2. The Lord decided that it was time for Judah to go into captivity, 
      1. unless they repented. 
      2. The Lord loved the kingdom of Judah. 
        1. He had no desire to see them tossed out of the land. 
        2. However, the majority did not repent, and 
          1. Judah fell at the hands of the Babylonians. 
          2. The glory of Israel and of Judah had completely disappeared. 
    3. Israel asked for a king like all the nations and 
      1. they got what they wanted. 
      2. And it destroyed them. 
    4. However, the Lord sent Jeremiah and other prophets 
      1. to preach to the people 
      2. that they repent because 
        1. He did not want to send them into captivity, nor 
        2. did He want to send a foreign army to destroy their place. 
    5. In time they would see their evil for having asked for a king. 
      1. However, the Lord also showed them hope because 
      2. He would give them the right kind of a king:

        5 “Behold, the days are coming,” says the LORD,
        “That I will raise to David a Branch of righteousness;
        A King shall reign and prosper,
        And execute judgment and righteousness in the earth.
        6 In His days Judah will be saved,
        And Israel will dwell safely;
        Now this is His name by which He will be called:
        [Jehovah-Tsidkenu], THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.”

        – Jeremiah 23.5–6
  2. A Branch of Righteousness 
    1. This new king would bring something that they had not seen before: 
      1. Total righteousness. 
      2. You could call David a righteous king, but 
        1. as you know he also sinned. 
        2. Every human king sinned. 
          1. While David sinned, 
          2. he did not lead Israel into sin, and 
            1. he certainly did not lead the nation away from the Lord. 
            2. He was the best Israel had or perhaps 
              1. that any nation has had. 
              2. What national leader at any time in history 
                1. compares in righteousness to David? 
    2. However, the Lord promised 
      1. that He would raise up to David, 
      2. that is a king from David’s line, 
        1. who would be like a branch of righteousness. 
        2. He would reign and prosper, and in the earth 
          1. He would execute judgment, and 
          2. He would execute righteousness. 
    3. He would bring salvation. 
  3. Jehovah-Tsidkenu: The-Lord-Our-Righteousness 
    1. In other prophecies, the Lord had revealed a name of a king. For example: 
      1. First Kings 13.2 (A couple of hundred years)

        2 Then he cried out against the altar by the word of the LORD, and said, “O altar, altar! Thus says the LORD: ‘Behold, a child, Josiah by name, shall be born to the house of David; and on you he shall sacrifice the priests of the high places who burn incense on you, and men’s bones shall be burned on you.’”

        – 1 Kings 13.2
      2. Isaiah 44.28 (about 150 years)

        28 Who says of Cyrus, “He is My shepherd,
        And he shall perform all My pleasure,
        Saying to Jerusalem, ‘You shall be built,’
        And to the temple, ‘Your foundation shall be laid.’”

        – Isaiah 44:28
    2. So too the Lord through Jeremiah revealed the name of this righteous King: 
      1. Jehovah-Tsidkenu: The-Lord-Our-Righteousness 
      2. It would be the Lord Himself. 
        1. He would leave His glorious throne in heaven and 
        2. be born of the house of David. 
          1. Remember what Gabriel told Mary?

            32 “He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David. 33 And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end.”

            – Luke 1.32–33
          2. The Lord through Jeremiah had told Israel that He Himself 
            1. would be that King, and 
            2. remember what He had told Samuel:

              7 And the LORD said to Samuel, “Heed the voice of the people in all that they say to you; for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected Me, that I should not reign over them.”

              – 1 Samuel 8.7
              1. They did not want Him as their King. 
              2. They wanted a human king. 
                1. After they would realize their massive error, 
                2. He would be their King again, but 
                  1. this time in a much grander way, for 
                  2. He would also be King of anyone, 
                  3. Israelite or not, 
                  4. who wants in His kingdom. 
  4. Jesus of Nazareth: The-Lord-Our-Righteousness 
    1. Jesus of Nazareth actually is Jehovah-Tsidkenu, 
      1. He is The-Lord-Our-Righteousness, 
      2. that is why the New Testament makes the following declarations. 
    2. Romans 10.4

      4 For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.

      – Romans 10.4
    3. First Corinthians 1.30–31

      30 But of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God—and righteousness and sanctification and redemption— 31 that, as it is written, “He who glories, let him glory in the LORD.”

      – 1 Corinthians 1.30–31
    4. First John 2.1

      1 My little children, these things I write to you, so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.

      – 1 John 2.1
    5. What sin or unrighteousness did Jesus commit? 
      1. It is interesting that atheists, secularists, liberal theologians, and other enemies of Christ 
      2. never charge Him with sin, but 
        1. they just simply say 
          1. that He was not divine or 
          2. that He never existed. 
        2. They read of His ministry and of His teachings, and 
          1. they cannot find anything wrong with Him. 
          2. So they decide to brush Him off. 

Exhortation: 

  1. When you confess that Jesus is Lord, 
    1. you are confessing 
    2. that He is Jehovah-Tsidkenu: The-Lord-Our-Righteousness. 
  2. The question before you is: 
    1. Shall you reject Him as your King like Israel did, or 
    2. shall you accept Him as your King like Christians have done? 
      1. You can try other ways of righteousness, but 
      2. they will all fail. 
  3. You may think that you have discovered another way of being right. 
    1. However, history shows 
      1. that our ideas do not work or 
      2. that they only work temporarily. 
    2. Look back over the past 100 years and 
      1. you will see what I mean. 
      2. We have good intentions, but 
        1. they fall short. 
        2. I have discovered that going back to the Creator, 
          1. seeing that He is the only One who does things right, 
          2. finally makes life click. 
  4. Please, today think about Jesus as your righteousness. 
    1. Give up on your attempts, and 
    2. accept Him fully, 
      1. believing in Him, 
      2. following His teachings, 
      3. living His way, 
      4. starting over with a new birth.