Messiah: Branch of Righteousness

“In those days and at that time I will make a righteous Branch sprout from David’s line; He will do what is just and right in the land. In those days Judah will be saved and Jerusalem will live in safety. This is the name by which it will be called: The Lord of Righteousness” (Jeremiah 33:15-16. NIV). “It is because of Him that you are in Christ Jesus, Who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption. Therefore, as it is written, ‘Let him who boasts boast in the Lord.’ “ (I Corinthians 1:30-31. NIV). “But about the Son he says, “Your throne, O God, will last for ever and ever, and righteousness will be the scepter of your kingdom.’ “ (Hebrews 1:8. NIV).

God declared He would fulfill His promises to save His people through an anointed descendant of David. The “Branch of David”—a shoot from the stem of Jesse—would bring about righteousness, justice and perpetuation of the kingdom promised to Abraham long ago. Much store was put on the Branch. It was very symbolic and a metaphor for the Ruler who would come to restore the kingdom and set the people of God at liberty. Of course, the Jewish people expected this Branch to set up an earthly kingdom and bring back the Jewish exiles from the nations where conquests by foreign kings had scattered them. But God had in mind a Branch of an entirely different nature. The Branch He would send would be a “Branch of Righteousness.” This Branch would cover all people, not just the Jews. And being grafted into the Living Branch comes through faith and belief, not in being born a Jew. It even took the disciples a time to grasp the Lord’s meaning of the Branch of David. But when the Holy Spirit came on the Day of Pentecost and Peter stood to deliver the sermon he was inspired to preach, the true meaning of the Righteous Branch was made clear. Any who heard the new and dynamic message of the Lord could attain entrance to the Branch of Righteousness, the Messiah, the Savior. Righteousness was, indeed, to be the scepter of the new Kingdom and faith its stronghold.

Jesus in His wonderful discourse on the Vine and the branches taught us what it is like to abide as branches of the Vine. “I am the Vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned. If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples.” (John 15:5-8). The principle of abiding is vital to the Christian’s life. Apart from the vine, we (the branches) cannot have spiritual sustenance. Neither can we bear fruit worthy of the Vine. In the rush of this Christmas season, take time to abide in the true Branch.

c Ethelene Dyer Jones; Thursday, December 8, 2010

Jeremiah Buys Land for Future Use

“Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, ‘Take these deeds, this sealed deed of purchase, and this open deed, and put them in an earthenware jar, that they may last a long time.’ For thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, ‘Houses and fields and vineyards shall again be bought in this land.’ “ (Jeremiah 32:14-15. NASB. Read Jeremiah 32)

The prophet Jeremiah often did in his life that which was symbolic of God’s providence and watchcare of the people. Jeremiah bought a portion of land when the nation of Judah was under siege from Nebuchadnezzar and the forces of Babylon. In the midst of trouble, Jeremiah demonstrated his trust in God’s leadership to restore the nation by buying land, having the deeds legally drawn, and storing them in a safe place. God would keep His promises to the nation. In the future, the people would again live in safety in their promised land. Jeremiah’s action indicated his faith that God would fulfill his purpose in restoring the scattered and persecuted nation.

In historic perspective, Jeremiah began his prophetic ministry in the thirteenth year of King Josiah’s reign in the nation of Judah, about 626 B. C. He continued his prophesying until after he was forcibly taken to Egypt about 584 B.C. He began his ministry before good King Josiah’s reform recorded in 2 Kings 23. Jeremiah was often under attack because of his message, one of judgment on Judah because of their unfaithfulness to God. In fact, the first writings by Baruch, his scribe, were burned, piece by piece, by King Jehoiakim. Jeremiah dictated the message, anew and enlarged, and Baruch wrote the message again. Despite efforts to eradicate Jeremiah’s important message, it prevailed and we have the second longest book in the Bible next to Psalms, filled with visions, prophecies, autobiographical sketches, predictions about foreign nations, and important history of God’s work among the nation of Judah and its enemies. And in the midst of trouble came Jeremiah’s act of hope: the purchase of land that might be used in the period of restoration.

In this action of Jeremiah, and, indeed, throughout the prophecies of this faithful servant, we learn that God is sovereign over His covenant people and over individuals. God is faithful to His people and is always calling them back into fellowship with Him. The new covenant God made with his people is a clarion cry of Jeremiah’s message: “I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people…I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.” (Jeremiah 31:33b, 34b. NIV) God stands ready to restore and forgive but we must make the move toward him: “Call to Me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.” (Jeremiah 33:3, NIV)

c Ethelene Dyer Jones; Monday, August 23, 2010