A Righteous Branch

“Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, and he shall reign as king and deal wisely, and shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. In his days Judah will be saved, and Israel will dwell securely. And this is the name by which he will be called: ‘The Lord is our righteousness.”
(Jeremiah 23:5–6, ESV)

When I was in college, I purchased a 1971 Chevy Monte Carlo. It was one of the nicest running cars that I ever had. While I was at school, I walked out of my apartment and discovered the car was missing. It had been stollen overnight. I reported it to the police, but the car was never seen again. So, I awaited the insurance payout so I could purchase another car. While waiting, my aunt’s house was behind on property tax payments and was going to be put up for auction, unless the taxes were paid.

My dad asked if I could loan my aunt, his sister, the money from the insurance to pay the back taxes. I agreed and my dad promised me that he would make sure that I would get the money back to purchase another car. I just knew that my aunt would never pay the money back and she did not. Yet, my father kept his promise and gave me the money needed.

The point is that as my father with limited resources kept his promise to me, our heavenly Father with infinite and unlimited resources always keeps His promises. In these verses we see a prophetic view of the future fulfilment of one of His great promises. The promise of a righteous king.

The Lord God made a covenant with Abraham and one with David, Israel’s second king. The promise He made to David was that there would be a king to come from his lineage, the tribe of Judah, who would be seated on the throne as king forever.

However, the kingship of Judah after Josiah became a turbulent and downward spiral. Towards the end of this spiral, we see a king named Jehoiachin. The Scripture indicated that this king would be considered as childless, that none of his descendants would succeed him to sit on the throne of David. After a short, three-month reign, Nebuchadnezzar deposed Jehoiachin and deported him to Babylon. He appointed Jehoiachin’s uncle, Zedekiah, to reign in his place. Zedekiah was Judah’s last king. God had pruned away this unrighteous branch of the kingly line of Judah.

The final conquest of Judah by the Babylonians happened in 586BC with the destruction of Jerusalem and the deportation of a small remnant, 4,600 persons, to Babylon (Jeremiah 52:30). Now, you might think that this was the end for the nation, but it was not. The Lord indicated that He would fulfill His covenant promise to David. The Lord keeps His promises and these were yet to be fulfilled. The Lord declared, “the days are coming . . . when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch.”

The unrighteous branch of the kingly lineage was pruned off, but there would come another branch. This branch would a righteous branch. The Lord indicated that “he shall reign as king and deal wisely, and shall execute justice and righteousness in the land.” Furthermore, the prophecy states, “In his days Judah will be saved, and Israel will dwell securely.” He would be called, “The Lord is our righteousness.” Who is this one? He is the King of kings and Lord of lords, the Lord Jesus Christ. He will reign like none other, with perfect justice and righteousness forever.

Today as we negotiate a very turbulent world and we see leaders of all types. Some of these are good leaders and others are not. As we get all tied up in knots, let us who believe remember a few things. First, the King of kings and Lord of lords is currently seated at the right hand of the Father. He is sovereign over all. He is currently our high priest of the order of Melchizedek (Hebrews Chapters 5-7). Remember that the order of Melchizedek was a royal one, he was a king priest. We do have a righteous king, His name is Jesus and He currently reigns from heaven.

Second, as believers, we are joined in Him in a royal priesthood (1 Peter 2:9). We have an esteemed position in Him.

Third, He is Lord and He reigns in our hearts. We have a righteous king.

Last, He is coming again to establish His kingdom on earth. It will be a reign of righteousness, perfect justice and truth. Moreover, we will reign with Him in His millennial kingdom (Revelation 20:6).

Be of good cheer. Our blessed future is guaranteed by the Righteous Branch. The King is coming.