Psalm 146:3 warns of the frailty and fallibility of human rulers. History provides many examples of the folly of putting too much confidence in any earthly monarch. We find the same to be true in the history of Israel and Judah. Both nations passed through spiritually dark times that led eventually to exile. Yet it was in the darkest times that God gave to his prophets messages of hope that centre on the Messiah. We consider one of these in Jeremiah 23:6 The Lord our Righteousness.
1. A corrupt dynasty
The house of David had begun with great hopes. God gave great promises regarding the glory of the kingdom in 2 Samuel 7 and Psalm 89. David’s sin damaged his immediate family profoundly and the life of the whole nation was harmed. After Solomon, whose later years were characterised by compromise with idolatry, the kingdom was divided (I Kings 12). The northern Kingdom declined rapidly under evil kings until the Assyrian exile in 722BC (2 Kings 17). The southern Kingdom of Judah was more stable but too many kings were ungodly. The last years of its history are described in Jeremiah 22-23. The kings were supposed to be shepherds (23:1). In fact they were the opposite. The whole nation had followed their godless example and the Babylonian exile was the result.
2. A gracious promise
Jeremiah lived in the dark days of Zedekiah. He too will be swept aside when the Babylonians take Jerusalem in 586BC. But God gives a word of hope. In spite of appearances, the promise to David that ‘your house and your kingdom shall endure forever before me’ (2 Samuel 7:16) was clearly not fulfilled in a political sense but there will be a greater spiritual fulfilment. It had a partial fulfilment at the return from exile (v3-4) but v5 points to the perfect fulfilment – ‘I will raise up to David a righteous branch’. When the root of David’s dynasty seemed dead and hopeless, God acts in sovereign power to raise up a King, the Messiah. In the midst of the darkness of human sin, God in grace will provide a King to do what no previous king from David’s house had been able to do. His royal victory is foretold in Gen 3:15 – the serpent’s head will be crushed by the Seed of the woman.
3. A righteous King
Note the King’s title – ‘the Lord our Righteousness’. The Messiah will be the faithful shepherd foretold in Ezekiel 34. Hence Jesus’ statement ‘I am the good shepherd’ (John 10:11). His person and work are described here. ‘Righteousness’ has the basic meaning of conforming to the standard of God’s holiness expressed in his Law. To be righteous is to be in conformity with God’s requirements. ‘The Lord our Righteousness’ has a twofold significance:
1. He is righteous. Christ is perfectly sinless – Isaiah 53:9; Hebrews 4:15; I Peter 4:19. This is seen in how he rules: ‘reign wisely and do what is just and right’ (v5). Such sinlessness is required for his royal work of salvation.
2. He confers righteousness. He provides for himself a people who share his righteousness. Note Isaiah 53:11 ‘my righteous servant will justify many’. This is possible because of his sacrificial work on the cross when he took the sins of his people upon himself, and they are declared righteous when they put their trust in him. We are ‘justified by faith’ (Romans 5:1). Thus ‘Judah will be saved’ (v6). Christ also goes on to make us actually righteous as the Holy Spirit daily sanctifies us – Titus 2:14. As we are increasingly conformed to God’s standard, we become righteous, joyfully keeping God’s law because we love the Lord (John 14:15).