Jeremiah 33:14-16 (NRSV)
14 The days are surely coming, says the Lord, when I will fulfill the promise I made to the house of Israel and the house of Judah. 15 In those days and at that time I will cause a righteous Branch to spring up for David, and he shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. 16 In those days Judah will be saved, and Jerusalem will live in safety. And this is the name by which it will be called: “The Lord is our righteousness.”
Introduction
God has a plan. God has a gracious set of promises that he will fulfill. Destitution does not have the last word. The tragedies that come do not define us ultimately. So, as we are preparing for the Advent and Christmas Seasons, Chapter 33 of the Book of Jeremiah starts off with a beautiful promise of recovery and healing that the Lord is bringing.
I. Count on God to keep His promises——–V. 14
“The days are surely coming, says the Lord, when I will fulfill the promise I made…”
If the Bible has shown us anything, it’s that we can count on God to keep His promises. Over and over again, we see the Lord making and fulfilling His promises to the people. It’s all on Him, and not dependent on our actions.
Think about that for a moment… If our salvation were up to us, then we’d never be able to achieve it. But God does it for us. Here we see the Israelite people who messed things up pretty badly and completely spit in the face of the Lord, and God’s like…
“Okay, you’re living the consequences of your actions. But listen… I’ve got your back. You messed up, but I’m going to make this right. You can count on me to take care of it.”
II. God is Bringing hope to the suffering——–V. 15
“In those days and at that time I will cause a righteous Branch to spring up for David… and he shall execute justice and righteousness in the land.”
This is a direct reference to the coming Messiah. That word justice is an interesting one. It’s a big word that a lot of people have different ideas about what it means.
Typically, our culture today defines it largely as a punishment for someone who broke the law.
Hopefully justice is fulfilled if they get a hash-enough sentence for their crimes. But when you dive into what justice really means, it goes a lot deeper. It’s not about punishment as much as it’s about making right the wrongs.
And in that sense, you can apply the term to so many more wrongs in our society. You start to see applications with things like caring for the widow, the orphan, the sick, the poor, and so many other difficult situations.
So, when the Lord says that He’s coming to execute justice and righteousness in the land, it’s not about punishing bad people. It’s about bringing hope to those suffering.
We need to know that God is coming——–V. 16
“In those days Judah will be saved, and Jerusalem will live in safety. And this is the name by which it will be called: “The Lord is our righteousness.””
The place that the people of God call home will be called, “The Lord is our righteousness.”
We live in a broken world. It might not look and feel exactly like it did for the people living in the Babylonian Captivity 2600 years ago. But it’s not a stretch for us to look at the world we live in and feel like something’s off; like we’re displaced from the way things should be.
As we begin this journey into Advent and Christmas, reflect on where you’re at…
- Maybe you’re living in the struggle of the consequences of your own sin
- Maybe you feel like you’re living a displaced life in exile from where you belong
- Maybe you’re struggling on the inside with the weight of this life
- Maybe you look around and don’t like the suffering you see in others… those close to you, or around in our community
You need to know that He is coming. You need to know that there is hope and a future when all the wrongs of this life are made right. And that we will live in a place called, “The Lord is our righteousness.”
Pastor John N. Punni, II