Friday, 05 August, 2005: Today’s Bible readings.
14 “Behold, the days are coming, declares 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 dwell securely. And this is the name by which it will be called: ‘The LORD is our righteousness.’”
Jeremiah lived in a very dark time for Israel. They were in rebellion, and were being taken into captivity in Babylon in stages. But in the midst of the declarations of woe and destruction, God brings promises of hope for the future.
In today’s passage, we see the promise God made that Israel will be restored, and that a descendent of David will reign in justice and righteousness.
And then there is this interesting phrase. God says that Judah and Jerusalem will be called “The LORD is our righteousness”.
What do we learn from this?
What is the standard that God holds me to? What do I have to do to be saved? How righteous do I have to be? Jesus answers these questions in the Sermon on the Mount. Here is the standard that God demands of us:
You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.
That’s it. Perfection. God demands perfect obedience to His law.
James tells us that even one sin is too many.
For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become accountable for all of it.
Since I’ve sinned, along with everyone else, what hope do I have? Since I don’t have the righteousness required to be saved, my only hope is if someone who has been perfectly obedient to God’s law can give me the righteousness required, and can take the penalty for my sins.
And God does that for those who come to Him in faith through the work of the Second Person of the Trinity, Jesus Christ. The sins of God’s people are imputed to Jesus upon the cross, and the righteousness that Christ Jesus earned in living the perfect life here on earth is imputed to His people. He gives us His righteous. And so all God’s people can be called, “The LORD is our righteousness”.
Where is Christ in this passage?
Christ is our righteousness. It is His righteousness that is imputed to us. He is the branch of David. He is the one who is bringing everything into submission under His Lordship as He reigns in justice and righteousness.
It is because of Jesus Christ that we, His people, can be called “The LORD is our righteousness.”
