God Promised a Righteous Branch

August 19, 2012 Background Scripture: Jeremiah 23:1 – 8; 33 Lesson Passage: Jeremiah 23:1 – 6; 33:14 – 18 Any word that follows the phrase “God promised …” comes with great assurance and should be received with great expectancy by those for whom it is intended. God’s promises are absolute. They are established by the very word that God speaks just as heaven and earth were created by God’s word. In fact, Jesus said: until heaven and earth pass, not one jot or tittle of the law (God’s word) will change. That is a statement or definition of absolute. Therefore, it is imperative that we take the topic of our lesson today seriously. Jeremiah prophesied the fall of Judah at the hands of her enemy and he was also an eyewitness to the final deportation of many of the citizens. The failure of leadership had become a stark reality for the nation. The leaders had scattered the people and showed little concern for their welfare. As a result of this, God had dispersed them into many nations. Jeremiah wept over the fall of Jerusalem which earned him the moniker of “the weeping prophet”. But God is faithful to His word and to His covenant. Although the leaders had caused Israel to sin greatly in departing from the covenant, God would still uphold them and eventually return the nation to the land of promise. However, their punishment would last seventy years and then God would judge their enemy and allow many of those that were a part of the dispersion to return to Canaan. In addition to this, God allowed Jeremiah to take a peek through the telescope of time. Jeremiah saw that God would also gather the offspring of those of the northern kingdom who had been dispersed over one hundred thirty five years prior to the fall of Judah in 586 B.C. Jeremiah saw both Israel and Judah being gathered and forming a remnant of God’s chosen people as time comes to a close. This remnant would not suffer at the hands of evil leaders who would cause them to stray from following after God. God would fulfill His promise made to David concerning his descendent. David’s offspring would sit on the throne of Israel throughout eternity. Obviously, this fulfillment did not take place at the end of the seventy years. The fulfillment of the prophecy would be beyond that time and even beyond the period of time that we today know as the Church Age. At the end of time, God would raise up the Messiah from the lineage of King David and he would be their ruler. In the family of David, God established and sustained a tree of righteousness and the Messiah would be a natural branch that grows out of that tree. This Righteous Branch would bring salvation and safety to God’s people. He would be their King. In spite of their present distress, God’s people had much to rejoice about. This punishment would not be forever but only for a season. Then the Lord would restore them, and even more than that, God would fulfill the covenant He made with Abraham and David. Robert C. Hudson August 13, 2012

God Promised a Righteous Lord

August 12, 2012 Background Scripture: Isaiah 9:1 – 7 Lesson Passage: Isaiah 9:1 – 7 Israel had tried for over 300 years to be like her neighbors—yet different. No matter how hard they tried, they would ultimately fail and find themselves suffering dearly because of it. It all began when Israel’s leaders approached Samuel and informed him that they wanted a king like the nations who they lived among. Samuel objected passionately but was overruled by God who instructed him to tell Israel the type of king they would have and what that king would do to their sons and daughters. In spite of the warning concerning the consequences, Israel was ready to press on and have a king to rule over them rather than a religious leader who received his orders directly from God. The first king proved to be everything Israel had been warned about. The second king (David) and the third king (Solomon) came close to fulfilling the nation’s hope of having a monarch form of government and being highly successful according to the blessings of God. Unfortunately, this streak ended abruptly after the third king. Eventually, the nation would split because of the selfishness of its fourth king. The northern nation became more and more corrupt while the southern nation had its ups and downs as she went through a series of good and bad kings. Under the bad kings, the nation would find herself suffering at the hands of her enemies. Under the good kings, the nation would experience revival, return to serving God, and enjoy years of prosperity and peace until the king died. Nevertheless, even with a good king, the nation could not get back to her glory days when King David led them as a king. King David was submissive to the will of God and highly successful on the battlefields against Israel’s enemies. The cycle of apostasy and revival continued until God sent a promise by the prophet Isaiah; that promise was to become an eternal hope for the nation. God promised to intervene and break the cycle. Israel would indeed have another king like unto King David. But this king would be even better than King David. This king’s relationship with God would be perfect and his rule over the people of God would be unparalleled. This king would rule in righteousness but his rule would be tempered by mercy. He would fulfill all of the needs of the people while maintaining perfect fulfillment of God’s Law. He would be a king who would be Lord over all of God’s children but he would not have the moral or ethical weakness of the good kings that ruled before him. He would not have to repent to God because he would not sin against God’s holiness. His lordship of God’s people would not be harsh or weak. He would rule them with grace and truth. What God described was more than the people could ask or even think. Yet, the people could lay hold on God’s promise and anticipate his arrival because God promised a righteous Lord. Robert C. Hudson July 31, 2012