Yahweh-Tsidkenu (The Lord Our Righteousness)

Intro

Historical Context before we read the text.

2 Kings 24:18–20 (NIV)

Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem eleven years. His mother’s name was Hamutal daughter of Jeremiah; she was from Libnah. He did evil in the eyes of the Lord, just as Jehoiakim had done. It was because of the Lord’s anger that all this happened to Jerusalem and Judah, and in the end he thrust them from his presence. Now Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon.

Interestingly enough his name means “The Lord is Righteous”

It was during his 9th year that Babylon led by king Nebuchadnezzar moved against Jerusalem. (Israel had already been taken by Assyria)

It was during this time that the prophet Jeremiah was speaking on behalf of God to Judah.

Jeremiah 21:1–9 (NIV)

The word came to Jeremiah from the Lord when King Zedekiah sent to him Pashhur son of Malkijah and the priest Zephaniah son of Maaseiah. They said: “Inquire now of the Lord for us because Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon is attacking us. Perhaps the Lord will perform wonders for us as in times past so that he will withdraw from us.” But Jeremiah answered them, “Tell Zedekiah, ‘This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: I am about to turn against you the weapons of war that are in your hands, which you are using to fight the king of Babylon and the Babylonians who are outside the wall besieging you. And I will gather them inside this city. I myself will fight against you with an outstretched hand and a mighty arm in furious anger and in great wrath. I will strike down those who live in this city—both man and beast—and they will die of a terrible plague. After that, declares the Lord, I will give Zedekiah king of Judah, his officials and the people in this city who survive the plague, sword and famine, into the hands of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and to their enemies who want to kill them. He will put them to the sword; he will show them no mercy or pity or compassion.’ “Furthermore, tell the people, ‘This is what the Lord says: See, I am setting before you the way of life and the way of death. Whoever stays in this city will die by the sword, famine or plague. But whoever goes out and surrenders to the Babylonians who are besieging you will live; they will escape with their lives.

To some this seems extreme. But for generations God has been contending with “his people”

Jeremiah 22:8–9 NIV

“People from many nations will pass by this city and will ask one another, ‘Why has the Lord done such a thing to this great city?’ And the answer will be: ‘Because they have forsaken the covenant of the Lord their God and have worshiped and served other gods.’ ”

This is not the first time, nor will it be the last time, that God has said, “Enough!”

Read Jeremiah 23:1-8.

1. God sees the wickedness of the world and he is not pleased.

-Shepherds are the rulers and leaders of Judah

-It starts at the top.

-Woe—expression of dissatisfaction or pain, mournful

-The leader is to gather and protect but in this instance the opposite has occured.

2. The promise of a “righteous Branch” is the the promise of a Messiah.

-Future event from the events being described.

-The nation of Israel wanted king like the other nations. This was a rejection of God as their king.

-This led to Saul, David, Solomon and then a divided kingdom with only a few “good kings” to speak of.

-A King who will

reign wisely

do what is just

do what is right

-The name given here (to the Messiah) Yahweh-Tsidkenu, “The Lord Our Righteousness”

3. The name The Lord Our Righteousness assures us that the standard of this kingdom is God’s rightness.

-Let’s dive into this word “righteous” in order to better understand what the standard of God’s kingdom is.

-In a physical sense, straightness

-In an ethical sense, what is right and just

-As it pertains to God, it is the standard by which mankind is judged but also by which we are redeemed.

-How do we measure up?

Psalm 51:1–2 (NIV)

Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions. Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin.

-Transgressions=trespass/rebel

-Iniquity=crooked/twisted/bent

-Sin=miss the mark/fall short

I heard a preacher once talk about God’s righteous ness as straight line, stiff and perfect. It’s true and right.

To transgress is to trespass over the line

Iniquity is to twist or bend the line

To sin is to miss the line completely

So what are we to do?

The Psalmist asks God to “Create in me a pure heart, renew a steadfast spirit in me.

-Something in us needs to change but look we all know that as hard as we can try we can not make ourselves right (at least in compared to the righteousness of God)

I want to introduce a new word, IMPUTATION.

Definition: the reckoning or placing to a person’s account the merit or guilt that belongs to him on the basis of his personal performance or of that of his federal head.

-So this would first describe the transmission of guilt of Adam’s first fin to his us.

Romans 5:19a (NIV)

For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners.

But there is more to that verse isn’t there...

Romans 5:19b (NIV)

so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous.

Understanding this is key to understanding salvation.

Remember God is a sovereign judge, a good judge and so

God Makes the guilt, the legal responsibility of our sins, really Christ’s and punishes in them in him

Isaiah 53:6 NIV

We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.

John 1:29 NIV

The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!

2 Corinthians 5:21 NIV

God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

And

2. God makes the merit, legal rights of Christ’s righteousness, ors and then treats us as persons legally invested with all those rights.

Romans 10:4 NIV

Christ is the culmination of the law so that there may be righteousness for everyone who believes.

Philippians 3:7–10 NIV

But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith. I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death,

Dictionary of Theological Terms Imputation of Our Sin to Christ and of His Righteousness to Us

He justly suffered the punishment due to our sins, and we justly receive the rewards due to His right-eousness

So here is the bottom line, God has declared the the Jesus is Righteous based on his personal righteousness. And God declares that we (his church, his bride, the people of God) are righteous but not based on even one iota of our personal righteousness. It is the righteousness of Christ imputed onto us.

Paul is clear...

2 Corinthians 5:21 NIV

God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

And the benefits are

Produces in us the assurance of our standing before God

Dictionary of Theological Terms Consequences of the Imputation of Christ’s Righteousness

As long as Christians keep dissecting their own faith to see if they “really” believed, felt enough penitent emotion, prayed the right prayer, or have performed to a sufficiently high standard, they will destroy assurance.

But what do we all want…assurance. But there can be no assurance without perfection. But assurance can be found when we realize that Christ’s righteousness is our righteousness.

This truth opens up the world to the believer and pushes them forward in liberty. No longer are they trying to be good enough

But it also..

2. We are led into personal holiness.

Someone might say well now that I have the righteousness of Christ I can do what ever I want. I can continue to sin

but Paul wrote in Romans

Romans 6:2 NIV

By no means! We are those who have died to sin; how can we live in it any longer?

Romans 6:4 NIV

We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.

The conclusion of the matter is this. When we stand before God there is no hope if we stand in our own righteousness…we stand before him guilty. But if we stand before him dressed in the righteousness of Christ, he sees us guiltless.