Future Hope in Past Promises Fulfilled

couch at home, watching a show like “The Flash” or “Agents of Shield” together. (Lemony Snickett - Brother promises to a friend his safety and return, but in the very episode, ends up dying.)

the main characters find themselves in a life-threatening crisis

the character with super-hero abilities says something like: “I promise, I won’t let anything happen to you.”

As if foreshadowing the next several minutes of the show, the character who promised works hard to save the day, but ultimately can’t fulfill the promise.

So if you’re watching TV or a movie and a person says “I promise” - you can almost be sure that the promise will be broken because they are insufficient to fulfill the promise.

Some of us make promises all the time. We promise to do some work. We promise to take out the trash or do the dishes as soon as we’re finished playing a video game. We’ promise to...

Sometimes we’re able to fulfill the promises we make, because we limit our commitment to what we can control. Other times however, there are circumstances outside of our control. No matter how much we promise, fulfillment won’t come.

What about when God makes a promise? Is He good for it?

Let me give you another scenario:

God made a promise to Abraham - he promised that his people would occupy a certain area of land - but they would be sent away for about 400 years. (Gen. 15:12-21)

The people of Israel end up in Egypt for nearly 400 years!

God directs Moses to lead the people out of Egypt.

God enacts a covenant with the people of Israel through Moses - initiating the sacrificial system.

After 40 years of waiting for a rebellious generation to die off, the people get to enter the land that God promised them. - Promise of Land fulfilled.

Over the next several hundred years, the people of Israel go through seasons of faithful living and rebellion. Eventually the Kingdom is divided.

After a few centuries of rebellion and warnings through the prophets, the Northern Kingdom of Israel is destroyed and taken into exile.

A little over a century later, the Southern Kingdom of Judah is conquered and taken into exile.

During the reigns of the kings and before the exiles, various prophets called the people to return to the Lord. One of those prophets was a man named Jeremiah. He was a priest who served primarily in the southern Kingdom.

Jeremiah had been preaching for years about the coming exile. He called the people to repent and return, but to no avail. The first 29 chapters of Jeremiah are filled with warnings of judgment on Judah. Many of the last chapters deal with warnings of judgment on the surrounding nations. In the middle of the book, chapters 30-33, God leads Jeremiah to convey some message of hope to His people. Some call these chapters the “Book of Consolation.” Throughout these chapters, God reiterates his commitment to his people and His plan to return them from exile. But when? When will these things happen?

This book of consolation provides a sense of hope through promises of God amidst the suffering they were enduring.

Now these weren’t empty promises, they were promises of the Lord, promises of a return to the land, promises of prosperity, promises of a Messiah.

Some of those very promises are contained in the short passage that we’re going to consider today.

Jeremiah 33:14–16 ESV

“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. 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. 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.’

As we think through these verses, let’s ask a few questions of the text, Scripture, and history in order to understand what this would have meant for the people of Israel and what it means for us today.

First of all...

Who is making the promise and why does that matter?

It’s clear from the text that Jeremiah states “the days are coming declares the Lord.” This is not a hopeful wish that Jeremiah is presenting - it’s a revelation from Yahweh.

In our Bibles, when we see LORD in all caps, that’s the Hebrew word YHWH or Yahweh. This is the covenant name that God gave to Moses for the people of Israel.

One of the things that God frequently called the people of Israel to do was to look back and remember. They were called to remember what Yahweh did at a various times throughout their history.

remember how he brought them out of Egypt - just as he promised.

remember how he gave them victory over their enemies.

remember how he brought them to the land that he promised them

All of this looking back was designed to help people be grateful for all that God had done and the help them look forward in confident hope of all that Yahweh will do. They could find hope in the future because of promises fulfilled in the past.

I think this is one reason why holidays like Thanksgiving are so important. You see, we can have a general attitude of gratitude, but to whom are we thankful? In giving thanks, it’s important to recognize that it is God who is working, providing, leading, protecting.

Psalm 136 is a song of the people of Israel that caused them to look back on all that God did - so that they would have confidence into the future.

As Jeremiah utters this promise on behalf of God, he is in a sense calling people to think back to what God had done in the past and look forward in hopeful expectation, in spite of the difficulties in which they find themselves - exiles in a foreign land, disciplined because of their rebellion.

So, Yahweh made the promise. That matters because he has made multiple promises in the past and fulfilled them. They can trust that he will be faithful into the future.

This brings us to a second question...

What is promised?

Jeremiah 33:15–16 ESV

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. 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.’

There is a two-fold promise here:

a person

protection

Let’s think about these separately.

The person

Jeremiah refers to this person as a “righteous branch,” but what does that mean?

A “branch” was essentially a way of referring to a descendent of a certain person - in this case David. But notice, this person will “spring up for David.” As I read this, it seems to indicate that this person as a branch will be of David, a descendent, but as a branch will also be on behalf of David.

This name (“the branch”) is one of many names that the OT prophets used to describe the Messiah. Don Carson notes that Jeremiah “depicts the coming one” [or Messiah] “as the good shepherd (23:4; 31:10), the righteous Branch (23:5; 33:15), and as David the king, the Lord's servant (30:9; 33:21, 26)” (August 5).

So this descendent of David will come and he will be regarded as “righteous.” The God’s Word translation defines righteous in three ways:

“1. without sin; completely good and moral. Only God is righteous in this sense (Ps. 143:1–2; Isa. 24:16); 2. a person who does what is right (1 Sam. 24:17; 2 Cor. 9:9); 3. a person whose sins are completely forgiven by God. A person who has put his or her faith in Jesus is seen as righteous in God’s eyes (Rom. 1:17; 3:21).”

The third definition clearly refers to people who have been made righteous. The second definition could refer to qualities of this “righteous” branch. The first, as it said, only refers to God.

But notice what this righteous branch will do. Not only will he act righteously, but he will govern that way as well. Jeremiah says that he will execute justice and righteousness in the land - for Israel and Judah - it seems to be land and people specific.

Now, if we were to think back over all of the previous Kings and rulers that Israel and Judah had experienced - some could be considered righteous. Most would be considered corrupt. All of them would be considered sinful.

Think about this - David - who was the standard for many of the Kings who would follow - did devote himself fully to the Lord. He was a faithful worshipper of God. But he was far from righteous. He commited adultery, conspired in murder, and took a census designed to prop up his ego, just to name a few things. As a husband, he was not content with just one wife. As a father, he was passive-aggressive at times and inconsistent in how he disciplined his children.

Some of the other kings raised up altars to false gods, entered into forbidden alliances with foreign nations, sacrificed their children in worship of other gods, and so much more.

So this new leader, this new ruler will be more, will be better than the best because he will execute justice perfectly - without bias and without inconsistency. He will govern honestly.

So often as we think about our own political and organizational leaders - we want people who will be entirely just and perfectly honest in all of their dealings - and yet even the best pale in comparison to this “righteous branch.”

But not only will this person be righteous, there will be a result of protection for the people of Judah and Jerusalem.

The protection

Jeremiah says that Judah will be “saved” and Jerusalem will “dwell securely” and will receive a new name “The Lord is our righteousness” or said another way “The Lord has provided us with justice.”

Now, in case your biblical map reading is a little fuzzy, Judah specifically refers to a certain tribe of Israel. After the nation was split, the southern kingdom became known as Judah. It spanned from just north of the Dead sea, across to the Mediterranean Sea and then south to the Red Sea - an area a little larger than the state of Delaware. Jerusalem was the capital of Judah and is seated on a plateau nearly 2500 feet above sea level near the northern border of Judah.

Keep in mind, Jeremiah’s audience were residents of Judah and Jerusalem. At the time he received this prophecy, Jeremiah was locked up in the court of King Zedekiah and Jerusalem was under seige by Nebuchadnezzar’s army (Jer. 32:1-2). There was little to no glimmer of hope for the people, and yet Jeremiah presents this promise of future hope and future protection.

Now, I can imagine that some people would have been quite frustrated by a future hope that they would not get to experience, but there was still discipline and punishment to endure for their past rebellion against God.

Jeremiah seems to be giving some hope that Jerusalem will not have to fear seige and Judah will be rescued.

The next couple of verses state that because of God’s promises...

Jeremiah 33:17-18 ...“David shall never lack a man to sit on the throne of the house of Israel, and the Levitical priests shall never lack a man in my presence to offer burnt offerings, to burn grain offerings, and to make sacrifices forever.””

There will be consistency and peace.

So, we’ve seen that God is the one who made these promises and that he promised a person and protection for His people. This then begs the next question...

How is the promise fulfilled?

Before we get to the good news, we have to wrestle with history.

After the exile, Judah and Israel never really had a king again. They had governors, but no King.

Roughly 70 years after the initial exile, sacrifices were started again on the ruins of temple grounds and eventually a temple was rebuilt and stood for approximately 500 years. Eventually, in 70AD, the temple was destroyed. As far as we can tell, the Jewish sacrificial system has not been active since then.

So, did God lie? Did he break his promise? There is no Davidic King in Jerusalem and, while there may be Levitical priests leading worship, there are no sacrifices happening.

This promise seems to point to Jesus - the righteous Branch

The genealogies that we read about in Matthew and Luke reveal that Jesus was a descendant of David through his mother Mary and through his step-father Joseph. But remember, the promise said that a branch will spring up “for David.” Since Jesus is fully God and fully human - he has the earthly heritage of a King and the eternal existence of God. He his then the eternal ruler of the line of David - able to sit on the throne - though he is in Heaven’s throne room now.

When it comes to the role of the priest - the promise stated that the “Levitical priests would never lack a man” who could offer sacrifices. We saw in Hebrews - that Jesus would be a priest in the order of Melchizedek - an order superior to the Levitical priests. Even the Psalmist urged that there would be a new kind of priest - Ps. 110. We also learned in Hebrews that Jesus offered himself as the perfect and eternal sacrifice for our sins. He is before God (and is God) eternally.

So, Jesus is this righteous branch, but what about the executing justice and righteousness?

In his life, Jesus demonstrated sinless perfection. He showed us exactly how we should live, how we would live if we were perfect.

On the cross - Jesus executed eternal justice on our behalf. We like to think about justice by our standards. but ultimately, justice has to be measured by God’s standards. Jesus took the eternal wrath of our sin and paid for it perfectly. Justice has been satisfied.

As for executing righteousness “in the land” - Jesus taught us how to live and in many ways ushered in a Kingdom, an upside down Kingdom, that extends far beyond the borders of Jerusalem and Judah as His people live rightly.

1 Peter 2:5 ESV

you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

In reality we can see that justice and righteousness are not fully realized yet - and certainly not for the people of Israel and Judah - some would say that those are among the most dangerous places in the world today.

So again, did God lie? Is Jesus just a false hope for the people of Israel?

No. It seems like this promise is fulfilled in two stages.

The First Stage - is referring to his first coming - Christmas - and the results of his life, death resurrection and the commissioning of His people.

The Second Stage - is His second coming - when he will reign fully. When he will re-establish his eternal kingdom with his people.

Revelation 21:1–4 ESV

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”

Closing Thoughts

Jeremiah sought to give hope to the people of Jerusalem and Judah. The initial fulfillment of that hope would come over 600 years after the promise was spoken, but that fulfillment would extend far beyond just the people of the land. This truly righteous branch from David offers eternal justice and righteousness for all of us - if we will believe.

As we are gradually transformed to act more righteously, we get to realize the salvation and security that God promised in community.

But, because God was faithful to fulfill his promises in the past, we can look forward with hope to the promises that he will fulfill in the future.

Let us walk faithfully before him, fully hoping in the promises that He will fulfill, because He has been faithful to fulfill His promises in the past.

Let’s pray.

Benediction

Hebrews 13:20–21 ESV

Now may the God of peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant, equip you with everything good that you may do his will, working in us that which is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.

References

https://bibleproject.com/explore/video/jeremiah/

Carson, D.A. For the Love of God, Vol. 2. Wheaton, Crossway, 1999.

GOD’S WORD Translation. Grand Rapids: Baker Publishing Group, 1995. Print.

Henry, Matthew. Matthew Henry’s Commentary on the Whole Bible: Complete and Unabridged in One Volume. Peabody: Hendrickson, 1994.

Huey, F. B. Jeremiah, Lamentations. Vol. 16. The New American Commentary. Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1993.

Kidner, Derek The Message of Jeremiah. The Bible Speaks Today Commentary. Downers Grove: IVP, 1987.

Matthews, Victor Harold, Mark W. Chavalas, and John H. Walton. The IVP Bible Background Commentary: Old Testament. Electronic ed. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2000.

McConville, Gordon. Exploring the Old Testament: The Prophets. Vol. 4. London: Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, 2002.

Wiersbe, Warren W. Be Decisive. “Be” Commentary Series. Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1996.

Related Media

Related Sermons