Sermon Tone Analysis

Text: Jeremiah 23:3-6; 33:15–16

Theme: The God we worship is Jehovah-Tsidkenu: The Lord our Righteousness who bestows His righteousness upon His people.

Date: 05/01/2022 File: KnowingGodByHisNames_01.wpd File #: OT24-26

Who is the God you worship?

That is a very important question.

Are you abiding in fellowship with the living, powerful and personal God of Scriptures?

Or are you worshiping a watered-down, inadequate, cultural wishy-washy?

Wishy-washy is a term used to describe someone who is indecisive or will not take a firm stand on something.

ILLUS.

A.W. Pink, in his book The Attributes of God, (originally published in 1930, and which has never gone out of print) he writes, "The 'god' of this ... century no more resembles the Supreme Sovereign of Holy Scripture than does the dim flickering of a candle the glory of the midday sun.

The 'god' who is now talked about in the average pulpit, spoken of in the ordinary Sunday School, mentioned in much of the religious literature of the day, and preached in most of the so-called Bible Conferences is the figment of human imagination, an invention of maudlin sentimentality."

Our concepts of God are frequently immature and tainted by the supposed wisdom of the world.

Sometimes our ideas about God can even be affected by simple misunderstanding.

ILLUS.

When I was young boy going to Catechism class to prepare for my confirmation in the Catholic Church I learned that God was the Supreme "Bean."

The nun who instructed our class was from down South.

She did not talk like a mid-westerner.

She was a “g”-dropper, and never fully pronounced the "ing" ending of anything, using instead a very nasal [n].

I realized years later that she was trying to teach us that God is the Supreme Being.

But it came out "Bee-an."

For years my mental image of God was of a great red Kidney bean.

To this day I have a religious experience every time I sit down to a bowl of chili.

How do we discover who God is?

On way, perhaps the best way, is to examine the names by which God reveals Himself in the Scriptures.

Those names reveal something of His character and His nature.

This evening we come to know something about God from the Prophet Jeremiah.

I. OUR GOD IS JEHOVAH—TSIDKENU

1. last week we looked at the most commonly used name by which God reveals Himself

a. it’s the name Elohim and means the Supreme One

1) it is used over 2,500 times in the Old Testament, and is used to describe God as Creator and Sustainer of all that exists, and who, therefore, is Sovereign over all things

2. tonight we look at perhaps the least used name by which God reveals Himself, but one of the most significant names that goes to the heart of His nature and character

a. our God is the Lord Our Righteousness — Jehovah Tsidkenu

1) the name gives us a hint of wonderful things to come that will only be revealed in the death and resurrection of Jesus

3. the name is used only twice — both times by the Prophet Jeremiah

“Behold, the days are coming,” declares the LORD, “When I will raise up for David a righteous Branch; And He will reign as king and act wisely And do justice and righteousness in the land.

6 “In His days Judah will be saved, And Israel will dwell securely; And this is His name by which He will be called, ‘The LORD our righteousness.’”

(Jeremiah 23:5–6, NASB95)

“‘In those days and at that time I will cause a righteous Branch of David to spring forth; and He shall execute justice and righteousness on the earth.

16 ‘In those days Judah will be saved and Jerusalem will dwell in safety; and this is the name by which she will be called: the LORD is our righteousness.’”

(Jeremiah 33:15–16, NASB95)

a. you’ll notice that the two passages are virtually the same except for the use of a different pronoun

1) in Jer.

23:5-6 it says he will be called The Lord our Righteousness

2) in Jer.

33:15-16 it says she (in some translations it) will be called The Lord our Righteousness

b. why the difference?

1) the she of Jer.

33:15-16 refers to the city of Jerusalem

2) as the holy city of the righteous King to come, Jerusalem itself is called by the King’s name

A. THE REASON BEHIND THE NAME

1. these passages are prophecy by the Prophet Jeremiah

a. when he utters them, the kingdom of Judah was about to fall

1) a century earlier the Northern Kingdom of Israel had been attacked, the capitol Samaria had been destroyed, and many of its citizens had gone into captivity

b.

Judah had failed to learn the lesson

1) the nation was full of idolatry, oppression, violence, and priestly malpractice

2. Jeremiah now declares that Judah will also be attacked, the capitol Jerusalem will be destroyed, and most of the population will be taken captive into Babylon

a. but the promise is that a righteous Branch will rise up in Judah — a descendent of King David — who shall establish a kingdom and reign over the nation

1) in those days Judah will be saved and Israel will dwell securely

b. the name of that righteous Branch will be called The Lord is our righteousness

B. THE MEANING BEHIND THE NAME

1.

Our God Is a Righteous God

“Your righteousness, O God, reaches the high heavens.

You who have done great things, O God, who is like you?” (Psalm 71:19, ESV)

”As your name, O God, so your praise reaches to the ends of the earth.

Your right hand is filled with righteousness.”

(Psalm 48:10, ESV)

“The LORD is righteous; he has cut the cords of the wicked.”

(Psalm 129:4, ESV)

a. the name reminds us that God will always do that which is right ... because He, Himself, is absolutely righteous

b. now, what does it mean to say that we have a righteous God?

1) the name Tsidkenu comes from the Hebrew root word tsedek which means straight or stiff and refers to walking in a straight path without deviating to the right or the left

2) it means that God always lives up to His own divine standards of behavior — He never walks a crooked path or deviates from His holiness

c. everything God does, He does is in harmony with His character

1) He is morally, and ethically and spiritually consistent

“Of old you laid the foundation of the earth, and the heavens are the work of your hands.

26 They will perish, but you will remain; they will all wear out like a garment.

You will change them like a robe, and they will pass away, 27 but you are the same, and your years have no end.”

(Psalm 102:25–27, ESV)

2) this verse teaches us about the immutability of God ... immutability meaning God cannot and does not change ...

He is as righteous today as He was before He created the world and on the day the world ends He will be as righteous then as He is now

2. Our God Is a God of Righteous Acts

“the voice of the singers at the watering places.

They recite the righteous acts of the LORD, ... .”

(Judges 5:11, NIV84)

“Far be it from you to do such a thing, to put the righteous to death with the wicked, so that the righteous fare as the wicked!

Far be that from you! Shall not the Judge of all the earth do what is just?”” (Genesis 18:25, ESV)

a. if God is righteous — and He is — then God must always act righteously

1) He will always do the right thing

b. when was the last time you rehearsed the righteous acts of the LORD in your life?

1) this is a God who speaks, and something exists where a moment before it did not

2) this is a God who commands and it stands fast

3) this is a God whose promises are true

4) this is a God who acts on the behalf of His people out of a heart of love

5) this is a God who acts and never says, “Oops”

c. the Scriptures contain numerous episodes of miracles performed by God for His people

1) those miracle are God’s righteous acts

ILLUS.

The Hebrews often sang songs about God’s great acts.

The very first is found in Deuteronomy 34 and is called the Song of Moses, and was delivered just before his death on Mount Nebo.