Day 225 – Jeremiah 23-25

Talking Points

• God contrasts Jeremiah, a true shepherd who upholds God’s Word at great cost, against the self-serving false shepherds. Not only are these false shepherds of no benefit to the people, but they actually cause them great harm. God sees them and is set against them. He promises to judge them and to raise up faithful shepherds.
• The Bible says that false prophets speak their own words, based on false dreams, visions, and their own imaginations, yet they claim them to be from God (23:31). It seems nothing changes! We are to test everything against God’s Word, the Bible.
• True prophets stand in God’s council, speak His Word, and turn people back from sin (23:22).
• God’s Word nourishes us. It purifies our thoughts, our attitudes, and our actions. It shatters hard hearts, humbling us, bringing us to cry out for mercy, and leaving us praising our compassionate God. We need His Word.

Thoughts

It is really something to be on this side of the coming of the Messiah — to know the story of His birth, to be able to call Him by name, to read of His miracles, to hear the words He spoke, and to rejoice in His salvation, the redemption He secured with His own blood! It is awesome to go back and read the Old Testament, with eyes open, looking for glimpses of Jesus, the Messiah.

And, in Jeremiah 23:5, we read of David’s righteous Branch. The One who “will reign as king and act wisely And do justice and righteousness in the land.” The One who will be called “The LORD our righteousness” (23:6).

• As people on this side of the Messiah, we know that Jesus is “from the descendants of this man (David)), according to promise,” “the Holy and Righteous One” (Acts 13:23, 3:14).
• On this side, we know that the “King of kings” is Jesus, and that He will reign forever (1 Timothy 6:15, Revelation 19:16, Luke 1:33, Revelation 11:15).
• From our viewpoint, we know that it is not in keeping the Law that we find righteousness, but only in Christ (Philippians 3:9, Galatians 2:21, 3:21).
• On this side, we know that it was Jesus who became “sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him” (2 Corinthians 5:21).

What a blessing to be on this side, eyes open!

He truly is “The LORD our righteousness!” Praise the Lord — He is faithful! Today, may we be unusually grateful for His covering of righteousness!