14 The days are surely coming, says the Lord, when I will fulfill the promise I made to the house of Israel and the house of Judah. 15 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. 16 In those days Judah will be saved, and Jerusalem will live in safety. And this is the name by which it will be called: “The Lord is our righteousness” Jeremiah 33:14-16.
I cannot read the prophecy of a “righteous Branch” springing up for David in anything but a messianic light. And that is a theologically sound way of reading this passage from Jeremiah. But don’t forget the dire situation that was at play at that time. The armies of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, are advancing on Jerusalem. The streets of Jerusalem will soon be filled with the corpses of her people (33:4-5), and the prophet Jeremiah himself is imprisoned by King Zedekiah (33:1).
The worst has not yet happened, but it is inevitable. Any reasonable person can see that the city is doomed. Jeremiah’s many prophecies of judgment –prophecies that have landed him in prison – are coming true. In this passage, Jeremiah speaks of the restoration not simply of daily life, as momentous as that is, but also of one of the chief signs of God’s favor, the restoration of the Davidic line. A righteous Branch will sprout from the line of David. A similar image is found in Isaiah 11:1–“A shoot shall come out from the stump of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots.” The image is one of hope and unexpected joy: new life springing up from what looks like a dead stump.
To a people devastated by loss, Jeremiah’s prophecy offered hope: “The days are surely coming, says the LORD, when I will fulfill the promise I made to the house of Israel and the house of Judah” (33:14). All might seem lost, but God still is faithful. The house of David might be cut down, but God is able to bring life out of death. A branch will sprout.
Historically, of course, the Davidic line did not return to the throne, so passages like this, and its parallel, Jeremiah 23:5-6, were in time interpreted to be speaking about the coming ideal ruler, the Messiah. That is certainly the reason this passage is one of the lectionary readings for Advent. This is a word of promise and hope in this text.
but don’t forget that these words are spoken in a time when many are experiencing great loss: loss of job, of security, of home. While there are no invading armies on the doorstep, at least not in the North American context, do we not all resonate with the fear and hopelessness of Jeremiah’s original audience as we watch in horror what Putin and Netanyahu and Hamas are doing. Our historical situation reflects similar situations Israel was facing when these words of promise and hope are heard in all their power.
A righteous Branch will spring up. It is a word of hope, but not naïve hope. Jeremiah is not someone who looks at the world through rose-colored glasses. Far from it! This is a prophet imprisoned by his own government because he keeps prophesying doom.
A righteous Branch will spring up. Maybe so, but that saving act of God is not readily apparent in Jeremiah’s or Judah’s current situation, dreading the imminent arrival of enemy armies.
A righteous Branch will spring up. This word of tenacious hope is spoken to counteract all of the life-sapping, despair-inducing evidence to the contrary. And that is its power.
The same proclamation is given today to us as we finish our time of Advent as inheritors of Jeremiah’s task. We are called to speak a word of hope and promise in a world often filled with fear and uncertainty, even despair. Especially in this season of Advent, we speak words of hope. In the midst of darkness, light is about to break in. In the midst of despair, hope erupts. After long waiting, a branch will sprout. The complete fulfillment of God’s promises has not yet happened, but it is coming. Such is Advent faith, and Advent hope.
Take time today and pray for the Light of Christ in your life and in the world.
Lord Jesus Christ, Son of the Living God, have mercy on me a sinner.
From the Bible:
“I have come into the world as light, so that whoever believes in me may not remain in darkness” John 12:46.
“In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven” Matthew 5:16.
“This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin” 1 John 1:5-7.
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