God’s Promised King 

by Joshua Cleveland

In Jeremiah 23, YHWH speaks to His prophet of the coming judgment on the “shepherds of Israel” for their sinful living, and refusal to speak the truth of His word to Israel. What becomes a long rebuke of the prophets begins with a very clear promise of God’s love for His people, and His faithfulness to His covenant with King David: “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.  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.’” (Jer. 23:5-6 NASB)

What this prophecy teaches us about God’s promised, “righteous Branch,” is that he will reign as a wise, just, and righteous king, it will be in His day that Judah is saved, and He will allow Israel to dwell securely. These three great promises were not made to Israel because they were worthy of such a king. Far from it! In fact, God through Jeremiah consistently rebuked Judah for their rebellious, sinful living and spoke of coming judgment. So, why was God going to do these things for Judah and Israel? Because of King David and His covenant with him.

Note that God says He will raise up, “for David a righteous Branch,” so it was not because of Judah that God would send the Branch, but for David. This is because of God’s promise to David in 2 Samuel 7:12-13. The Branch, the righteous king, would be the fulfillment of God’s promise to establish David’s throne forever. How would God fulfill this promise to David of an eternal throne?

Ultimately, it was in Jesus of Nazareth that God fulfilled His promise to David, Judah, and Israel. Peter preached in Acts 2 that Jesus was attested to by God’s power (Acts 2:22-24), that David also prophesied about Jesus (Acts 2:25-35), and then he declared that Jesus the righteous king had been crucified by His own people (Acts 2:36). All of this happened so that through the death of the Righteous One, God might exalt Him to His eternal throne in heaven (Eph. 1:3-14, 18-23), and thereby fulfill His promise to David of an eternal kingdom. One where all of God’s people, Jew and Gentile alike, can dwell in the righteousness, justice, wisdom, and salvation of the righteous Branch, Jesus the Christ. Jeremiah 23:5-6 was not just a reminder of God’s covenant with David, it was a message for God’s people of His loyal love, His covenant-keeping, and of His grace that would forgive sins and remember them no more. These two verses should be a source of hope and joy for the saved resulting in the offering of praise to God and His Righteous King.

By common confession, great is the mystery of godliness:

He who was revealed in the flesh,

Was vindicated in the Spirit,

Seen by angels,

Proclaimed among the nations,

Believed on in the world,

Taken up in glory.

- 1 Timothy 3:16

Paul writes to Timothy about “the mystery of godliness,” which Paul expresses in 6 statements. Godliness does not mean “to be like God;” however, it means having your focus set on God or having a God-ward attitude. To have an attitude focused on God, we need to understand what Paul describes to us in 1 Timothy 3:16.

"He who was revealed in the flesh” refers to Christ coming in the flesh to the world (John 1:14; 1 Peter 1:20). Jesus is both fully God and fully man in the incarnation so that he could end the hostility between God and man due to sin. (1 John 3:5, 8) Without this sacrifice by Christ, we would not be able to be godly in the first place.

“Was vindicated in the Spirit” refers to Christ’s fulfillment of everything in the Law and Prophets. He came to allow us to be justified before God, which had been promised by God as far back as the Garden (Gen. 3:15). It is in Jesus that we have been justified, and it is our faith in him and the love of God that has been poured out to us in the Spirit that we are justified. (Rom. 5:1-5)

“Seen by angels” attests that at the beginning and end of Jesus’ life in the flesh on this earth, angels witnessed him to men. In Luke 2:13-16 angels appeared to shepherds announcing the birth of Jesus, who would bring peace between men and God. In Luke 24:1-7 we see angels announcing Jesus’ resurrection, never to die again. 

“Proclaimed among the nations” has come to pass and continues to happen today. Jesus commanded the Apostles to go into all the world. We, too, go into the world proclaiming the good news of Christ because we understand that there is no other path to God. (1 Cor. 5:9-11)

“Believed on in the world” flows from the previous point but results from the proclamation among the nations. It is through belief in Christ that we come to know how we are saved. As James wrote, faith alone is worthless, but faith proven by obedience is true faith like that of Abraham. (James 2:14-26)

“Taken up in glory” is the most critical part of the mystery of having a God-ward attitude. Christ, after being raised, did not remain on the earth. He left to return to the Father. He took his place at the right hand of God to reign as our High Priest and King. (Heb. 6-10) He promised his disciples that once he left, he would return from the Father (John 14:1-6).

He has gone through the veil to sit at the Father’s side, and one day he will return. If we build our lives around the mystery of godliness, we can be ready for him when he returns. Build your life on the foundation of Christ, his teaching attested to by the Spirit, on the testimony of those who witnessed him in the flesh and resurrected, and if you believe, keep your hope focused on his return. These things will help you keep Christ and God the focus of your life until you receive the reward.

The Bible is not a book but a library of books. It contains books of History, Poetry, Wisdom, Prophecy, Gospels, and Letters. The 66 books of the Bible, though varied in style and content, all tell the same story. It is the story of the eternal God, Yahweh, and His creation which He loves. To help us see the larger flow of Scripture, our reading plan for this year is taking a chronological approach to reading the Bible. One of the benefits of this format is when the books of Scripture overlap, we see the different ways God spoke to and dealt with His people.

For example, when reading the Divided Kingdom period, the books of Kings and Chronicles give us a full picture of the lives and deeds of the kings of Israel and Judah. Yet, the Chronicler is focused on following the dynasty of David closely, looking for the coming Messiah, and in Kings, the author is focused on the rebellion of God's people and kings to His law. Also, when reading Acts, we will see the writings of the apostles blended into the narrative, further connecting the growth of the church with the teaching of the apostles.

Our hope is that in reading the Scriptures this year, we will all grow in our faith and knowledge.

“Incline your ear and come to Me.

Listen, that you may live;

And I will make an everlasting covenant with you,

According to the faithful mercies shown to David.”

- Isaiah 55:3

In Isaiah 55 God invites all who hunger and thirst to come and eat and drink freely. All are invited to find food that truly satisfies and food that is without cost, rather than spending money on the food that does not satisfy. Then in the third verse, the prophet sets forth what is required of those who come and eat, they must incline their ears to the Lord and listen to Him. By doing this they will live and receive an everlasting covenant. That covenant is characterized by God in terms of the faithful mercies shown to David. To understand this new covenant that God is offering to those who come to Him, listen, and find life, we must look back upon the covenant that God made with David and His faithful mercies that accompanied it.

God’s Everlasting Covenant With David (2 Samuel 7:8-16)

David was a man after God’s own heart (1 Sam. 13:14), and God’s loyalty to David was shown in the blessing of an everlasting covenant. This covenant established David’s throne in Jerusalem and promised loyalty to David’s descendants (2 Sam. 12:12, 16). Ultimately, this covenant would lead to the coming of the Messiah and the salvation of all who believe. God’s covenant promised a close bond between God and those who would come after David, as father and son, and of the mercy that would be shown to David’s descendants because of God’s lovingkindness (2 Sam. 12:14-15).

This covenant remains even today in the reign of Christ over all things as He is seated at the right hand of God. As God kept His promise to David of an everlasting covenant, we are invited to enter into a similar everlasting covenant through the work of Jesus. When we enter into that covenant through faith and baptism we become a part of an unshakeable kingdom, inheritors of eternal life, and find the mercy and grace of God which cleanses us of our sins (Heb. 12:25-29; Heb. 4:14-16).

Our Covenant In Christ (Hebrews 8)

The Hebrew writer makes the case that we serve a greater and better high priest than any earthly priest. This greater high priest is Jesus the Christ, and He is greater because He was called by God, He endured temptation yet did not sin, He offered His own blood and body as the offering for sin, and in His one offering God was satisfied (Hebrews 1-7, 10). Thus, Jesus is a perpetual priest (Hebrews 7) and His work endures forever being wholly pleasing to God (Hebrews 10:11-18). In Jesus’ death and His blood that the new covenant was inaugurated (Heb. 8:6-13). It is better because it, “has been enacted on better promises,” specifically the promise of atonement for sins, that all people can be made holy and blameless, that all who die with Christ will live eternally as He lives, and that those who join themselves to Christ become His brothers and sons of God (Eph. 1:3-14).

This is the everlasting covenant that God offers to us in Isaiah 55. It is freely available, costs us nothing, and blesses us with everything that will truly satisfy and preserve our souls. Will we answer His call, incline our ears to Him, listen to Him, and find life, mercy, and blessing?

Joshua Cleveland