February 22, 2016

Jeremiah 23:5, 6; 33:14-16

(All scripture is from the New King James Version unless otherwise indicated.)

The next combination name for Jehovah we will consider is Jehovah-Tsidkenu – the LORD our righteousness.  It is found only twice, and both in the same major prophetic book – Jeremiah 23:5 & 6 and 33:14 through 16:

      “Behold, the days are coming,” says the LORD, “that I will raise to David
      a Branch of righteousness; a King shall reign and prosper, and execute
      judgment and righteousness in the earth.  In His days Judah will be saved,
      and Israel will dwell safely; now this is His name by which He will be called: 
      THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.”

      “Behold, the days are coming,” says the LORD, “that I will perform that
      good thing which I have promised to the house of Israel and to the house
      of Judah:  in those days and at that time I will cause to grow up to David
      a Branch of righteousness; He shall execute judgment and righteousness
      in the earth.  In those days Judah will be saved, and Jerusalem will dwell
      safely.  And this Is the name by which she [Jerusalem] will be called: 
      The LORD our righteousness.”

Let’s take a fresh look at both parts of this combination name of God:

•      Jehovah comes from Exodus 3:14 and 15 – “I AM WHO I AM….Thus you shall say to the children of Israel, ‘I AM has sent me to you’….This is My name forever, and this is My memorial to all generations.”  From www.blueletterbible.org:  “Jehovah is derived from the Hebrew word Havah meaning ‘to be’ or ‘to exist.’  It also suggests ‘to become’ or specifically ‘to become known’ – this denotes a God who reveals Himself unceasingly.”

•      Tsidkenu means right – naturally, morally, or legally, and several times in the Bible the Hebrew word is translated justice or righteousness.

Hence, Jehovah-Tsidkenu means the LORD our righteousness.  And since Jehovah denotes a God who reveals Himself unceasingly, and Tsidkenu means our righteousness, then I see where God unceasingly reveals to us more and more how He is our righteousness!

Back on March 27, 2013, I wrote a blog called The Great Exchange, based on II Corinthians 5:21.  Then from April 3 through April 15 of that same year, I followed up with a six-part series called Forgiven And Free!  You would do well to review these seven blogs.  But the main idea of the first blog mentioned above, The Great Exchange, is the truth found in II Corinthians 5:21:  “For He [the Father] made Him [the Son, Jesus] who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”  There are two important parts outlined in this verse:

•      “…He…who knew no sin…[became] sin for us….”  Jesus was absolutely sinless!  Even when He challenged His adversaries by saying “Can any of you convict me of committing a sin?” (John 8:46 – God’s Word), they could not come up with one sin He had committed!  His adversaries – the Jewish leaders – were, by this time in His ministry, watching Jesus closely.  Yet no one could truthfully say He was a sinner!  (See Isaiah 53:9 – 1965 Bible in Basic English, Brenton’s English Septuagint, 1899 Douay-Rheims Bible, Easy-To-Read Version, Jubilee Bible; I Peter 2:22).

And then the Lord took His perfect life and voluntarily laid it down on the cross on our behalf! (See John 10:18).  He took our sins upon Himself, and became sin and sinner before God!  He received the total punishment for our sins! (See Isaiah 53:5, 6; Hebrews 9:26; I Peter 2:24).

But that is only half of the equation outlined in II Corinthians 5:21…

•      “…that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”  He strips us of the filthy rags of our sin (see Isaiah 64:4; Zachariah 3:1-4), and clothes us with His own robe of righteousness! (See Isaiah 61:10; Zechariah 3:4, 5; Revelation 7:9-14).  Now, as we stand before God, we are seen by Him as being completely righteous – clothed with the garment of salvation, the perfect robe of Jesus Christ Himself!  As Paul wrote in Ephesians 1:6, “…He has made us accepted in the Beloved.”  We are accepted in God’s holy presence as much as the Father accepts His own Son, Jesus Christ!

As I have grown in my Christian faith, Jehovah God has revealed His imputed righteousness to me more and more! (See Genesis 15:6; Romans 4:3, 22-25).  For this I truly thank God, for I have committed numerous and grievous sins in my past.  But my sins and yours are gone – paid for by Jesus Christ on the cross!  I now stand in His perfect righteousness!

And so God is Jehovah-Tsidkenu – the LORD our righteousness!