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

This name, Jehovah Tsidkenu, appears in the Old Testament over a hundred times in various forms, six of those times in Jeremiah. Our featured Scripture is Jeremiah 23:5 and 6:

     “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 judgement 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 RIGHT-
     EOUSNESS” 

Jeremiah 33:15 and 16 says almost the same thing. THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS is Jehovah Tsidkenu. In Hebrew, the word Tsidkenu is צֶדֶק (pronounced tseh’-dek) meaning “…justice, rightness, righteousness….” (Brown-Driver-Brigg’s Hebrew Defiinitions). In the Old Testament as well as the New, The LORD (is) our righteousness! In several translations, the phrase is capitalized, as if the prophet wanted to shout it to the world!

Some Bible teachers differentiate between how the Old and New Testaments present the way to gain righteousness (to be right with God). But He says in Malachi 3:6, “…I am the LORD, I do not change.” It has been and always will be, “…the righteousness…of God [is] by faith…”!

• Why did God in heaven reach out for us? Because we read in Isaiah 64:6, “…we are all like an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses [the very best we can do] are like filthy [mentruous] rags [before God]; we all fade as a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.” His highest creation is alienated from Him because of sin!

• We read in Genesis 3:21 that “…for Adam and his wife the LORD God made tunics of skin, and clothed them.” This speaks of His righteousness clothed upon them! As it says in Isaiah 61:10:

     I will greatly rejoice in the LORD, my soul shall be 
     joyful in my God; for He has clothed me with the gar-
     ments of salvation, He has covered me with the robe 
     of righteousness, as a bridegroom decks himself with 
     ornaments, and as a bride adorns herself with her 
     jewels.

     ✡    In their innocence, “...they were both naked, 
           the man and his wife, and were not ashamed.” 
           (Genesis 2:25). But when they sinned by diso-
           beying God’s command (see Genesis 2:15-17; 3:
           1-6), “...the eyes of both of them were opened, 
           and they knew that they were naked; and they 
           sewed fig leaves together and made themselves 
           coverings.” (Genesis 3:7). 

     ✡    God-provided animal skin coverings for them (the 
           first sacrifice)! That speaks of His righteous-
           ness given when Adam and Eve confessed their sin 
           (sort of! see Genesis 3:12, 13) and turned back 
           to God! So how do we know they were given the 
           LORD’s righteousness, and were saved?     

          ➔    God gave them the promise of a Savior in 
               Genesis 3:15 (the LORD speaking to the ser-
               pent – Satan incarnate): “...I will put en-
               mity between you and the woman, and between 
               your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your 
               head, and you shall bruise His heel.”  Adam 
               and Eve received and believed that promise!  
               That’s faith!     

          ➔    When their first son was born, Eve exclaimed, 
               “I have gotten a man from the LORD...”! (Gene-
               sis 4:1). That’s faith! But Cain did not turn 
               out to be a man from the LORD, for he murdered 
               his brother Abel! (see Genesis 4:2-8). So nei-
               ther one of the first two could be the Deliver-
               er who would crush the serpant’s head!     

          ➔    Genesis 4:25 (International Standard Version) – 
               “...Adam had sexual relations with his wife, she 
               gave birth to a son and named him Seth, because 
               ‘God granted me another offspring to replace Abel, 
               since Cain murdered him.’ ” She was saying, “God’s 
               deliverer couldn’t be Cain because he was a bad 
               one! Able is dead....so it must be Seth who will 
               crush the serpent’s head!” That’s faith!     

          ➔    Another clue is found in Genesis 3:20 – “And Adam 
               called his wife’s name Eve, because she was the 
               mother of all living.”  In the midst of death and 
               destruction because of their sin, Adam said of his 
               wife, “...she [is] the mother of all living...”!  
               That’s faith! 

     ✡    Adam and Eve had faith, and received righteousness!

• God showed Abraham the stars of the sky, and spoke to him of the sand on the shore of the sea! “So shall your descendants be.” He said in Genesis 15:5.

     ✡    The next verse is very important, Genesis 15:6: “And he 
           [Abraham] believed in the LORD, and He [God]  accounted 
           it to him for righteousness.”

     ✡    So important is this Genesis verse, that Paul, in Romans 
           4:18 through 25, quoted it as part of one of the great-
           est statements about receiving the LORDS righteousness 
           by faith:

              ...contrary to hope, [Abraham] in hope believed, so 
              that he became the father of many nations, according 
              to what was spoken, “So shall your descendants be.” 
              And not being weak in faith, he did not consider his 
              own body, already dead (since he was about a hundred 
              years old), and the deadness of Sarah's womb. He did 
              not waver at the promise of God through unbelief, but 
              was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God, and 
              being fully convinced that what He had promised He 
              was also able to perform. And therefore “it was ac-
              counted to him for righteousness.” Now it was not 
              written for his sake alone that it was imputed to 
              him, but also for us. It shall be imputed to us who 
              believe in Him who raised up Jesus our Lord from the 
              dead, who was delivered up because of our offenses, 
              and was raised because of our justification.  

• David experienced the freely-given righteousness of God! He testified of this in Psalm 32:1 and 2, “Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man to whom the LORD does not impute iniquity….”

• A ‘picture’ of God’s gift of righteousness is found in Zechariah 3:1 through 5:

     Then he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the 
     Angel of the Lord, and Satan standing at his right hand to 
     oppose him. And the Lord said to Satan, “The Lord rebuke you, 
     Satan!” ...Now Joshua was clothed with filthy garments, and 
     was standing before the Angel [who]spoke to those who stood 
     before Him..., “Take away the filthy garments from him.” And 
     to [Joshua]...He said, “See, I have removed your iniquity 
     from you, and I will clothe you with rich robes.” And...they 
     put a clean turban on his head, and put the clothes on him.

     ✡    Even the high priest was dirty standing in his own 
           righteousness!

     ✡    He, like everyone else, needed the LORD’s cleansing, 
           and to be given the righteousness of God!

• Some day, perhaps soon, Jesus Christ, the Son of God, David’s descendant, will split the skies, and return to rule the earth!

     ✡    In that day, Israel will be cleansed of sin (see Zech-
           ariah 13:1), receive God’s righteousness (see Romans 
           11:26), and dwell with their King in His kingdom! (see 
           Isaiah 33:14-22; 65:17-25; Zechariah 14:8-11).

     ✡    Christians, according to Revelation 20:6, will reign 
           with their Savior and Lord! (see also Luke 19:15-19).

In the New Testament, the veil is pulled back so we can more clearly see that the salvation of our God is by His gift to us of righteousness, and not by our works!

• 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.”

     ✞    Jesus voluntarily went to the cross where He died 
          bearing our sins! (see I Peter 2:24; 3:18).

     ✞    He totally paid our sin-debt before God! (see Colos-
          sians 2:13, 14).

     ✞    He arose from the grave, a victor over death, sin, 
          hell, and Satan himself! (see II Timothy 1:10; Heb-
          rews 2:14, 15).

     ✞    And He lives forever to receive all who come to Him 
          by faith believing! (see Matthew 11:28-30; John 6:37; 
          Revelation 1:18)

     ✞    Now all we have to do is believe what He accomplished 
          is for every one of us; and confessing our sins, ask 
          Him to be our Savior! (see II Corinthians 5:14, 15).

     ✞    Paul, quoting Joel 2:32, tells us in Romans 10:13, 
          “For ‘whoever calls upon the name of the LORD shall 
          be saved.’”

• Ephesians 2:8, 9 – “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.”

• Titus 3:5 – “…not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and the renewing of the Holy Spirit….”

His name is Jehovah Tsidkenu, THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS !

Are you trying to earn His favor?
Or…
Have you received His gift of righteousness?