Nepaug Bible Church - http://www.nepaugchurch.org - Pastor's Prayer Meeting Lesson Notes - http://www.nepaugchurch.org/pm/pm20050511.htm

JEREMIAH: STAYING UPRIGHT AMIDST EVIL PRESSURES
Part V: Prophecies Concerning Judah's Kings
F. Hoping In God's Coming Solution For Man's Failed Government Rulers
(Jeremiah 22:28-23:8 et al.)
  1. Introduction
    1. In keeping with Biblical prophecy concerning the coming apostasy (2 Thessalonians 2:3), we can see the leaders of human governments are slipping ever more quickly down into deep spiritual darkness.
    2. However, we who believe in Christ need not be dismayed at this decline, for we have a hope in the solution God will yet apply to correct the situation and salvage human government; that hope is named in Jeremiah 22:28-23:8 et al., and we can apply it for our encouragement today (as follows):
  2. Hoping In God's Coming Solution For Man's Failed Government Rulers, Jeremiah 22:28-23:8 et al.
    1. Human government has been marked by a long history of spiraling ever downward into sinful failure:
      1. After the Noahic Flood when God instituted human government to cut down on the growth of man's sin, the world's peoples at Babel misused that institution of human government, collectively departing from God to govern themselves without true righteousness, Genesis 11:1-9.
      2. Thus, God countered this abuse of the institution of human government by raising up a godly nation from Abraham through which He might bring mankind back to His righteousness, Genesis 12:1-3.
      3. In time, God set up David of Abraham's seed to start an everlasting kingdom, 2 Samuel 7:4-5, 11b-17. That kingdom would be a righteous one by which God would bless the world's people groups of governments in accord with the Abrahamic Covenant, cf. Genesis 12:3 with Daniel 2:44-45.
      4. However, the descendants who ruled on David's throne themselves became increasingly wicked to where God had to curse David's descendant, king Jeconiah and his lineage, promising he would never again have a son to prosper on David's throne, Jeremiah 22:28-30.
      5. Thus, even God's plan for salvaging man's governments became humanly futile in Jeconiah's apostasy.
    2. However, after Jeremiah made this bleak prediction regarding David's royal lineage, God through Jeremiah predicted a gracious solution even to this catastrophe of man's sin (Jeremiah 23:1-8 et al.):
      1. God promised to judge the errant "shepherds" in the kings who had led Judah into apostasy, Jer. 23:1-2.
      2. Yet, He promised to re-gather the people from the lands where He had scattered them in the Babylonian judgment on their sins; He planned to restore them to His Promised Land, Jeremiah 23:3.
      3. He also promised to set up human rulers who would care for them in righteousness, Jeremiah 23:4.
      4. Ultimately, there would be the Supreme King of David, a "righteous Branch" who would spring out of the cut off stump of the Davidic line in stark and saving CONTRAST to Judah's apostate kings:
        1. Judah's last king was Zedekiah, whose name in Hebrew is sidqiyahu ("'my righteousness is Yahweh'") and the name of the "righteous Branch" to come out of David's line would be Yahweh sidqenu ("'Yahweh is our righteousness'"), cf. Bible Knowledge Com., O. T., p. 1158; Jer. 23:6.
        2. This "righteous Branch" in stark CONTRAST to king Jeconiah and his relative, king Zedekiah would PROSPER on David's throne, executing justice and righteousness on the earth, 23:5 ESV.
        3. So wonderful would be God's blessing in His reign that Judah would no longer refer to God as the Lord Who delivered them from Egypt, but the God Who had rescued them from Babylon, 23:7-8.
      5. As we previously noted, this King is the Messiah, Jesus Christ as follows:
        1. Through Mary, Jesus came from David's line by way of his younger son, Nathan who did not have the right to rule on the throne, cf. Luke 3:23; Ryrie Study Bible, KJV, 1978 ed., ftn. to Luke 3:23.
        2. Yet, as Joseph who wed Mary was of Jeconiah's ruling but cursed line, by way of the virgin birth, Jesus escaped Jeconiah's curse while gaining legal right to rule on David's throne by way of Joseph's marital union with Mary, Jesus' mother, Matt. 1:11, 16; Ibid., Ryrie Study Bible, ftn. to Matt. 1:11.
Lesson: Though human government is continuing to descend into bleak and sinful failure, the HOPE of the COMING GREAT and RIGHTEOUS King, Jesus Christ, God-come-in-the-flesh to SALVAGE human government from man's apostate shambles stands forth in Scripture to give us hope and joy!

Application: As we see human governments continuing to fail, let us hope in Christ's future reign, and recruit others for that blessed kingdom by leading them to trust in Christ for salvation from sin!