THE RESTORATION OF ISRAEL – JEREMIAH – PART 9 – Chapter 33:15 – THE REMARKABLE STUDY OF “THE BRANCH” IN SCRIPTURE
THE STUDY OF “THE BRANCH” IN SCRIPTURE
Jeremiah 33 verse 15. Let us look at a lovely scriptural study of “THE BRANCH”. As we delve into this we shall see the great harmony that is contained in scripture. This is one of the best bible studies in the entire bible.
SECTION 1
{A}. THE BRANCH - THE RIGHTEOUS KING:
{{Jeremiah 33:15. “In those days and at that time I will cause A RIGHTEOUS BRANCH OF DAVID to spring forth, and He shall execute justice and righteousness on the earth.”}}
David’s was the kingly line, and the righteous Branch of David would bear a Son who is The King of the Jews. When He reigns He will execute justice and righteousness on the earth. We have mentioned earlier the great importance of justice and righteousness which is a theme in all the prophets. This will happen when Christ is King over the whole earth.
{{Jeremiah 23:5 “Behold, the days are coming,” declares the LORD, “when I shall raise up for David a righteous Branch, and He will reign as King and act wisely and do justice and righteousness in the earth.}} {{Jeremiah 23:6 “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.’}}
The righteous Branch will come from David’s line and will reign for 1000 years as King of the Jews and King over the whole earth. He will bring in peace and productivity and righteousness and justice.
{{Isaiah 4:2 “In that day the BRANCH OF THE LORD will be beautiful and glorious, and the fruit of the earth will be the pride and the adornment of the survivors of Israel.”}}
We know that when the Lord rules as King when He returns as King of Kings and Lord of Lords, He will be glorious, and most definitely the pride and adornment of the survivors of Israel through the Tribulation. The glorious Messiah-King is the BRANCH of Jehovah. Also the earth will produce abundantly.
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{B}. THE BRANCH - THE SERVANT:
{{Zechariah 3:6-8 “The angel of the LORD admonished Joshua saying, “Thus says the LORD of hosts, ‘If you will walk in My ways, and if you will perform My service, then you will also govern My house and also have charge of My courts, and I will grant you free access among these who are standing here. Now listen, Joshua the high priest, you and your friends who are sitting in front of you - indeed they are men who are a symbol, for behold, I am going to bring in MY SERVANT THE BRANCH.”}}
This conditional promise has application to Joshua the high priest with the returned people from Babylon, but then stretches beyond that to the promised BRANCH who will come as Servant. Jesus came as the Servant of Jehovah, to do the will of the Father and bring glory to the Father in heaven.
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{C}. THE BRANCH - THE MAN:
{{Zechariah 6:12 “Then say to him, ‘Thus says the LORD of hosts, “Behold, A MAN WHOSE NAME IS BRANCH, for He will branch out from where He is; and He will build the temple of the LORD.”}}
The immediate meaning of this verse is in the days of Joshua the high priest in the time of Zerubabbel, a wonderful godly governor. Although application may partially sit with Joshua, its true fulfillment is the Lord Jesus Christ for He is THE BRANCH. A MAN who is called THE BRANCH. {{Philippians 2:7-8 “but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men, and being found in appearance as a man . . . .”}}
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{D}. THE BRANCH - THE DIVINE SON:
{{Jeremiah 23:5-6 “Behold, the days are coming,” declares the LORD, “when I shall raise up for David A RIGHTEOUS BRANCH, and He will reign as king and act wisely and do justice and righteousness in the earth. “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.’”}}
Verse 6 is speaking of the righteous Branch from verse 5, and states He will be called “the LORD (Jehovah) our righteousness. The Messiah is Jehovah, for Jesus is Jehovah. In His days Judah shall be saved, for after the Church goes, then the Lord takes up His people again and when He comes at the Second Coming He will set out to regather the Jews from all over the world, those who were saved during the Tribulation. In these two verses, THE BRANCH is JEHOVAH GOD. He is the Divine Son.
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SECTION 2
Here we will look at how the Lord Jesus came as THE branch in all four of the aspects just considered:
THE BRANCH - THE KING
THE BRANCH - THE SERVANT
THE BRANCH - THE MAN
THE BRANCH - THE DIVINE SON
THE BRANCH IS THE KING. We are immediately taken to THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW, the Gospel of the KING. Matthew portrays Jesus as the King of Israel and King of the Jews. Just a few points from that Gospel:
* Entire Sermon on the Mount – the Kingdom conditions.
* Genealogy goes back to David the King. (through Joseph’s line)
* Keys of the Kingdom mentioned.
* The 7 Kingdom parables done entirely. Matthew 13.
* Matthew 24 + 25 – The coming of the King. Second Coming. King of the Jews.
* Matthew is the Gospel with Jewish material more in mind. Kingly attitudes and aspirations.
THE BRANCH IS THE SERVANT. IN THE GOSPEL OF MARK, Jesus is portrayed as man’s servant, the load bearer, the worker. Jesus is set forth as the Servant. The key word is “immediately” and “straight away” (as in obedient servants).
* No genealogy in the Gospel. Servants don’t have genealogies.
* In chapter 1 He is seen as doing service straight after a commissioning, and is working for the Father. As servant He is shown there working day and night.
* No Kingly discourses.
* Jesus at work all through the Gospel as you’d expect a servant to do.
THE BRANCH IS THE MAN. In his GOSPEL, LUKE portrays Jesus as the perfect Man. The key phrase is “Son of Man”.
* He is seen as thirsty, tired, hungry, caring, compassionate.
* His genealogy in chapter 4 goes right back to Adam the first Man. Jesus is the Second MAN, Adam. (Mary’s line which is the Lord’s true line). It still goes through David.
* Companion to those on the Emmaus Road.
* Touching account of Mary and Martha and the humanly things a doctor (Luke) would notice. It is a compassionate and human gospel.
THE BRANCH IS THE DIVINE SON. The LORD, the Branch. JEHOVAH the Branch. This is the record of the GOSPEL OF JOHN. John portrays Jesus over and over again as the LORD. Divinity is established all through this gospel. Jesus who is God the Son.
* Consider the opening verses John 1:1-11. In the beginning was the Word and THE WORD WAS GOD, and the Word became flesh.
* Use of “I am” all the way through.
* The one in the bosom of the Father; the Word made flesh; I and the Father are one; before Abraham was, I AM.
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SECTION 3
We shall look at this remarkable vision granted to Ezekiel, of the Lord on His majestic throne and this is part of that account – {{Ezekiel 1:5-11 “Within it there were figures resembling four living beings and this was their appearance: they had human form. Each of them had four faces and four wings, and their legs were straight and their feet were like a calf’s hoof, and they gleamed like burnished bronze. Under their wings on their four sides were human hands. As for the faces and wings of the four of them, their wings touched one another. Their faces did not turn when they moved, each went straight forward. (verse 10) ? AS FOR THE FORM OF THEIR FACES, EACH HAD THE FACE OF A MAN, ALL FOUR HAD THE FACE OF A LION ON THE RIGHT AND THE FACE OF A BULL ON THE LEFT, AND ALL FOUR HAD THE FACE OF AN EAGLE. Such were their faces. Their wings were spread out above. Each had two touching another being, and two covering their bodies . . .”}}
Verse 10 is the one that interests us. There were four cherubim and each one had four faces (one on each of four sides), and each face had an unconnected image. Each cherubim had the following: the face of a MAN, a LION, a BULL, and an EAGLE. These are highly symbolic and each one has a special significance. A Man is a being in human form; a Lion is representative of Royalty or Kingship; a Bull is a symbol of strength in service; an Eagle is a bird of the heavens, heavenly. The cherubim were part of the Mercy Seat and they are believed to portray and represent the characteristics/attributes of God.
Each of these forms typifies the Lord Jesus Christ. As a Man, He is the Son of Man, as featured in the Gospel of Luke. As a Lion, He is the King of Israel, as featured in the Gospel of Matthew. As a Bull, He the Servant in His strength as featured in the Gospel of Mark. As an Eagle, He is the Lord from heaven, the one in the heavenlies, as featured by the Gospel of John.
Thus we now have these FACES of the cherubim also matching the BRANCHES that matched the FOUR GOSPELS in this way:-
1. The Face of a LION = “And He will reign as King” = The Branch, the KING = The Gospel of MATTHEW.
2. The Face of BULL = “My Servant, the Branch” = The Branch, the SERVANT = The Gospel of MARK.
3. The Face of a MAN = “A Man whose name is Branch” = The Branch, the MAN = The Gospel of LUKE.
4. The Face of an EAGLE = “The Lord our Righteousness” = The Branch, the DIVINE SON = The Gospel of JOHN.
CONCLUSION: These four references to The Branch; the four faces of the cherubim; the four Gospels, are all portrayals of the Lord Jesus Christ found in the Old and the New Testaments and they are all aspects of His majesty and character. Only God could plan that consistency and exactness over the centuries. Never doubt the full inspiration of the entire bible. Do not neglect the prophetic books.
