The Lord Our Righteousness Series

There is a famous quote of Abraham Lincoln when some said to Lincoln, I hope that the Lord is on our side. Lincoln replied, that does not concern me, whether God is on our side; my greatest concern is to be on God’s side

Lincolns reply gives us an insightful perspective of the contrast between God and man. This contrast is clear when we look at the righteousness of God.

We look at the name of God, Jehovah-Tsidkenu: The Lord is our righteousness. (Jeremiah 23:6)

This is part of a study on the names of God:

Jehovah-Jireh: The Lord is our provider. (Genesis 22:14)

Jehovah-Rapha: The Lord is our healer. (Exodus 15:26)

Jehovah-Nissi: The Lord is our banner, our victory. (Exodus 17:15)

Jehovah-M’kaddesh: The Lord is our Holiness. (Leviticus 20:8)

Jehovah-Shalom: The Lord is our peace. (Judges 6:26)

Jehovah-Shammah: The Lord is present (Ezekiel 48:34)

This revelation of God as The Lord is our righteousness is from the prophet Jeremiah. This prophet had been through so much. He was a prophet under opposition, imprisonment and beatings. He was under difficulty for forty years.

While he suffered the false prophets all around him were enjoying popularity and acceptance. Jeremiah had his messenger send his prophecy to the king. Not only was it rejected it was ripped to pieces. Not surprisingly Jeremiah wanted to resign his prophetic ministry on several occasions.

After the first Kings of Israel; Saul, David and Solomon the people of Israel divided into two regions with two kings. By the time the prophet Jeremiah is warning the nation the northern Kingdom Israel was already defeated.

The false prophets were telling the people that can never happen to the southern kingdom of Judah. It is like the self-help psychology philosophy; I’m OK your OK. These were the false hopes coming from the false prophets. Jeremiah was preaching the harsh reality; God is righteous and you are not OK.

This is what the LORD Almighty says: “Do not listen to what the prophets are prophesying to you; they fill you with false hopes. They speak visions from their own minds, not from the mouth of the LORD. (Jeremiah 23:16)

With the message of the false prophets leading them on the people of the southern kingdom, Judah, had not only forgotten God, but they had also forsaken him. They turned their backs to me and not their faces; though I taught them again and again, they would not listen or respond to discipline. (Jeremiah 32:33)

While the false prophets were predicting peace and prosperity, Jeremiah was predicting Judah would collapse and Jerusalem would fall. When Jeremiah made this prophecy found in Jeremiah chapter 23 king Zedekiah was just coming to the throne.

The name of the king, Zedekiah means the righteousness of Jehovah. Jeremiah predicted he would be cut off and a branch would be raised up called, Jehovah-Tsidkenu: The Lord is our righteousness. (Jeremiah 23:6). It is a play on words with the name of the current king.

Jeremiah was the true prophet and proved to be right on both accounts. Zedekiah would be cut off. He planned a conspiracy against Babylon. Jeremiah warned against it and appeared before the people with a yoke to represent the oppression they would experience.

The three sons of Zedekiah were killed so that his line was completely cut off. Zedekiah was blinded by the enemy and died in Babylon. Jeremiah’s prophecy regarding Zedekiah being cut off came to pass.

The other part of Jeremiah’s prophecy was that a shoot would come like a shoot from a tree that has been cut down. This was the prophecy of the messiah. A righteous branch. “The days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, a King who will reign wisely and do what is just and right in the land. (Jeremiah 23:5)

The Righteousness of God is perfect righteousness. The term righteousness denotes a straight path. The ones who follow God’s straight path are the upright. Righteousness is portrayed by the image of a judge deciding a case. We expect that judge to have an upright decision. Too many times a human judge will disappoint us. Never so with God.

God’s standards are always straight. They are always right. People may turn their back on God but never because his decisions are unrighteous. Your righteousness is everlasting and your law is true. (Psalm 119:142)

God never changes. He is always righteous. God is righteous and straight in his judgements and all his commands are just. He is righteous in a way that can never be altered. Everything else may change, but God himself and his righteousness will never change.

The law of God is true because it flows from the righteousness of God. God is always honest in his dealings. He commands only what is right. Man is created in God’s image. God requires righteousness from man, but man is flawed.