The Promise

Sermon Title: The Promise.

Scripture Text: Jeremiah 33:14-16

On this first Sunday of Advent, no one can read the prophecy of a “righteous Branch” springing up from the line of David in anything but a messianic light.

The circumstances in which the prophecy was first spoken and heard was like this:

The armies of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, are advancing on Jerusalem. The streets of Jerusalem will soon be filled with the corpses of her people (33:4-5), and the prophet Jeremiah himself is imprisoned by King Zedekiah (33:1). The worst has not yet happened. Any reasonable person can see that the city is doomed. Jeremiah’s many prophecies of judgment of God were spoken because of how the people were living caused him a lot of problems during this time. These prophecies landed him in prison several times–are coming true.

Yet now, in the midst of these horrible things, the prophet finally speaks words of promise! In the previous chapter, he has purchased a piece of land, a foolish thing to do in a country soon to be conquered by invading armies. Nevertheless, he has purchased the land as a pledge to show people what he was saying will come true. They will be redeemed and return to this land. The purchase of property was a sign that God’s redemption will happen: “For thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: Houses and fields and vineyards shall again be bought in this land” (32:15). In the midst of impending doom, a sign of hope is enacted.

In chapter 33, the prophet speaks of the coming restoration, the restoration of normal, everyday life. There will come a time in the land of Judah when “there shall once more be heard the voice of mirth and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride” (33:10-11).

Jeremiah speaks of the restoration not simply of daily life, but also of one of the chief signs of God’s favor, the restoration of the line of David. A righteous Branch will sprout from the line of David. A similar image is found in Isaiah 11:1 – “A shoot shall come out from the stump of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots.” The image is one of hope and unexpected joy: new life springing up from what looks like a dead stump.

One of the biggest tragedies of the Babylonian Exile was the end of Davids dynasty. For nearly four hundred years, descendants of David had occupied the throne of Judah, and God had promised that it would always be so (2 Samuel 7; Psalm 89). But the Babylonians destroyed David’s city, burned Solomon’s temple, and took David’s heirs into exile. The promises of God seemed to have come to an end.

To a people devastated by loss, Jeremiah’s prophecy offered hope: “The days are surely coming, says the LORD, when I will fulfill the promise I made to the house of Israel and the house of Judah” (33:14). All might seem lost, but God still is faithful. The house of David might be cut down, but God is able to bring life out of death. A branch will sprout.

Historically, of course, Davids line did not return to the throne, so passages like this, were in time interpreted to be speaking about the coming ideal ruler, the Messiah.

The descendant of David will “execute justice and righteousness in the land” is the one for whom we wait in this Advent season. And his salvation encompasses not just Judah and Jerusalem, but the whole world. Such is the word of promise and hope in this text.

We should also acknowledge that like Jeremiah, these words speaks of the time we are living when many are experiencing great loss: loss of job, of security, of home, physiological problem, drugs and alcohol problems. Families are breaking up under all the stress, spouse and child abuse. Many are hungry even with the help of churches and the government. Slavery is running wild during our time. I could go on and on. While there are no invading armies on the doorstep we have our own government using the FBI and CIA to carry out their personal wishes. Many will resonate with the fear and hopelessness of Jeremiah’s original audience as we look around our country and community and see all this happening.

The words of promise and hope are heard in all their power from our God.

A righteous Branch will spring up. It is a word of hope, but not naïve hope. We know it's true because of the person that lives within us and directs our lives when we listen.

Jeremiah is not someone who looks at the world through rose-colored glasses and we shouldn’t either. This is a prophet imprisoned by his own government because he keeps prophesying doom told him by God.