God’s faithfulness is new every morning (Jer 22:20-23:8)

In the film The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (2011), whenever the over-enthusiastic hotel owner receives complaints he repeats the same mantra, ‘Everything will be alright in the end. And if it is not alright, it is not the end.’ Hilarious as this sounds in the movie, I cannot help thinking of it in connection with Jeremiah. Initially, it seems that nothing will turn out right and this will be the end. But every time we think God is finished with His people, we get a glimpse of a different future. Truly, with God if it is not alright, it is not the end – yet! This is no light-hearted platitude or false optimism, though. Judah’s dark tragedy is not thereby erased, so that many will die or go into exile with collapsed hopes and crushing despair. Yet in all the terrible suffering, through the pride and rebellion of God’s people, the Lord will still be working for their good and for a renewed relationship.

Judgment on people and king

Our reading starts with a lament to be broadcast from the various mountainous regions (Lebanon, Bashan, Abarim). Judah’s allies (‘your lovers’) will be conquered and her kings (‘your shepherds’) swept away into captivity (Jer 22:20-22). The people had a long history of courting foreign powers rather than trusting God for help, and as so often when we place our confidence in things other than the Lord, He has to strip them away and make us realise how useless they are. Jerusalem, symbolically called Lebanon because of the cedars imported from there to decorate the city’s luxurious houses, will suffer a fate as painful as childbirth (Jer 22:23). Judah’s king, Coniah (also called Jehoiachin) will be exiled at the end of the first siege of Jerusalem in 597 BC (Jer 22:24-27; 2 Kings 24:8-12).[1] Kings used signet rings to authenticate documents and so God removing Coniah as a signet ring is a metaphor for removing the king’s divinely granted authority to reign. His supporters cannot understand the reason for his fate (Jer 22:28), but God’s rejection is based on Coniah’s evil rule (2 Kings 24:9). He might as well be childless (though he had seven sons – 1 Chron 3:17-18) because none of them will ever reign again (Jer 22:30).[2]

Not quite the end – Messiah, the righteous Branch

This looks like the final and definitive end to the Davidic dynasty, but it is not. Zerubbabel, Jehoiachin/Coniah’s grandson became governor in Judah after the exile and God re-instated his royal line using again the metaphor of a signet ring (Hag 2:,23). Although he himself did not become king, Jesus Christ the ultimate King came from his line (Matt 1:12-16). Thus, Coniah’s rejection is not a prophecy set in stone (see Jer 18:7-8). Zerubbabel’s commitment to the Lord (Ezra 3:2; 5:1-2) explains why God affirmed him. Where there is a willingness to repent and return to God, there is the hope of a new beginning. Thus, after judgment, God will re-gather the chastised remnant and provide them with faithful leadership (Jer 23:1-4). The righteous Branch of David, a term that came to be associated with Messiah, will be everything that a godly king should be: wise, ruling justly and upholding the right of those who are vulnerable (‘do justice and righteousness’ Jer 23:5-6).

The LORD is our righteousness

Although the historic details may be complicated for us to grasp, the point is best summed up by Messiah’s name ‘the LORD (is) our righteousness’ (or ‘right/justice’, v.6). Righteousness in the Old Testament means fulfilling one’s obligations and commitments towards others and so doing the right thing. God’s righteousness, i.e. covenant obligation is to discipline His people if they disobey and save them when they seek Him in trust. Thus, His righteousness is synonymous with judgment/justice but also with salvation/deliverance. The significance of Messiah’s name is a little obscure, but it possibly means that God is the upholder or guarantor of Israel’s right (to be vindicated or saved) within the covenant.[3] That Messiah will bear such a name suggests that he will embody God’s commitment to restore. Reading the history of God’s people as it unfolds in Jeremiah and beyond, we can take heart that our God is immensely faithful.

---

[1] When Jerusalem was besieged the first time by Babylon (the Chaldeans) in 598/7 BC Jehoiakim, Coniah’s father, was king. However shortly before the siege ended, he must have died or was assassinated (?) because his son, Jehoiachin/Coniah was made king for three months. He surrendered to Babylon and was taken into captivity never to return from there. Jeremiah’s prophecy was probably given shortly after he was made king.

[2] Confusingly for English readers, Jehoiachin/Coniah in Chronicles is called Jeconiah, but these are all versions of the same name, like William, Bill and Billy in English.

[3] J.A. Thompson’s suggests this meaning for the name. He puts it as ‘Yahweh [i.e. the LORD] is the vindication of our right’ or ‘Yahweh is our justice’. The Book of Jeremiah, NICOT (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1980), 490-91. As Christians, we are inclined to think of God’s righteousness as a legal term. Thus, we tend to interpret the phrase ‘God our righteousness’ to mean Jesus paying the price for our sins and justifying us, so that His righteousness is counted as ours. However, this is alien to the OT’s way of understanding righteousness.

If you enjoyed this post, please share it with others.