Rev. John Bussman, pastor at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Cullman, AL, joins host Rev. Timothy Appel to study Jeremiah 23:1-8.
The LORD will not tolerate the way the faithless leaders of Judah are abusing His people. The kings were called to be faithful shepherds to lead and protect God’s people according to His Word, but these shepherds had allied themselves with the work of the devil. The LORD will bring His condemnation upon them, and He will be the shepherd for His people. He will gather them and care for them Himself. In order to do this, He will raise up a righteous Branch for David. None of the kings in the line of David had fully measured up, so the LORD Himself will be the true King who reigns with righteousness and justice. He will gather His scattered people from wherever they may be. His name will be “The LORD is our righteousness.” Where Zedekiah had failed, this righteous Branch will not. He will bring His people out of exile as an act of salvation even more significant than the Exodus. Both of these will be surpassed and fulfilled in the saving work of our Lord Jesus Christ by His death and resurrection for sinners.
“A Time to Destroy and a Time to Build” is a mini-series on Sharper Iron that goes through the book of Jeremiah. The prophet calls the people of Judah and Jerusalem to repent of their faithless idolatry and warns them of the destruction that is coming in the Babylonian exile. Yet Jeremiah does not leave us without hope in the midst of such dark days. Jeremiah and all who believe the Word of God he preached survive because of hope that is found in the righteous Branch from the line of David, Jesus Christ.
