Reading

• Jer. 23:1-8; 33:14-26; 31:27-40

Devotional

Through the prophet Jeremiah, GOD reveals additional details some 580+ years before Jesus, regarding the coming Messiah, His kingdom, and the new covenant. GOD rebuked the shepherds (spiritual leaders or elders) of Israel because they had failed to lead the people properly and the result had been catastrophic. GOD promised a restoration of His people and new shepherds who would properly care for and tend the sheep.

⁵ “Behold, the days are coming,” says the LORD, “That I will raise to David a Branch of righteousness; A King shall reign and prosper, And execute judgment and righteousness in the earth. ⁶ In His days Judah will be saved, And Israel will dwell safely; Now this is His name by which He will be called: THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.

⁷ “Therefore, behold, the days are coming,” says the LORD, “that they shall no longer say, ‘As the LORD lives who brought up the children of Israel from the land of Egypt,’ ⁸ but, ‘As the LORD lives who brought up and led the descendants of the house of Israel from the north country and from all the countries where I had driven them.’ And they shall dwell in their own land.”
(Jer. 23:5-8 NKJV)

The Messiah—which means “anointed one“—would be a descendent of David. He would be a just and righteous king who will reign in the earth. He will be called “THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS”.

The prophecies regarding the reign and rule of the Messiah can be easily misunderstood. We must be careful to note the nature of the Messiah’s kingdom so as to not become confused and look for the wrong type of kingdom. As we will see, this would be a common problem among Israelites and it even exists today in certain ways which we will discuss later in our devotionals.

The Messiah’s reign would have no end.

¹⁷ “For thus says the LORD: ‘David shall never lack a man to sit on the throne of the house of Israel; ¹⁸ nor shall the priests, the Levites, lack a man to offer burnt offerings before Me, to kindle grain offerings, and to sacrifice continually.’”
(Jer. 33:17-18 NKJV)

GOD is going to make a new covenant with Israel in these days, which will be quite different. (It is key to note the differences as we learn them going forward, but for now we just need to acknowledge that they will be different.)

³¹ “Behold, the days are coming, says the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah— ³² not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, though I was a husband to them, says the LORD. ³³ But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the LORD: I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. ³⁴ No more shall every man teach his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,’ for they all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them, says the LORD. For I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more.”
(Jer. 31:31-34 NKJV)

As time marches on, GOD will reveal an increasing number of details regarding future events and the changes which Israel and the world will face. Rejoice over the beautiful truths from His word and His great love for us!