Hi. Welcome to Redeem the Commute. I’m Ryan, your host of the daily challenges. Today is Tuesday, the day we study the Bible together. This week we’re going to study one of many prophecies in the Old Testament that God was planning to do something definitive about humanity’s broken relationship with him.
“Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will fulfill the promise I made to the house of Israel and the house of Judah. In those days and at that time I will cause a righteous Branch to spring up for David, and he shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. In those days Judah will be saved, and Jerusalem will dwell securely. And this is the name by which it will be called: ‘The LORD is our righteousness.’ (Jeremiah 33:14-16 ESV)
This was written about 600 years before Jesus was born. The kingdom of Israel in the north had been taken by the Assyrians, then the Babylonians. The southern kingdom of Judah fell to the Babylonians as well, and then Jeremiah saw the destruction of Jerusalem in 587 B.C.
These were dismal times for a man like Jeremiah, and some of his writings certainly lament the tragedy around him. But despite it all, he did have a message of hope. Things are bad, but help is coming. A king is coming who will set everything right in the world and in our relationship to God. He would be a descendent of David (a righteous branch), and he would be good, as he would rule with more wisdom, justice, and righteousness than human kings have ever accomplished.
Imagine how good this news would sound, if you’d lived through what he had. A good king is coming, after years of evil kings attacking, overthrowing and occupying their Promised Land.
Now, imagine what good news this can be for us today. Even though we live in a world that seems to be overrun by evil, a good king is coming who will return this world to its intended state.
Question: In your opinion, which promise is the most amazing of God’s fulfilled promises? Why? In a general, overall sense, how did Jesus fulfill God’s promise