Proper 11
Preaching
Preaching And Reading The Old Testament Lessons
With an Eye to the New
This text forms one of the most important theological passages in the Old Testament. Just as the Lord broke into human history in the time of Abraham and made him a promise that shaped and moved forward all of the events in Israel's life that followed after, so now the Lord breaks into history once again to utter a new promise that will shape not only Israel's subsequent history, but that of the world.
We find David at ease in his palace in Jerusalem, which he has conquered (cf. 5:6--10) and which from this time on could be called "Davidsburg." He has subdued the Philistines, built up his royal court and harem like any other oriental monarch (cf. 5:13--16), and centered religious authority in his capital city by bringing the ark of the covenant to it. But David's reign is a conditional kingship, subject to the terms of the covenant, not only with the tribes of Israel, but with God. In order to consolidate his power further, David wishes to build a temple for the Lord, where the ark can be placed in the Holy of Holies and God's dwelling in the midst of his people can be guaranteed.
The prophet Nathan is introduced for the first time in the story, and he approves David's desire for a temple. Certainly it is a religious desire to be applauded. Noteworthy, however, is the fact that Nathan's approval is given in his own words, and not as a word of God (v. 3). In verse 4, God's authoritative word enters the picture in the form of a divine oracle that Nathan is to speak to David.
God will not allow David to build the temple, because God will not allow himself to be the servant of human desire for power. He contradicts every worldly attempt to use him for selfish purposes. Verses 5--7 point out that from the beginning, God has moved about, graciously accompanying his people, but has never been subject to being confined in a place of human choosing. God is the Lord and free. He acts as he will, and human beings, no matter how powerful, cannot command his obeisance. Thus, God delivers a resounding "No!" to David's scheme to domesticate him and keep him safely confined to one place, a lesson we all should perhaps absorb in our religious life and churches.
After he says "no," however, God also graciously says "yes." He points out that his has been the hand from the beginning that raised David to be prince over his people. And now God promises David an even greater future. He will make David's name "great" (v. 9; cf. Genesis 12:2). Under David's rule, he will guarantee Israel's land and security (v. 10). He will give David rest from every enemy (v. 11). And then this: he will make David a "house" (v. 11). David cannot make a house for God, a temple; God will instead make him a house, i.e. a dynasty. After David dies, his successor will build the temple (v. 13). God will adopt the davidic king as his son (v. 14; cf. the royal Psalm 2:7). And above all, God will guarantee the davidic dynasty forever (v. 13). Indeed, in the following verses, God promises that even if the davidic king commits iniquity, God will not take his covenant love from him. The davidic kingship will be established forever (v. 16).
God has now made an unconditional promise. There will never be lacking a davidic king to sit upon the throne. A divine Word of God has now been uttered into human history, and that word will now work in history and shape events until it is fufilled.
Is it any wonder, then, that Isaiah promises that a shoot shall come forth from the stump of Jesse, the line of David, even when the davidic kingship seems to have been cut off in the exile of Israel (Isaiah 11:1)? Or is it any wonder that the only begotten Son of God is born in Bethlehem, the city of David? God keeps his promises. The kingship of Jesus Christ is indeed forever. And because he rules over your lives and mine, you and I can be assured that when he comes again to establish his kingdom over all the earth, he will make a place for those who trust him, a place of peace and permanence and joyful life forever.
Lutheran Option: Jeremiah 23:1--6
Throughout the Bible, kings were known as the "shepherds" of their people. Verses 1--5 in this passage is therefore an indictment against the unfaithful and evil rulers of Judah who cared nothing for the people, their "flock," in the seventh century B.C. Especially is it a judgment pronounced on Jehoiakim, the davidic king who was placed on the Judean throne by the conquering Egyptians in 609 B.C., after the tragic death of good King Josiah and the deposing of his son Jehoahaz. In 605 B.C., Egypt was defeated by the Babylonians, however, and Jehoiakim became puppet to that empire. Jeremiah 22:13--19 is the devastating divine judgment spoken by Jeremiah against Jehoiakim, who has employed slave labor to build himself a sumptuous palace, who has corrupted the courts, and shed innocent blood through oppression and violence. Jehoi--akim is succeeded on the Judean throne in 597 B.C. by the Babylo--nian puppet Zedekiah, whose rebellion against Babylonia finally led to the fall of Jerusalem and Judah and the exile of most of the populace to Babylonia in 587 B.C. The promise of verses 3--4 of our text is that God will gather his exiled people and multiply them, returning them to their land and setting over them faithful "shepherds" who will care for them and allow them to live in peace.
Verses 5--6 of our text form a separate oracle for "the days that are coming," which is a reference to that indeterminate eschato--logical time in the future when God will destroy all his enemies and set up his kingdom on earth.
In order fully to understand these verses, we must realize the role played by the davidic king in the Bible. From the time of the promise to David onward (see the exposition above), it was considered that Israel's righteousness in God's eyes was bound up with the righteousness of her davidic king. "Righteousness" throughout the scriptures signifies the fulfillment of the demands of a relationship. The king was considered "righteous" if he did what a king was supposed to do, namely, keep God's covenant commands and exercise justice and mercy and care toward his people (cf. 22:15--16; cf. the royal Psalm 72:2, 12--14). Then not only did the king live in God's favor, but his people too were considered right before God. The king was the people; the people were the king. And what the ruler did determined what the people did, and how both were seen by the Lord, which is truth that still pertains to our time.
The promise that God gives in 23:5--6, therefore, is that he will raise up a righteous davidic king, who will rule in wisdom and justice and faithfulness (cf. Isaiah 11:1--5), and who will therefore guarantee God's favor toward the people. The king's righteousness will be the people's righteousness in God's sight.
Few better descriptions are given of what Jesus Christ, the son of David, the Son of God, the final promised davidic king, has done for us than we find here in Jeremiah. For is it not our Lord Christ who has been fully righteous, fully faithful to God, fully caring and loving toward us, his people, who has also made us right with our God? Goodness knows, we can claim no faithfulness to our Lord. We are far too self--centered, far too interested in advancing our own cause, far too fearful sometimes and anxious and forgetful of the Lord's presence and working in our lives. We do not trust him always, but try to rely on our own feeble and passing resources and wisdom instead. But Jesus Christ is faithful when we are unfaithful. He is obedient when we are disobedient. He is loving when we are unloving. He is the sole fully righteous One among us. And by trust in him, we participate in his righteousness and are counted right in the sight of our God. And we therefore can have that security and salvation that God promises through his prophet Jeremiah.
We find David at ease in his palace in Jerusalem, which he has conquered (cf. 5:6--10) and which from this time on could be called "Davidsburg." He has subdued the Philistines, built up his royal court and harem like any other oriental monarch (cf. 5:13--16), and centered religious authority in his capital city by bringing the ark of the covenant to it. But David's reign is a conditional kingship, subject to the terms of the covenant, not only with the tribes of Israel, but with God. In order to consolidate his power further, David wishes to build a temple for the Lord, where the ark can be placed in the Holy of Holies and God's dwelling in the midst of his people can be guaranteed.
The prophet Nathan is introduced for the first time in the story, and he approves David's desire for a temple. Certainly it is a religious desire to be applauded. Noteworthy, however, is the fact that Nathan's approval is given in his own words, and not as a word of God (v. 3). In verse 4, God's authoritative word enters the picture in the form of a divine oracle that Nathan is to speak to David.
God will not allow David to build the temple, because God will not allow himself to be the servant of human desire for power. He contradicts every worldly attempt to use him for selfish purposes. Verses 5--7 point out that from the beginning, God has moved about, graciously accompanying his people, but has never been subject to being confined in a place of human choosing. God is the Lord and free. He acts as he will, and human beings, no matter how powerful, cannot command his obeisance. Thus, God delivers a resounding "No!" to David's scheme to domesticate him and keep him safely confined to one place, a lesson we all should perhaps absorb in our religious life and churches.
After he says "no," however, God also graciously says "yes." He points out that his has been the hand from the beginning that raised David to be prince over his people. And now God promises David an even greater future. He will make David's name "great" (v. 9; cf. Genesis 12:2). Under David's rule, he will guarantee Israel's land and security (v. 10). He will give David rest from every enemy (v. 11). And then this: he will make David a "house" (v. 11). David cannot make a house for God, a temple; God will instead make him a house, i.e. a dynasty. After David dies, his successor will build the temple (v. 13). God will adopt the davidic king as his son (v. 14; cf. the royal Psalm 2:7). And above all, God will guarantee the davidic dynasty forever (v. 13). Indeed, in the following verses, God promises that even if the davidic king commits iniquity, God will not take his covenant love from him. The davidic kingship will be established forever (v. 16).
God has now made an unconditional promise. There will never be lacking a davidic king to sit upon the throne. A divine Word of God has now been uttered into human history, and that word will now work in history and shape events until it is fufilled.
Is it any wonder, then, that Isaiah promises that a shoot shall come forth from the stump of Jesse, the line of David, even when the davidic kingship seems to have been cut off in the exile of Israel (Isaiah 11:1)? Or is it any wonder that the only begotten Son of God is born in Bethlehem, the city of David? God keeps his promises. The kingship of Jesus Christ is indeed forever. And because he rules over your lives and mine, you and I can be assured that when he comes again to establish his kingdom over all the earth, he will make a place for those who trust him, a place of peace and permanence and joyful life forever.
Lutheran Option: Jeremiah 23:1--6
Throughout the Bible, kings were known as the "shepherds" of their people. Verses 1--5 in this passage is therefore an indictment against the unfaithful and evil rulers of Judah who cared nothing for the people, their "flock," in the seventh century B.C. Especially is it a judgment pronounced on Jehoiakim, the davidic king who was placed on the Judean throne by the conquering Egyptians in 609 B.C., after the tragic death of good King Josiah and the deposing of his son Jehoahaz. In 605 B.C., Egypt was defeated by the Babylonians, however, and Jehoiakim became puppet to that empire. Jeremiah 22:13--19 is the devastating divine judgment spoken by Jeremiah against Jehoiakim, who has employed slave labor to build himself a sumptuous palace, who has corrupted the courts, and shed innocent blood through oppression and violence. Jehoi--akim is succeeded on the Judean throne in 597 B.C. by the Babylo--nian puppet Zedekiah, whose rebellion against Babylonia finally led to the fall of Jerusalem and Judah and the exile of most of the populace to Babylonia in 587 B.C. The promise of verses 3--4 of our text is that God will gather his exiled people and multiply them, returning them to their land and setting over them faithful "shepherds" who will care for them and allow them to live in peace.
Verses 5--6 of our text form a separate oracle for "the days that are coming," which is a reference to that indeterminate eschato--logical time in the future when God will destroy all his enemies and set up his kingdom on earth.
In order fully to understand these verses, we must realize the role played by the davidic king in the Bible. From the time of the promise to David onward (see the exposition above), it was considered that Israel's righteousness in God's eyes was bound up with the righteousness of her davidic king. "Righteousness" throughout the scriptures signifies the fulfillment of the demands of a relationship. The king was considered "righteous" if he did what a king was supposed to do, namely, keep God's covenant commands and exercise justice and mercy and care toward his people (cf. 22:15--16; cf. the royal Psalm 72:2, 12--14). Then not only did the king live in God's favor, but his people too were considered right before God. The king was the people; the people were the king. And what the ruler did determined what the people did, and how both were seen by the Lord, which is truth that still pertains to our time.
The promise that God gives in 23:5--6, therefore, is that he will raise up a righteous davidic king, who will rule in wisdom and justice and faithfulness (cf. Isaiah 11:1--5), and who will therefore guarantee God's favor toward the people. The king's righteousness will be the people's righteousness in God's sight.
Few better descriptions are given of what Jesus Christ, the son of David, the Son of God, the final promised davidic king, has done for us than we find here in Jeremiah. For is it not our Lord Christ who has been fully righteous, fully faithful to God, fully caring and loving toward us, his people, who has also made us right with our God? Goodness knows, we can claim no faithfulness to our Lord. We are far too self--centered, far too interested in advancing our own cause, far too fearful sometimes and anxious and forgetful of the Lord's presence and working in our lives. We do not trust him always, but try to rely on our own feeble and passing resources and wisdom instead. But Jesus Christ is faithful when we are unfaithful. He is obedient when we are disobedient. He is loving when we are unloving. He is the sole fully righteous One among us. And by trust in him, we participate in his righteousness and are counted right in the sight of our God. And we therefore can have that security and salvation that God promises through his prophet Jeremiah.
