King David’s “Righteous Branch” (Part 3 of 4)

Jesus Christ, the Messiah, is God's Prophet, Priest, and King.  His Second Coming will be in "power and great glory," and He will return as the King!

December 14, 2020

"Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth."

Jeremiah 23:5

Part 3

Yesterday:  God’s Concern for His People
“Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will raise unto David.”
From the dispersion of His people, God will bring Israel back together, giving them faithful shepherds who will not forsake them (as Ezekiel’s shepherds did).  Then God will raise up the King.

 

Today:  The Identity of the King

“A righteous Branch.”
Jehovah said He will raise up to David, “a righteous Branch.”

“The Root.”
David’s father, Jessie, was not rich and famous and not so well known in his day.

“And Saul said to him, Whose son art thou, thou young man?  And David answered, I am the son of thy servant Jesse the Bethlehemite” (1 Samuel 17:58).

David is a son of Jessie and is called “a root of Jessie,” meaning that he is from Jessie’s lineage.

“And in that day there shall be a root of Jesse, which shall stand for an ensign of the people; to it shall the Gentiles seek: and his rest shall be glorious” (Isaiah 11:10).

“And again, Esaias saith, There shall be a root of Jesse, and He that shall rise to reign over the Gentiles; in Him hall the Gentiles[1] trust” (Romans 15:12).

The coming Jesus the Christ (the Messiah) will also be “root and offspring of David.”

“I, Jesus, have sent my angel to testify to you about these things for the churches.  I am the root and the descendant of David, the bright morning star” (Revelation 22:16).

The line of the Messiah is through the “root” of Jessie, through David “a root of Jessie,” and He is the “root and descendant of David.”

Isaiah said it like this,

“And there shall come forth a rod [“a shoot from the stump”] out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots” (Isaiah 11:1).

“…that is, as if Jesse should fall like an aged tree, yet the ‘root’ would sprout up and live” [2] (Barnes).

Through Jessie comes David, and through David, Jesus the Messiah.

 

“The Branch”
This “Branch” will be a sprout from the root, not from another branch (see Bullinger).  In the Old Testament, the word “Branch” is often used speaking of the Messiah.  This “Righteous Branch” in Jeremiah is the Christ!

“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).

Zechariah the Prophet was watching for the “Branch” to come.

“Hear now, O Joshua the high priest, thou, and thy fellows [friends] that sit before thee: for they are men wondered at [they are men who are a sign]: for, behold, I will bring forth my servant the BRANCH” (Zechariah 3:8. See Zechariah 6:12).

Isaiah shows us that this coming Righteous Branch will become our Savior!

“Who hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the LORD revealed?  For He shall grow up before Him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: He hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see Him, there is no beauty that we should desire Him” (Isaiah 53:1-2).

Only God could take a “nobody” from “nowhere special” and make him a part of the most significant idea on earth, God’s plan for mankind’s redemption.  Jessie and David are examples of His gracious plan.

Come back tomorrow as we begin to see what the King will do with this earth.

 

Quote:  “Hope is the work of God which he performs in us through our faith in the promise that we, the Gentiles, are included in the great salvation of God.  ‘The root of Jesse has come, even he who arises to rule the Gentiles; in him will the Gentiles hope’”[3] (John Piper).

 

 

 

[1] Yes, believers, the “Root of Jessie” is whom we Gentile trust, for He did come to die for our sin, and He has become our Savior, Lord, and King!
[2] Albert Barnes, Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible, the electronic version in eSword. Isaiah 4:2.
[3] Piper’s quote is from his sermon, “Gentiles Rejoice in the Root of Jesse.” Downloaded:  Saturday, December 12, 2020.  From: https://www.desiringgod.org/messages/gentiles-rejoice-in-the-root-of-jesse.