Monday after Ad te levavi, The First Sunday in Advent
Posted on November 28, 2022 by under
Scripture: Jeremiah 33:14-18 (NKJV)
33:14 ‘Behold, the days are coming,’ says the Lord, ‘that I will perform that good thing which I have promised to the house of Israel and to the house of Judah:
15 ‘In those days and at that time I will cause to grow up to David a Branch of righteousness; He shall execute judgment and righteousness in the earth.
16 ‘In those days Judah will be saved, and Jerusalem will dwell safely. And this is the name by which she will be called:
THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS’
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.’”
Devotion
The destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70 and the end of even a puppet kingship would render this prophecy false and the Word of God would seem the babbling of men, unless the Lord set a Son of David to rule over “the House of Israel” in some way other than as ruler over that geographical area at the east end of the Mediterranean. Again, the lack of the descendants of Levi sacrificing burnt offerings would make this promise false, unless the Priest and King were one, and His “holy nation” consisted of something other than the citizens of an earthly political entity.
Such a reality is shown by St. Paul calling the New Testament Church “the Israel of God” in Galatians 6:16. It is also shown by the name of the Church in contrast to the name claimed by modern (i.e., Talmudic) Judaism: “The Lord Our Righteousness.” For centuries, Judaism has had neither king, nor burnt offering—nor do they think they need such substitutionary sacrifices, but that they will redeem themselves by their obedience. Those that confess any messiah at all confess only a political leader or, more frequently, that their nation will enlighten the rest of the world to self-salvation through a watered-down version of the Law.
Thus, we see that they are not only set against Jesus as the Christ, but against Isaiah’s words of deliverance entirely.
Prayer: Stir up, we beseech Thee, Thy power, O Lord, and come, that by Thy protection we may be rescued from the threatening perils of our sins, and saved by Thy mighty deliverance; who livest and reignest with the Father and the Holy Ghost, ever One God, world without end. Amen.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
