INTRODUCTION TO POST.

Welcome back! Have you chosen where you’ll concentrate your efforts in this study? I felt the Spirit urging me to look more deeply into the second Huh? I wrote about last week, the it Jeremiah refers to as being called The LORD is our righteousness in verse 16. I’m depending on the Spirit to help me discern an answer that makes sense because right now, in my own understanding, I feel pretty clueless!

 Last Week’s Work

After prayer, I felt the Spirit emphasizing these aspects of characters, locations, and timeframes:

WHO (CHARACTERS)

Of the characters mentioned in this passage, I felt the Spirit drawing my attention to the LORD, Jeremiah, the people to whom the LORD made His promises, and the righteous Branch. This is what I learned about them:

• The LORD, for whom Jeremiah speaks throughout this passage, will keep the promise He made to Israel and Judah; there will be a righteous Branch for David who will bring justice and righteousness in the land.
  He promises that Judah will be saved, Jerusalem will dwell securely, and it will be called the LORD is our righteousness.
  He goes on to say David will always have a man on Israel’s throne and the offspring of both David and the Levitical priests will be innumerable, and these covenants are virtually unbreakable.
  Finally, He acknowledges people say He won’t keep those promises, but assures that He absolutely will have mercy on them and restore their fortunes, and the Levitical priests will always have a man to offer sacrifices.
• Jeremiah, the character after whom this biblical book is named, is the one to whom these prophecies are directed.
• The “promise beneficiaries” are named or described as follows: the houses of Israel and Judah, the people of Judah and Jerusalem who will be saved and dwell securely, David and the Levitical priests, my people whom others despised and refused to recognize their nation, Jacob and David’s offspring, the offspring of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
  At this point, I think there’s overlap among at least some of these groups. For example, I think the term house of Israel might refer to the same individuals as the offspring of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, since Genesis 32:28 indicates Jacob’s name was changed to Israel , and this was done by God according to Genesis 35:10. I hope I have a chance to investigate these identities as the study progresses.
• The righteous Branch for David who’ll execute justice and righteousness. In function, this sounds like the kings of the Old Testament. I noticed in the ESV, Branch is capitalized, which, as I understand it, can signify either a proper noun—like someone’s name, which doesn’t seem likely here—or a deity (i.e., God, Jesus, Holy Spirit). Both this individual and the LORD are associated with righteousness, so I am leaning into the theory that Jeremiah was describing God and/or Jesus as the righteous Branch.

WHERE (LOCATION)

• The land: where David’s righteous branch will execute justice and righteousness, which I suspect refers to where Judah will be saved.
• Jerusalem: where people will dwell securely and will refer to it as the LORD is our righteousness.
• On the throne of the house of Israel: from where a descendant of David will always rule.
• In my [the LORD’s] presence: where the Levitical priests won’t lack a man to offer sacrifices.
• Heaven and earth: where the LORD has established His covenant with day and night and established the fixed order.

WHEN (TIME FRAMES)

Jeremiah notes a single timeframe at the beginning of this passage, the days are coming, and refers to it three more times as those days, that time, and again as those days to describe when He planned to fulfill the promise He made to the houses of Israel and Judah, causing a righteous branch to spring up for David who will execute justice and righteousness in the land. At the same time, Judah will be saved, Jerusalem will dwell securely, and it will be called The Lord is our righteousness.

Dig-In Challenges

Here’s my plan for this week:

1. PRAY the prayer I wrote last week before I study. Then I’ll…
2. MINE: Look for repeated words or phrases in this passage and check for synonyms or pronouns that refer to the same concepts.
3. MINE: Locate any special statements (blessings, commands, curses, prayers, promises, requests, and/or warnings) in the passage.
4. MINE: Note any lists (3 or more similar items) mentioned in Jeremiah 33:14-26.
5. Record what the Spirit prompts so I can use it in Steps 4 and 5.

Remember, you can download this printable summary of the DISO process for more specific instructions. I’ll share what I discover with you next week, so I hope you’ll join me then.

Plan to join me next week as I share what I learned about repetition, special statements, and lists!