The Good Thing

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RETURN TO SYLLABUS

JEREMIAH 33
Lesson #33
THE GOOD THING

• Memory Verse: Rom 5:21
• Read Jer 33:1-3 The Prophet’s Situation
  • Jeremiah is still in prison under the reign of the last king of Judah, King Zedekiah.
  • You can imagine the discouragement this prophet personally endured.
    • No one would heed his messages from God.
    • No one would repent and turn to God.
    • He was persecuted for his persistence in being obedient to God to preach everything God told him.
  • Under these conditions it requires faith to continue in obedience to God, and it requires an eternal perspective of faith.
    • Read Heb 11:6, 13
    • The saints of Hebrews 11 did not always see the fulfillment of their prayers but with an eternal perspective to their faith, they knew God would eventually answer their prayers even though they would not see it in their lifetime.
  • The message to Jeremiah in this chapter is that he maintain an eternal perspective of faith.
• Read Jer 33:4-9 The Light at the end of the Tunnel
  • God gives Jeremiah words of encouragement that bolster his faith and give him an eternal perspective.
    • “Behold I will bring it health and cure, and I will cure them, and will reveal unto them the abundance of peace and truth.” (6)
    • While Jeremiah will not live to see the answer to his prayers, God will not forget His people, neither will God leave them forever in captivity.
      • God will bring His people back from Babylon to live again in the Promised Land. (7)
      • God will heal their rebellion, their sin, and the consequences of their sin. (8)
      • God will reveal the truth to them. (6)
      • The Jews will one day live at peace with God. (6, 9)
  • These words of encouragement refer to the Millennial Kingdom of Jesus Christ.
    • Christ will reign on the earth for 1000 years.
    • The Jews will acknowledge Jesus Christ as their Messiah.
    • The Jews will play a dominant role in the Millennial Kingdom.
• Read Jer 33:10-12
  • During the Babylonian captivity the land of Israel would be deserted for a period of time.
  • There were a few poor, insignificant people that managed to escape and stay in the Promised Land.
  • Then Babylon moved into the area of Samaria a mixed group of captives from other geographical parts of the empire. These people became the hated Samaritans of Jesus’ day.
• Read Jer 33:13-18 The Good Thing God will do:
  • What is the “good thing” that God promised in verse 14?
    • God promised them that the Messiah would come and deliver them. (Gen 3:15)
    • The promise of the coming Messiah has been long awaited in Israel’s history.
      • Of course they did not accept Jesus Christ as their Messiah when He came the first time.
      • However, they will accept Jesus Christ as their Messiah when He comes the second time.
    • How do we know that the promised Messiah is the “good thing” that God promised?
      • Verse 15 tells us that the Branch of righteousness will grow up unto David to bring judgment and righteousness in the land.
      • What is the Branch of righteousness in verse 15?
        • Remember we discussed the evil line of Kings that ruled in the Southern Kingdom that descended from King David through his son Solomon.

We saw the prophecy that no king from that lineage would sit on the throne after King Jeconiah was cursed. (Jer 22:30 See lesson #23)

The last king of Judah was King Zedekiah who did not descend from Jeconiah but was a son of good King Josiah.

• • • • • Therefore, the branch of evil was the lineage of kings after King Solomon.
        • We also examined the genealogy to see that Jesus Christ came from David through the righteous branch of David’s son, Nathan.
        • Notice that in the King James Bible the word Branch is capitalized to indicate that this is a title of Jesus Christ, the Messiah.

When Jesus comes the second time to this earth, He will execute judgment and righteousness in the land. (15)

The name of Jesus Christ in the Millennial Kingdom will be Jehovah Tsidkenu which is translated The Lord our righteousness. (16)

What does this title mean to us as believers in Jesus Christ?

It means He is the only way through which we gain righteousness. He puts His righteousness in our hearts because we cannot earn righteousness in our own strength. This is part of the New Covenant we live under today when we invite Jesus into our hearts.

Read Zec 14:20-21

• • • • • Christ will rule on earth in holiness for 1000 years. (17)
    • Verse 18 refers to the sacrifices that will be part of worship in the Millennial Kingdom.
      • Jesus Christ’s sacrifice on the cross is the ultimate sacrifice for all time and for all sin.
      • Read Heb 9:26, 28
      • Read Heb 10:3, 10, 12, 14
      • While Jesus Christ is the final sacrifice for sin, in the Millennial Kingdom, there will be a memorial to Jesus’ sacrifice for those humans that live in the Millennial Kingdom. This will be some form of animal sacrifice that will be a testimony to Jesus’ final sacrifice on the cross.
• Read Jer 33:19-26 The Argument Against God
  • God is a faithful God. He will fulfill His promises and His Word to His people.
    • When people see the thousands of years that the Jews have failed to be obedient to God, they say the prophecies about Israel’s blessing will never happen. But nothing is too hard for God.
    • God is the creator of this universe. He created the day and the night. He fulfills that promise every time the sun comes up and every time the sun sets. (20)
      • If man cannot change God’s creation of day and night, he cannot change all the other promises God has made.
      • God made a covenant with David that cannot be broken or changed by man.
        • The Covenant with David

Read 2Sam 7:12-16 Promises to David’s descendant

Jesus Christ will build a new temple in the Millennial Kingdom.

As David’s descendant, God will establish Jesus Christ on David’s throne forever.

God will establish on Jesus Christ His kingdom forever.

Read Psa 110:1

God, the Father, promises God, the Son, a kingdom.

Surely God will fulfill His promise to His Son, Jesus Christ.

• • • • • This passage in Jeremiah tells us that those who say God will not fulfill these promises are fools to think that man can change God’s plan.
    • God will restore the priesthood. (21)
      • The priesthood of Aaron became corrupt when they permitted idolatry in the temple of God. God will destroy that priesthood with the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem.
        • The people did not have a priesthood or a means to worship God during the seventy years of captivity in Babylon.
        • When they returned to the Promised Land, the priesthood of Aaron began again. However, they again became corrupt. This was the corrupt priesthood during the days of Jesus’ crucifixion.
      • God makes the promise that a better priesthood will be established in the Millennial Kingdom. (21) This priesthood will be free of corruption.
  • Who are the two families the Lord has chosen? (24)
    • From the beginning in the book of Genesis, God has chosen two families to fulfill His promises.
    • These two families are named in verse 26.
      • =1= Jacob
        • Jacob was the deceiver:

He deceived his brother, Esau, into giving him the birthright of the firstborn.

He deceived his father, Isaac, into giving him the blessing of the firstborn.

He deceived his uncle, Laban, into giving him abundant flocks.

• • • • • But God chose him to be the father of the 12 tribes and changed his name from Jacob to Israel.
        • The Jews, who are the descendants of Jacob, will reap the fulfillment of God’s promises made in the book of Genesis. This fulfillment will occur in the Millennial Kingdom of Jesus Christ for 1000 years.
      • =2= David
        • David was a good king, but he was not perfect.

The Israelites wanted a king before God was ready to give them a king. There was a curse on the lineage of Judah until the time of King David.

However, in God’s permissive will, He gave them King Saul, but King Saul was not from the tribe of Judah (Gen 49) but from the tribe of Benjamin.

King David was God’s perfect will, but David was human and committed sin.

• • • • • God must give man a perfect king in Jesus Christ.

HOMEWORK
Jeremiah 34

• Application of Jer 33
  • When you go through dark days and there seems to be no hope for the future, what can you learn from this chapter of Jeremiah that will carry you through?
• Preparation for Jer 34
  • Read Jer 34:1-22
    • What was the covenant of liberty? (Read Exo 21:1-6)
• Memory Verse: Song of Solomon 5:16