The past week or more Ameren UE has been in our area trimming tree branches away for power lines. In our Old Testament lesson from Jeremiah 33:14-16, the Lord promises that “I will cause a righteous Branch to spring up for David.” The family of David had endured more than a bit of branch trimming. The family tree was dying, spiritually and physically. The last of the Davidic line had died in exile. They had been cut off at the roots. Hardly even a stump remained.
However, the branch that grows out of the dead family tree will not be by natural processes. God will cause a new branch in the family tree to grow. The new branch won’t be afflicted by the old diseases that killed the first family tree of David. No, this God- raised- Branch will be filled with wisdom, not the foolishness of ungodly ways, justice, not oppression and righteousness toward God and those whom this new King rules. The result is that the people will be saved and live securely.
It was the fruit of a branch that did in Adam and Eve. The fruit of the righteous Branch gives us life. His fruit came to fruition on a cross shaped tree of dead wood. The name by which the righteous Branch is called is, “The Lord is our righteousness.” Since we have no rightness with God on our own, since we are by nature deadwood, God, in Jesus Christ gives us His rightness. Thus we can rightly confess that Jesus our Lord is our rightness with God and therefore, we are right with God.
Hymn 342 LSB
A shoot will sprout from Jesse’s stem.
A branch from David’s line,
A Prince of Peace in Bethlehem;
The fruit of God’s design.
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