The Remnant, Shepherds, and the Righteous Branch
Jeremiah 23: 1-6
It’s Christ the King
Sunday. As holy days go, this one is pretty new. Pope Pious XI instituted it in
1925. At the time, secularism was on the rise throughout Europe. The Pope hoped
that the celebration would help to remind people of the primacy of Jesus; that
the authority and existence of Jesus is preeminent in our lives. Sadly, the experiment, while a noble idea,
didn’t seem to take. Less than a hundred years later, here’s a sampling of
church attendance recorded in 2007: Great Britain: 27 percent, France: 21
percent, Sweden: 4 percent. America is some better at 44 percent, but realize
what that says: over half of America stays home every Sunday.
Now this is not the same
as belief in God, but it is a formidable warning that the Church as we have
identified it over most of the 20th
and now 21st Century, is in the midst of reformation at its
best, and a slow but accelerating death at worst. That’s not very good news.
But it should come as no surprise. The concepts of God and Jesus still have
great penetration into the psyche of the 21st century, but the
Church? Well, that’s a different story.
In the sixth century
while Zedekiah was on the throne of Judah, the prophet Jeremiah spoke to the
people of God. Zedekiah wasn’t such a bad guy, but during his eleven year reign
he was pretty much of a puppet. In other words, the fortunes of Judah continued
to spiral downward. Under his not very impressive reign, the Southern Kingdom
fell to the Babylonians. In today’s passage, Jeremiah speaks to the issues of
poor and corrupt leadership, to the judgment that will befall such leaders, to
the remnant who are faithful, and to the restoration of righteousness through
responsible leadership. If you close your eyes and listen to the Scripture
without any knowledge of when it was written, you just might find a lot of
relevance for where we are today.
In the previous two
chapters, God has spoken of judgment, and it is a harsh judgment indeed. But
here in chapter 23, God says through Jeremiah: Woe to the leaders who destroy and scatter my people. I will deal
with you. You can count on that. Then I’m bringing back those who stayed
faithful. They are everywhere, but I know who they are, and I’m bringing them
back. None will go missing. And when I do, I will set righteous leaders over
them. They won’t have to fear any more. The days are coming, says God, when I
will raise up someone, a righteous Branch
of the family tree. That leader can be trusted, and my people will be saved.
In America, many people
think that a secular leader elected by the people will be our righteous leader
and make us safe. Would that it were so easy! We could just elect someone and
wait to be saved. It didn’t work for the people of Israel and Judah and it
won’t work for us either. We, like Northern Europe, are a people educated in
religion, rich in church assets from buildings to bank accounts. But that has
not stopped the downward spiral of the church. The church may be the bride of
Christ, but it is his people to whom he has delegated the responsibility to
nurture it. Sadly, in too many instances, we Christians tend to find other
interests. It has caused God himself to scatter us. And in those days as in
these, leaders with the wrong agenda have aided in the bankruptcy of our
morality and divided our loyalties. While it is our rebellion and rejection
that exiles us, it is corrupt leaders who bring curses upon us and take us
deeper into the pit of disobedience.
Why did God promise to
attend to the shepherds of the day?
Because they did evil deeds. Because they were selfish and looked after
themselves, ignoring what was good for the people, what was commanded by God.
By the way, shepherd, as the Hebrew term was used in Scripture, commonly
referred to the ruler or rulers of the time. Since the plural form is used
here, it probably referred to those in positions of leadership and not just the
king. And God said woe to them. Woe would have meant judgment. God is going to
deal with the bad shepherds.
But God is far from done.
Not only does he promise to deal with the bad shepherds; he promises to bring
his people good shepherds. He
promises shepherds, leaders, who are accountable, who make us safe, who leave
none of us uncounted or missing.
The second part of this
passage deals with a remnant. Not all
are going to be spared. But those who have been faithful, no matter where they
are, will be brought home safe to live in a way that leaves no fear. They will
be the flock of the good shepherd, and they will be fruitful and multiply, the
same words promised by God at the creation.
Last, God promises a righteous Branch. His words have been
interpreted as Messianic, even eschatological. The righteous Branch is a leader
like no other, dealing wisely, executing justice and righteousness. The word branch reminds us of Isaiah’s “shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch
shall grow out of his roots” found in Isaiah 11. Is this the same idea? Is
it an earthly ruler? Is it the Messiah? Is it both? The name given by God to
that leader: “The Lord is our
righteousness” has connotations of not just righteousness, but also of
salvation or deliverance.
In verse 7, Jeremiah says
“the days are coming.” While we have
no way of knowing when from this generalization, we do know that Jeremiah is
calling our attention to a solemn proclamation. God is in charge. He sees what is
happening. He is taking names and he will not only hold us accountable; he will
also bring judgment on those of us who lead badly and falsely. We will be
delivered if we believe and obey, and we will live in harmony again.
The thing is, we, the
people. What are we doing? We, the people. We are the people of God. What are
we acting like? Who are we trusting? What leaders are we raising up? Are we the
44 percent who attend the church or the 56 percent who stay home? And if we
come, do we worship or whine? We, the people. Are we the remnant to whom God
promises salvation? If we are, we need to show that by the way we act, by the
way we trust. It is as relevant today as it was when the people of Jeremiah’s
time were threatened.
We are promised what God
will do. The question is: What will we do?
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