Slices
Prepare
Would you prefer to live with shepherds or in the court of a king?
Bible passage
The righteous branch
23 ‘Woe to the shepherds who are destroying and scattering the sheep of my pasture!’ declares the Lord. 2 Therefore this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says to the shepherds who tend my people: ‘Because you have scattered my flock and driven them away and have not bestowed care on them, I will bestow punishment on you for the evil you have done,’ declares the Lord. 3 ‘I myself will gather the remnant of my flock out of all the countries where I have driven them and will bring them back to their pasture, where they will be fruitful and increase in number. 4 I will place shepherds over them who will tend them, and they will no longer be afraid or terrified, nor will any be missing,’ declares the Lord.
5 ‘The days are coming,’ declares the Lord,
‘when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch,
a King who will reign wisely
and do what is just and right in the land.
6 In his days Judah will be saved
and Israel will live in safety.
This is the name by which he will be called:
The Lord Our Righteous Saviour.
7 ‘So then, the days are coming,’ declares the Lord, ‘when people will no longer say, “As surely as the Lord lives, who brought the Israelites up out of Egypt,” 8 but they will say, “As surely as the Lord lives, who brought the descendants of Israel up out of the land of the north and out of all the countries where he had banished them.” Then they will live in their own land.’
Explore
These verses focus on two ideas that are developed throughout the Scriptures: kingship and shepherding. Moses was a shepherd before he led Israel. David held both positions – and then, of course, shepherds were summoned to the crib to see the King of kings. These days, we know broadly what the words king and shepherd mean, but we are oddities, perhaps at the end of history. We do not live with monarchs who – for better or worse – command absolute power over our lives. Nor do we locally depend on shepherds as skilled but humble guardians of the flocks we need for survival. Any child in either ancient Israel or medieval England reading this account would say, ‘Oh yes. Right.’ Our own experience is more likely to be of bureaucracies and supermarkets, but the ancient imagery remains powerful and true.
Here, Jeremiah wants us to grasp the essence of both shepherding and kingship so that we can see something of the nature of God himself. The Lord is the ultimate shepherd. His desire is to gather us, care for us, and see us prosper. He embodies true kingship: he is righteous, wise and just (v 5). Ultimately, this is a prophecy about Jesus himself. The Shepherd King will not only be for the original Israelites, but for all of us.
Respond
Verse 4 promises shepherds to tend God’s sheep. Reflect on the meaning of that special word, tend.
Deeper Bible study
Submit yourself to Jesus the King of kings and Lord of lords as you prepare your heart to hear from God today.
The judgement speeches against the wicked kings and false prophets in chapters 21–24 begin and end with Zedekiah,1 although he is missing from chapter 22. In today’s verses he is replaced by a new king with a name (‘righteous Branch’) that is a wordplay on his own name (‘the Lord my Righteousness’), implying that he had not lived up to that name. There are two metaphors at work: the kings are pictured as shepherds of God’s flock, something that endures today in our word ‘pastor’; and the future ideal king is pictured as a shoot sprouting out of the stump of a dead tree.
These verses conclude the speeches of chapter 22 by announcing judgement on the kings who had caused God’s people to be scattered (vs 1,2). Verses 3–8 announce a reversal of the exile in three sections. First, God announces the regathering of his people and the appointment of new shepherds to care for his flock; then God announces the ‘righteous Branch’, sprouting out of the dead stump of David’s royal line. The section concludes by claiming that the significance of the Exodus from Egypt will be overshadowed by the significance of the return from exile.
Central to these verses is the announcement of the righteous Branch, ‘The Lord Our Righteous Saviour’ (v 6). Jeremiah anticipated a righteous king caring for and protecting God’s people when they returned to their land from exile. From our New Testament perspective, we can identify the righteous Branch as Jesus the glorious king, ruling not just over the people of Judah but seated at God’s right hand, ruling the universe with the power and authority of God.2
Whether we are in a formal pastoral role or not, the Bible asks us to act as shepherds and encouragers. Think of someone you can encourage today.
Bible in a year
Read the Bible in a year: Jeremiah 42,43; John 16
Pray for Scripture Union
Pray for all the churches and Faith Guides running Light Parties and other events in the south east region during October. Pray that they would be beacons of light and hope as winter approaches.
