Pastor T.C. Arnold
1st Sunday in Advent
Jeremiah 23:5-8
November 29th, 2009
There was a righteous king who sat on the throne in Jerusalem. His name was Josiah. He was only 8 years old when he became king. The Bible says that “He did what was right in the eyes of the Lord and walked in all the ways of his father David, not turning aside to the right or to the left.” And beloved in the Lord, my father Hilkiah would say that was the truth indeed.
Good morning sons and daughters of Christ Lutheran Church and visitors to this Parish-family. My name is Jeremiah and I am a prophet by God’s good graces. My father Hilkiah was the high priest for the temple and what he said the good King Josiah did for the people of God was truly a blessing. You see in the eighteenth year of his reign, King Josiah sent his secretary to the temple to give my father some money. The money wasn’t for my father – no – rather it was for the temple renovations. In the years previous to good King Josiah the temple was neglected and even used as a worship place for false gods. Idols were set up and everything. It was awful. But Josiah would change all that.
In all the renovations, my father, Hilkiah, found something that had been lost and neglected for years. He found the Book of the Law somewhere in the temple – cast aside – hidden away. That’s right it had been missing not only to the priests after God’s own heart but also to the people. They didn’t miss it because they had other gods and concerns they abided by.
Oh King Josiah was a righteous man. He loved the Lord and the Lord loved him. He worked hard to put God first for the people. Things were going great for the people of God. That is, until Josiah died (killed by an Egyptian King) and his son took the throne. Deplorable conditions in Jerusalem and beyond were back. Jehohaz, the king’s son was king for three months. He didn’t last long because that same king of Egypt came along and put him in chains. That’s when Josiah’s other son, Jehoiakim comes into the picture. He was no better than his brother. He did evil in God’s eyes. My dad wouldn’t stand for it. I wouldn’t stand for it. So I had to stand up for God. Someone had to – it might as well be me.
In chapter 22 of the book that bears my name I made some very unflattering comments about King Jehoiakim. I said, “Woe to him who builds his palace by unrighteousness, his upper rooms by injustice, making his countrymen work for nothing, not paying them for their labor.” I said “unrighteous” because his father, Josiah, was such a “righteous” and devout man of God. But not his sons – not Jehoiakim. How terrible it was. He couldn’t see the love of God before his face if it hit him right upside the head. He did not love the Lord. So, it was my job to make sure the Lord’s love was shared. It was my job to tell Jehoiakim that God did not appreciate his actions and there would be a price to pay. But Johoiakim kept me as far away from the temple as possible he wouldn’t even let me near it. I would be arrested and put in jail.
This is where my good friend and scribe comes in. Baruch was a man of God who took down every word given to me by the Lord and put it on parchment. He wrote every single prophecy – every word of doom to those who appose God and made sure the people heard it. I told him, you have to go and share these words to those around the temple of the Lord. You have to do it because I’m not allowed. Like the brave man he was, Baruch did what I had asked.
When the men at the temple heard these words that came from the Lord they were afraid. They were afraid for themselves and they were afraid for us. They knew that if the king got a hold of this scroll written by the hand of Baruch, he would for sure try to kill us. They told us to hide while the Word of the Lord was presented to the king. Needless to say Jehoiakim was furious and he took the scroll and had it burned and then wanted to arrest Baruch and me. But the Lord had kept us safe – out of the reach of this mad man.
I share all this with you because I wanted you to realize how we got to this point. There was all this unrighteousness around and also an unrighteous king to boot. But it won’t last forever. That’s what the Lord tells us in words from the book that bears my name – the Old Testament reading for this day: “’The days are coming”, declares the Lord, ‘when I will raise up to David a RIGHTEOUS branch, a King who will reign wisely and do what is just and right in the land.’”
This is God’s promise to us that has been fulfilled for you in Jesus Christ. The Lord gave me, the prophet Jeremiah, the knowledge and courage to proclaim to the nations that the Savior is coming from the line of David. This coming is a part of our Advent theme which starts today. This coming was exciting to us hundreds of years before the coming Lord Jesus and it is exciting to you. Not just because of the promise of a baby in a manger, but because Jesus promises to come again to judge both the living and the dead. He is still coming. That’s what our Advent is all about. That’s His promise. That’s God’s righteousness for us.
And we need that promise and that hope that is so prevalent in this Advent season in which all of you now embark. These are “unrighteous times” you live in today. Yes the same was true for the day in which I lived. But today, scandal takes on a whole new meaning. There are so many more instantaneous news media reports that gossip, unflattering talk, hateful words and actions seem to breed all the more in today’s age. All of you begin to think that this is the way life is – so let’s talk about it. Let’s talk bad about someone or something. Let’s break down instead of building up. And many times the breaking down of someone’s misguided philosophy (which is needed sometimes) is never followed up by a building up of the truth. We just want to “lord our views over” someone and then leave.
There are times in writings that the Lord had given me that I had to break down the speech or the actions of others. That was for the intent of calling them to repentance and back to the promise. And the promise that we have is right before us. It says the promise for us is called “The Lord OUR Righteousness.” In other words, the Lord is Righteousness given to us in faith. Acting like faithful people who are given righteousness means acting like people of God. Are you acting like the people of God? Act like it. That’s what the people in my day struggled with. It’s what every generation has struggled with. You are sinners like me who want to do everything contrary to the will of the Lord. It’s easier that way and you perceive it as way more fun. In reality it’s only hurting you.
“‘The days are coming,’ declares the Lord…” The days have come – Jesus has come and taken away the sins of the world. Jesus will come again. Don’t be caught unprepared for His coming again.
You know, the Gospel text for today reminds us that Jesus is coming. The people who loved Him and adored Him put palm branches down in front while he entered into the holy city on a humble beast of burden. The beast of burden took Jesus upon his back. Jesus, the Righteous King, will take your burdens upon His back while bleeding from a cross on a hill between two criminals. This is the kind of King we need – A King that comes and takes our sins away. Come Lord Jesus.
You know my dad, Hilkiah, loved the good King Josiah. However, when his son, Johoiakim took over – things changed. You have good leaders and evil leaders yet today. But it’s Christ our King that really matters. Dad said there would be a great King to come our way. He has come. Beloved in the Lord, He is coming. “Hosanna to the Son of David. Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest.” Amen.
The peace of God which passes all understanding shall keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen