Mensa Otabil - The Lord Our Righteousness
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We’re still looking at the names of God, and we’ve examined a few of them. Today, we look at another name that is important, especially in reference to our salvation, and it is Jehovah Tzidkenu. Jehovah Tzidkenu.
Jeremiah chapter 23, verse six: «In his days Judah shall be saved and Israel will dwell safely.» Now this is his name by which he will be called: the Lord our Righteousness. This passage from Jeremiah chapter 23 is part of a Messianic prophecy, and when we say " a Messianic prophecy,» we mean a prophecy related to the coming Messiah. It talks about a future Messiah who is going to come, and in earlier verses, that Messiah is called «the righteous branch of David,» and of course, that is in reference to Jesus Christ. The prophecy goes further to say that this Messiah, who will be coming, would have a name, and his name would be Jehovah Tzidkenu, the Lord our Righteousness. It introduces a person who will be called the Lord our Righteousness, which is later fulfilled by Jesus Christ.
Under the law, people hoped to become righteous by observing all the requirements of the law. If the law says, «Don’t do this,» they didn’t do that, and if they were able to keep all the law, then they became righteous according to the law. However, people couldn’t obey the law, so righteousness was a very far-off wish for the people. This prophecy indicated that the Lord will be our righteousness, which means that instead of us trying to be righteous by ourselves, God is going to become our source of righteousness. Righteousness will not come from ourselves but from the Lord.
So what does Jehovah Tzidkenu mean? Three things I want to share with you. First, it means that the Lord is righteous; that is his nature. Everything he does is right; everything he does is just. There is no shadow of wrong in God; he is right at all times. That is God’s nature, and anytime we’re dealing with God, that’s something we must keep in mind: we deal with a just God, a God who is right and who does right by his people. So that’s the first thing: the Lord is righteous.
Secondly, Jehovah Tzidkenu also means the Lord determines what is righteous. Not only is he righteous, but he tells us what is righteous. He tells us whether something is right or wrong. Many times, people think that they determine what is right for themselves. Our world has gotten to a position where people just choose what is right. They would tell you that we live in an era of relativity. Everything is relative; it’s right for you but not for me; it’s wrong for you but not wrong for me. I choose my own way. But that’s not what Jehovah Tzidkenu teaches. Jehovah says the Lord not only is righteous but he determines what is righteous; he has a way of telling us whether what we’re doing is right or wrong. So that’s the second thing we learn about Jehovah Tzidkenu.
The third thing is that the Lord makes us righteous. He’s righteous, he determines what is righteous, and he makes us righteous. That is the pivot of this prophecy. In Christ Jesus, God made us righteous. God was in Christ reconciling us unto himself. Christ became sin for us so that we would become the righteousness of God in him. So in the prophecy of Jehovah Tzidkenu, or the Lord revealing himself as our righteousness, we don’t become righteous by our own effort; we become righteous by believing in what Christ Jesus has done for us. That’s something we must always bear in mind: our right standing with God doesn’t come from us; it comes from God himself. He is the Lord our Righteousness.
Let us pray. Say with me, «Heavenly Father, you are righteous in all your ways. Thank you for bringing me into a right relationship with you. In Jesus' name, amen and amen.»