In the Old Testament, there are up to 32 names for God, each having its own meaning. Each title can be understood as descriptive, a way to know more about God. It’s important to remember that God is supreme and beyond our complete comprehension, but He can be known and trusted. Some of God’s revealed qualities are mighty, creator, Lord, provider, and healer. The simple truth is that God is addressed by many names because He desires us to know Him personally and genuinely believe in Him. As we get closer to Him, through the study of Scripture, we gain a glimpse of His awesomeness. As we look at several of the names of God, we begin to get an idea of some of His attributes, presenting us with the opportunity to draw closer to Him. One of the names of God is Jehovah Tsidkenu, which means the Lord is our righteousness. Jehovah is the Latinized version of the Hebrew Yahweh.
We find the name Jehovah Tsidkenu in Jeremiah. We read, “Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, and he shall reign as king and deal wisely, and shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. In his days Judah will be saved, and Israel will dwell securely. And this is the name by which he will be called: ‘The LORD is our righteousness’” (Jeremiah 23:5-6). God presents Jeremiah with this glimpse of a coming king at the time he needed it.
The context of this passage is that the Babylonian king, Nebuchadnezzar, brought a mighty siege upon Jerusalem. Zedekiah was king, watching the nation disintegrate before his eyes. The kings that had come before Zedekiah had left a legacy of hopelessness. King Zedekiah did little, if anything to change this trajectory. Jeremiah was amidst a devastating time in his life and the lives of God’s chosen people.
How could he bear such lousy news and crushing events? In such times it’s important to remember that when darkness falls around our lives when burn-out and spiritual fatigue threatens to obscure all hope, God is present and working, even when we’re unaware or see it. Take, for instance, this event in Jeremiah’s life where God shows up and gives the prophet his finest vision. God provides Jeremiah the ability to look through a long, dark tunnel into the light of a new age. Jeremiah is prophesying about the expected Messiah. His name is Jehovah Tsidkenu, the Lord our righteousness. The name indicates that our Lord, Jesus, is the model ruler and shepherd of His people. For all Jeremiah’s love for his rebellious country, for all his thankless ministry, he is given the refreshment of seeing God fulfill His own intention of being King of His people.
We discover in Jeremiah 33, “In those days Judah will be saved, and Jerusalem will dwell securely. And this is the name by which it will be called: ‘The LORD is our righteousness'” (Jeremiah 33:16). Here is an interesting turn of events. Under King Zedekiah’s leadership, Judah was allowed to continue to rebel against God. The result was that his revolt against the Babylonians led Nebuchadnezzar in 587 BC to siege Jerusalem for a second time, which culminated in the destruction of the city and first temple, bringing an end to the Kingdom of Judah. However, God’s people are not without hope. God will reaffirm His covenant with His people. Jerusalem is to be given a name directly connected to the name given to the Messiah in Jeremiah 23:6 (Jehovah Tsidkenu, the Lord our Righteousness). This indicates the unity that will be established between God and His people.
It must have been astonishing for Jeremiah to entertain the idea that one person’s righteousness could restore a race of humanity that had lost theirs – this person would come from the throne of David and execute judgment in such a way that He could actually become righteousness for us in a substitutionary way. The Bible’s standard of human righteousness is God’s own perfection in every attribute, every attitude, every behavior, and every word. When we look at Scripture, we discover that God’s laws describe His character and serve as a monitor to detect human righteousness (yours and mine). The Bible describes the righteous person as just or right, holding to God and trusting in Him (Psalm 33:18-22). The problem is that there are no perfect people. The bad news is that true and perfect righteousness is impossible for any of us to attain on our own. The standard is higher than any of us have the capacity to reach.
Where is the hope? The hope is found in Jehovah Tsidkenu, the Lord our Righteousness. None of us have the ability to achieve righteousness in and of ourselves. But, through the cleansing of sin by Jesus Christ and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, the believer possesses the righteousness of Christ. We read in 2 Corinthians, “For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Corinthians 5:21).
Jesus became a sin offering. Reconciliation between God and people (you and me) has taken place only because God, through Jesus, has removed our sin and its eternal consequences. In His death, He took the punishment for our sin (“the wages of sin is death” – Rom 6:23a) so that we might be forgiven (“the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” – Rom 6:23b) and the “righteousness” of God might become a reality in our lives.
No matter how hopeless life may seem, Christ, our Righteousness is our hope. No matter how dismal a situation may seem, Christ, our Righteousness, is the one who provides a way. No matter what you have done, Christ our Righteousness has the power to make us righteous in Him. Here is the gospel truth. Events and people do not get the final word, Jehovah Tsidkenu, the Lord our Righteousness, gets the final word, and He offers us His righteousness, hope, and abundant life eternal with Him. Soli Deo Gloria (Glory to God Alone)!