A Righteous Branch

Jeremiah prophesied that after the Lord’s people are scattered, God will gather them home again and give them faithful leaders.

And I will set up shepherds over them which shall feed them: and they shall fear no more, nor be dismayed, neither shall they be lacking, saith the Lord.

Jeremiah 23:4

Above all of these spiritual leaders, one will be particularly important: a ruler who will sit on the throne of David and lead in righteousness:

Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth.
In his days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely: and this is his name whereby he shall be called, THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.

Jeremiah 23:5-6

Jeremiah refers to this great spiritual leader as “a righteous Branch,” which recalls Isaiah’s prophecy, “there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots” (Isaiah 11:1; see also Isaiah 4:2). In both cases, they were speaking of the future Messiah who would save Israel. By calling this ruler “the Lord our Righteousness,” he distinguished the Messiah from the king who at the time occupied the throne of David but who would not be able to save his people: Zedekiah, which means “the Lord my Righteousness.”

According to Lehi, Joseph had used the phrase “a righteous branch” for a different purpose: to describe a group of his descendants. Lehi was apparently familiar with the Messianic meaning of this phrase, because he specifically distinguished Joseph’s meaning from the default meaning:

Joseph truly saw our day. And he obtained a promise of the Lord, that out of the fruit of his loins the Lord God would raise up a righteous branch unto the house of Israel; not the Messiah, but a branch which was to be broken off, nevertheless, to be remembered in the covenants of the Lord that the Messiah should be made manifest unto them in the latter days, in the spirit of power, unto the bringing of them out of darkness unto light—yea, out of hidden darkness and out of captivity unto freedom.

2 Nephi 3:5

Lehi apparently took it for granted that one meaning of “righteous branch” was the Messiah Himself, so he clarified that Joseph’s “righteous branch” refers to a group of his descendants who would inherit God’s covenants with him and to whom the Messiah would manifest Himself.

Lehi’s son Jacob used the phrase “righteous branch” three times to refer to Lehi’s descendants (2 Nephi 9:53; 10:1; Jacob 2:25), always as a reminder of what they are meant to become. God led them out of Jerusalem so that they could become the righteous branch Joseph foresaw and so they could “come to that which will give them the true knowledge of their Redeemer” (2 Nephi 10:2).

So the righteous Branch is the Messiah Himself, the Savior Jesus Christ. But He holds the title not only because of His righteousness but also because He leads His people to righteousness: The Lord Our Righteousness. Thus the people He saves, the scattered children of Israel who are gathered home, become a righteous branch as they follow Him. Jeremiah later alludes to this process of sanctification, promising that when the righteous Branch reigns, all of Jerusalem will be called “The Lord our righteousness” (Jeremiah 33:15-16).

Today I will follow the One who is righteous and who can make me righteous. I will strive to learn more about Him and draw closer to Him so that I can become more like Him.