This is Christ incarnated as a man in the flesh to be the descendant of David (Matt. 1:1; Rom. 1:3). Shoot here indicates Christ’s humanity; it also implies life. When Christ was born, a new, fresh sprout came forth from the stump of David (see note Isa. 11:1^1a). This was the beginning of the fulfillment of Jehovah’s promise concerning the raising up of Christ as the Shoot of David.

Christ’s reigning as King implies His resurrection and ascension. Having passed through resurrection and having entered into ascension, Christ is now the King of kings, the Lord of Lords, and the Ruler of the kings of the earth (Rev. 17:14; 19:16; 1:5). The word here concerning Christ will be fulfilled in the millennium (Zech. 14:9; Rev. 11:15; 20:6). See note Jer. 3:17^1b.

Jehovah our righteousness refers to Christ in His divinity, and a righteous Shoot (v. 5), to Christ in His humanity. The name here indicates that Christ, as a descendant of David, is not merely a man but is also the very Jehovah who created the heavens and the earth, selected Abraham, established the race of Israel, and was the Lord of David, the One whom he called Lord (Matt. 22:42-45; cf. Rev. 5:5; 22:16). Christ came as a Shoot who is Jehovah Himself to be the righteousness of God’s chosen people.

Our here indicates that Christ becomes one with us to be our righteousness (1 Cor. 1:30; 2 Cor. 5:21). Christ is made our righteousness based on His redemption. As the righteous Shoot (v. 5), Christ came in the flesh as the descendant of David to die on the cross and shed His blood in order to wash away our sins and accomplish redemption (Eph. 1:7; Heb. 9:22; 1 Pet. 1:18-19). With His redemption as the basis, we can believe into Him to receive God’s forgiveness (Acts 10:43), and God can justify us (Rom. 3:24, 26), make Christ our righteousness, and clothe us with the robe of righteousness (Isa. 61:10). This opens the way for Christ as the embodiment of the Triune God (Col. 2:9) to enter into us as our life (Col. 3:4a), our inner law of life (Jer. 31:33), and our everything, to dispense Himself into our entire being for the accomplishing of God’s eternal economy.

Israel’s evil and wickedness prepared the way for Christ to come in to be their righteousness. Although Israel forsook God for idols (Jer. 2:13) and became incurably evil (Jer. 13:23; 17:9), because of His compassions, lovingkindness, faithfulness, and eternal love (Jer. 31:3; Lam. 3:22-23), God would never give up His elect yet distracted people. While He was condemning, punishing, and chastising Israel, He intended to be incarnated as a Shoot unto David so that He could be His people’s righteousness. Based on Christ’s coming as Jehovah to be their righteousness, the evil race of Israel can be restored. Eventually, Israel will manifest Christ, who is their righteousness, as their centrality (their being) and their universality (their expression). This manifestation will consummate in the New Jerusalem (Rev. 21:12).

I.e., idols.

Or, counsel. So also in v. 22.

The word of God that came forth from Jeremiah was grain, food for nourishment that contains the divine essence to be dispensed into God’s people; but the word of the false prophets was straw, chaff.

On the positive side, the word of God, as a grain of wheat (v. 28), dispenses God as life into us to nourish us. On the negative side, the word as fire burns us and many of the things in which we have confidence, and the word as a hammer breaks down our self, our natural life, our flesh, our lusts, and our concepts.

Jeremiah was a genuine prophet who received words from God. Although there were other genuine prophets (cf. Jer. 25:4), most of the prophets in Judah were false. These false prophets did not have a way to receive Jehovah’s word, so they listened to those who spoke for God and then stole the words of Jehovah spoken by them. They pretended that they themselves had received this revelation from God and that the words they were speaking were their own.