Jehovah-tsedeq
Now this is His name by which He will be called: THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS. Jeremiah 23:6 (NKJV)
"Nobody's perfect." That's a statement every rational-minded person can agree on, even those who don't believe in God or want anything to do with Him. Regardless of our spiritual status, at the end of the day, when we look in the mirror, we accept that there's an imperfect person staring back at us. Nobody, nobody at all, is perfect.
Nobody, that is, except Jehovah-tsedeq, or "The Lord Our Righteousness."
The Hebrew word tsedeq is bursting with significance. Its root meaning can be rendered "to be straight." In the ancient world, this conjures up the idea of a measuring line being perfectly straight so that an accurate measurement can be made. Another shade of meaning is "a norm," or something that is universally accepted as being right.
When we put it all together, we find that tsedeq represents the idea of something being in perfect conformity with what's right. It's right-ness, or righteousness. And when joined here with the personal name of God, Jehovah, it reflects the fact that His nature is the true measurement for "straight" or "right." In other words, He's perfect!
For all eternity, Jehovah-tsedeq has never thought, said, done, nor not done a single thing wrong. He is absolutely perfect in all His ways, because He is absolutely righteous. In a very real way of speaking, He's everything we're not. But here's the glorious truth in all of this: He is our righteousness and our perfection!
In Christ Jesus, Jehovah-tsedeq made it possible for us to take His righteousness upon ourselves. Imperfect as we are, God sees us as perfect when our lives are "hidden in Christ" (Colossians 3:3). We are declared righteous, not because of what we are, but because of who He is, Jehovah-tsedeq… The Lord Our Righteousness!
You are in Christ Jesus, who became for us…righteousness… (1 Corinthians 1:30 NKJV)
Think about it…
What does this passage reveal to me about God?
What does this passage reveal to me about myself?
Based on this, what changes do I need to make?
What is my prayer for today?
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