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The Father's Heart

The Lord Our Righteous Savior

  • Writer: David Campbell Jr.
    David Campbell Jr.
  • 2 days ago
  • 3 min read

Jeremiah 33:14–16

14 “ ‘The days are coming,’ declares the Lord, ‘when I will fulfill the good promise I made to the people of Israel and Judah. 

15 “ ‘In those days and at that time 

I will make a righteous Branch sprout from David’s line; 

he will do what is just and right in the land. 

16 In those days Judah will be saved 

and Jerusalem will live in safety. 

This is the name by which it will be called: 

The Lord Our Righteous Savior.’ 


The Promise Kept in a Prison Cell

In December 1944, Dietrich Bonhoeffer sat in a Nazi prison, facing almost certain death. Beside Jeremiah 33 in his smuggled Bible he wrote to his fiancée: “The promise is greater than the prison.”

He had taught this passage to his students years earlier, emphasizing one Hebrew phrase in verse 16: Yahweh Tsidkenu (יְהוָה צִדְקֵנוּ) — “The LORD Our Righteousness” or “The LORD Our Righteous Savior.” Bonhoeffer told them, “Even if the Third Reich lasts a thousand years, it cannot outlast Yahweh Tsidkenu.” He was hanged on April 9, 1945. Three weeks later the concentration camp at Flossenbürg where he died was liberated, and within a month the Reich lay in ruins. The righteous Branch had already come, and the final sprouting of justice was unstoppable.

The Scripture with Key Hebrew Words Highlighted

“The days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when I will fulfill the good promise I made to the people of Israel and Judah. In those days and at that time I will make a righteous Branch (tsemach tsaddiq — צֶמַח צַדִּיק) sprout from David’s line; he will do what is just and right in the land. In those days Judah will be saved and Jerusalem will live in safety. This is the name by which it [the city, and ultimately the Messiah Himself] will be called: Yahweh Tsidkenu — The LORD Our Righteous Savior.” (Jeremiah 33:14–16 NIV, with Hebrew terms inserted)

Understanding the Hebrew Heart of the Promise

  • Tsemach Tsaddiq (צֶמַח צַדִּיק) — “Righteous Branch” or “Righteous Sprout.” The word tsemach pictures a tender green shoot pushing up through hardened soil after winter. God is saying, “Out of the dead stump of David’s fallen dynasty, I Myself will cause life and perfect justice to spring up.”

  • Yahweh Tsidkenu (יְהוָה צִדְקֵנוּ) — “The LORD is our Righteousness.” This is one of the most staggering names of God (and of Messiah) in the entire Old Testament. It means that the coming King does not merely declare us righteous or give us righteousness—He Himself is the righteousness we desperately need. Our justification, our sanctification, and the final rightness of the world all reside in Him alone.

Action Steps

  1. Name the darkness. Write down one situation (personal, family, national, or global) that feels hopeless right now. Next to it write in bold letters: Yahweh Tsidkenu.

  2. Speak the Name. Three times today, out loud, declare over that situation: “You are Yahweh Tsidkenu—The LORD Our Righteous Savior.”

  3. Live the sprouting. Do one concrete act of justice or mercy today (however small) as a sign that the Righteous Branch is already growing in you.

Three Personal Reflection Questions

  1. Where in my life am I tempted to trust my own righteousness (my good works, reputation, or efforts) instead of resting completely in Yahweh Tsidkenu?

  2. When I survey the brokenness of the world, do I truly believe that the Tsemach Tsaddiq—the Righteous Branch—is already sprouting and will one day make everything right? How does that change my fear or despair today?

  3. Bonhoeffer died without seeing the promise fully come. Am I willing to stake my life on the truth that Yahweh Tsidkenu always keeps His word, even when I don’t live to see the outcome?

Closing Prayer

Yahweh Tsidkenu, You are our Righteousness. We have none of our own, yet in the Tsemach Tsaddiq—Jesus, the Righteous Branch—you have become everything we need. Thank You that the days are still coming when every tear will be wiped away and every wrong made right. Until that day, keep our eyes fixed on You, the Promise-Keeper. Let us live as people who have already been saved by grace and who long for the city called by Your Name: The LORD Our Righteous Savior. Come quickly, righteous Branch. Sprout fully in us and through us. In Jesus name, Amen.

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