Wednesday, August 13, 2008

The Curse of Jeconiah and the Throne of David

In Matthew’s genealogy of Jesus recorded in Matthew 1:12 the name Jeconiah, (aka Jehoiachin and Coniah) appears. Jesus’ ancestry is traced through Jeconiah to Joseph, the stepfather of Jesus Christ. It is through Jeconiah that Jesus Christ rightfully has access to the throne of David. But there is a problem. You see, in Jeremiah 22:24, 30 Jeconiah was cursed by God.
24. “As I live, saith the LORD, though Coniah the son of Jehoiakim king of Judah were the signet upon my right hand, yet would I pluck thee thence;” 30.“Thus saith the LORD, Write ye this man childless, a man that shall not prosper in his days: for no man of his seed shall prosper, sitting upon the throne of David, and ruling any more in Judah.”

According to Jewish reckoning, no descendant of Jeconiah could ever sit on the throne, therefore Jesus would be disqualified from being the Messiah since He descended through Jeconiah. You can see how this has really become a stumbling block to many of the Jews. I’m going to present three solutions that counter this.


The First Solution:
Most Christians simply ignore the “bloodline” of Joseph, Jesus’ stepfather by simply recognizing that Jesus was born of a virgin. Since the life of the flesh is in the blood and the blood line is passed down through the father, anyone born of Adam or any human male could not redeem himself, let alone humanity and so any curse or stain of sin from either Adam or Jeconiah had no effect on Jesus.

Besides this, Jesus Himself said,
“And think not to say within yourselves, ‘We have Abraham to our father:’ for I say unto you, that God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham." - problem solved!

That being said, a simple gentile like me has no problem with it but I can see where a Jew would.

As one Jew told me, “If Jesus didn’t come through Jeconiah then he could never sit on the throne of David, end of story!”

So that presents an interesting dilemma, doesn’t it? Only a descendant of Jeconiah could sit on the throne, but because of God’s curse on Jeconiah, none of his descendants can sit on the throne.

The Second Solution:
On the “Jews for Jesus” website [http://jewsforjesus.org/answers/prophecy/jeconiah] this problem is eloquently addressed. The argument is that Jeconiah repented and God accepted his repentance and reversed the curse. The “Jews for Jesus” cite many extra Biblical Hebrew sources showing God reversed the curse which is discussed in great detail on their website. I can see the reasoning, there I only submit to one source I can accept as infallable, and that’s the Bible.


The Third Solution comes to light with the discovery of a tablet at the Ishtar Gate of Babylon that says the seven sons of Jeconiah were castrated. By comparing the the Davidic lineage in 1 Chronicles 3:17-19, Luke 3:27 Jesus' line is traced back to Nathan whose brother was Solomon. The line goes down to Neri to Zerubbabel, governor of Judah, son of Pedaiah, brother of Shealtiel.

While Jeconiah's line did end, his adoption of David's descendants through Nathan provided the line that gives Jesus the right to David's Throne where Jeconiah's own sons didn't, and neither did they have children because they were eunichs.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

About the curse of Jeconiah, it was on Jesus, and He had indeed no right to sit on the throne of David because of that curse. The throne of David was indeed cursed. The reason Jesus eventually could sit on the throne of David is because He Himself broke that curse once and for all in Matthew 27:27-31. The Roman soldiers placed Him in the position of the King of the Jews, and mocked Him, saying: "Hail King of the Jews." The soldiers placed the crown of thorns on His head. Therefore, the blood He shed through His head because of the crown of thorns, being a sinless blood containing God's holiness, washed Jeconiah's curse away and cleansed the throne of David right there and then. He could then rightfully be called the King of the Jews, as mentioned on the sign above His head: "This is Jesus the King of the Jews." This makes perfect sense and gives Jesus the glory He deserves. Concerning Zerubabbel's signet ring, through the prophet Zechariah the Lord told Zerubabbel that the Messiah WOULD come through His seed, even though the curse of Jeconiah was still on. This explains why God blesses Zerubabbel with the governorship but NOT with the throne of David. The curse was still on but it would be broken further down Zerubabbel's seed through Jesus Himself. Shalom!