What do you think about the Curse of Jeconiah?

[NathanH83]

I made a video explaining the curse of Jeconiah.

What do you think?

 

[atpollard]

From Got Questions:

Jeconiah, also called “Jehoiachin” (1 Chronicles 3:16, NIV) and “Coniah” (Jeremiah 22:24), was a king of Judah who was deported as part of the Babylonian captivity (Esther 2:6; 1 Chronicles 3:17). He is also listed in the genealogy of Jesus, in Joseph’s family line (Matthew 1:12).​

The curse of Jeconiah is found in Jeremiah 22. First, the LORD likens the king to a signet ring on God’s hand—a ring that God will pull off (verse 24). Then, God pronounces a curse: “Record this man as if childless, a man who will not prosper in his lifetime, for none of his offspring will prosper, none will sit on the throne of David or rule anymore in Judah” (verse 30).​

The problem is that the curse of Jeconiah seems to invalidate Jesus’ right to the throne of David. The Davidic Covenant promised that the Messiah, the “Son of David,” would reign forever on Jerusalem’s throne (1 Chronicles 17:11-14). If Jesus is a descendant of Jeconiah, then how can He be the Messiah, since the curse bars any of Jeconiah’s descendants from assuming David’s throne?​

There are three possible solutions to this difficulty. First, the “offspring” of Jeconiah mentioned in the curse could be a limited reference to the king’s own children—his immediate offspring, in other words. On a related note, the phrase “in his lifetime” could apply to the entire verse. The curse would only be in force while the king lived. This is exactly what happened, as Jeconiah was not successful as a king (he only reigned for three months before he surrendered to Nebuchadnezzar’s forces), and none of his sons (he had seven of them, 1 Chronicles 3:17–18) reigned over Judah.​

A second solution concerns the virgin birth. Jesus only had one human parent, Mary. His mother was of David’s line, but not through Jeconiah (Luke 3:31). Joseph was Jesus’ legal father, but not His physical one. Thus, Jesus was of royal blood through Mary, but the curse of Jeconiah stopped with Joseph and was not passed on to Jesus.​

A third possible solution is that God reversed the curse on Jeconiah’s family. This is hinted at by the prophet Haggai, who told Zerubbabel, Jeconiah’s grandson, that God would make him a “signet ring” on God’s hand (Haggai 2:23). Zerubbabel was blessed by God as the governor of Judea, and he prospered in that role when the Jewish exiles returned to Jerusalem. The “signet ring” imagery of Jeconiah’s curse is repeated in Zerubbabel’s blessing, which must be more than coincidence. Several rabbinic sources teach that Jeconiah repented in Babylon and that God forgave him and lifted the curse.​

​

PERSONALLY, I always favored the Second Solution (the Lineage of Mary and God) since it explains why there are TWO lineages presented in the Gospels. God restored the cursed line of David through Joseph through “adoption” and God restored the uncursed line of David to the throne through a Virgin birth and a new “Adam” (Jesus Christ).

 

[atpollard]

An interesting aside about “lineage”:

Mary was of the lineage of King David, so Elizabeth was likely also of the lineage of King David. Zacharias, Elizabeth’s husband, was of the lineage of Aaron (required to serve in the Holy of Holies). So John the Baptist was from both the Royal and Priestly lineages … and lived in the wilderness like an animal calling people to “Repent for the Kingdom of God is at hand!”

A true “let him who is greatest among you be a servant of all”. A Priest-King like we are called to be and proclaimed to be by the same God that established Aaron as High Priest and David as King.

 

[Andrew]

From Got Questions:

Jeconiah, also called “Jehoiachin” (1 Chronicles 3:16, NIV) and “Coniah” (Jeremiah 22:24), was a king of Judah who was deported as part of the Babylonian captivity (Esther 2:6; 1 Chronicles 3:17). He is also listed in the genealogy of Jesus, in Joseph’s family line (Matthew 1:12).​

The curse of Jeconiah is found in Jeremiah 22. First, the LORD likens the king to a signet ring on God’s hand—a ring that God will pull off (verse 24). Then, God pronounces a curse: “Record this man as if childless, a man who will not prosper in his lifetime, for none of his offspring will prosper, none will sit on the throne of David or rule anymore in Judah” (verse 30).​

The problem is that the curse of Jeconiah seems to invalidate Jesus’ right to the throne of David. The Davidic Covenant promised that the Messiah, the “Son of David,” would reign forever on Jerusalem’s throne (1 Chronicles 17:11-14). If Jesus is a descendant of Jeconiah, then how can He be the Messiah, since the curse bars any of Jeconiah’s descendants from assuming David’s throne?​

There are three possible solutions to this difficulty. First, the “offspring” of Jeconiah mentioned in the curse could be a limited reference to the king’s own children—his immediate offspring, in other words. On a related note, the phrase “in his lifetime” could apply to the entire verse. The curse would only be in force while the king lived. This is exactly what happened, as Jeconiah was not successful as a king (he only reigned for three months before he surrendered to Nebuchadnezzar’s forces), and none of his sons (he had seven of them, 1 Chronicles 3:17–18) reigned over Judah.​

A second solution concerns the virgin birth. Jesus only had one human parent, Mary. His mother was of David’s line, but not through Jeconiah (Luke 3:31). Joseph was Jesus’ legal father, but not His physical one. Thus, Jesus was of royal blood through Mary, but the curse of Jeconiah stopped with Joseph and was not passed on to Jesus.​

A third possible solution is that God reversed the curse on Jeconiah’s family. This is hinted at by the prophet Haggai, who told Zerubbabel, Jeconiah’s grandson, that God would make him a “signet ring” on God’s hand (Haggai 2:23). Zerubbabel was blessed by God as the governor of Judea, and he prospered in that role when the Jewish exiles returned to Jerusalem. The “signet ring” imagery of Jeconiah’s curse is repeated in Zerubbabel’s blessing, which must be more than coincidence. Several rabbinic sources teach that Jeconiah repented in Babylon and that God forgave him and lifted the curse.​

​

PERSONALLY, I always favored the Second Solution (the Lineage of Mary and God) since it explains why there are TWO lineages presented in the Gospels. God restored the cursed line of David through Joseph through “adoption” and God restored the uncursed line of David to the throne through a Virgin birth and a new “Adam” (Jesus Christ).

Did you watch the video? He is not from the cursed blood line. The prophecy that Nathan points out toward the end of the video is astonishing!

There is a lot of cross referecing in this video but it all checks out... sometimes theology just gets lazy, the Bible includes all the information needed in this particular study and Nathan does an exceptional job of explaining it easily while tackling each objection we come across.

If you don't have the time to watch the video then at least skip ahead toward the end of the video, it's well worth it and believe me it's easier to just watch than for him to type all of this stuff out, it must have taken a great deal of time to produce his presentation

 

[NathanH83]

An interesting aside about “lineage”:

Mary was of the lineage of King David, so Elizabeth was likely also of the lineage of King David. Zacharias, Elizabeth’s husband, was of the lineage of Aaron (required to serve in the Holy of Holies). So John the Baptist was from both the Royal and Priestly lineages … and lived in the wilderness like an animal calling people to “Repent for the Kingdom of God is at hand!”

A true “let him who is greatest among you be a servant of all”. A Priest-King like we are called to be and proclaimed to be by the same God that established Aaron as High Priest and David as King.

Elizabeth was not in the lineage of David. She was “of the daughters of Aaron.”

“There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judea, a certain priest named Zacharias, of the division of Abijah. His wife was of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth.”
-Luke 1:5

Bible Gateway passage: Luke 1:5 - New King James Version

John’s Birth Announced to Zacharias - There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judea, a certain priest named Zacharias, of the division of Abijah. His wife was of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth.

www.biblegateway.com

 

[NathanH83]

Did you watch the video? He is not from the cursed blood line. The prophecy that Nathan points out toward the end of the video is astonishing!

There is a lot of cross referecing in this video but it all checks out... sometimes theology just gets lazy, the Bible includes all the information needed in this particular study and Nathan does an exceptional job of explaining it easily while tackling each objection we come across.

If you don't have the time to watch the video then at least skip ahead toward the end of the video, it's well worth it and believe me it's easier to just watch than for him to type all of this stuff out, it must have taken a great deal of time to produce his presentation

It took an insane amount of research and graphics. My friends were getting annoyed with me for being so glued to my computer working on it instead of hanging out with them.

Unfortunately, it didn’t get a lot of views. Probably because it’s so complicated and confusing for most people. For me it was crazy exciting. But for others, well, I guess they just care about pyramids and unicorns.

 

[NathanH83]

From Got Questions:

Jeconiah, also called “Jehoiachin” (1 Chronicles 3:16, NIV) and “Coniah” (Jeremiah 22:24), was a king of Judah who was deported as part of the Babylonian captivity (Esther 2:6; 1 Chronicles 3:17). He is also listed in the genealogy of Jesus, in Joseph’s family line (Matthew 1:12).​

The curse of Jeconiah is found in Jeremiah 22. First, the LORD likens the king to a signet ring on God’s hand—a ring that God will pull off (verse 24). Then, God pronounces a curse: “Record this man as if childless, a man who will not prosper in his lifetime, for none of his offspring will prosper, none will sit on the throne of David or rule anymore in Judah” (verse 30).​

The problem is that the curse of Jeconiah seems to invalidate Jesus’ right to the throne of David. The Davidic Covenant promised that the Messiah, the “Son of David,” would reign forever on Jerusalem’s throne (1 Chronicles 17:11-14). If Jesus is a descendant of Jeconiah, then how can He be the Messiah, since the curse bars any of Jeconiah’s descendants from assuming David’s throne?​

There are three possible solutions to this difficulty. First, the “offspring” of Jeconiah mentioned in the curse could be a limited reference to the king’s own children—his immediate offspring, in other words. On a related note, the phrase “in his lifetime” could apply to the entire verse. The curse would only be in force while the king lived. This is exactly what happened, as Jeconiah was not successful as a king (he only reigned for three months before he surrendered to Nebuchadnezzar’s forces), and none of his sons (he had seven of them, 1 Chronicles 3:17–18) reigned over Judah.​

A second solution concerns the virgin birth. Jesus only had one human parent, Mary. His mother was of David’s line, but not through Jeconiah (Luke 3:31). Joseph was Jesus’ legal father, but not His physical one. Thus, Jesus was of royal blood through Mary, but the curse of Jeconiah stopped with Joseph and was not passed on to Jesus.​

A third possible solution is that God reversed the curse on Jeconiah’s family. This is hinted at by the prophet Haggai, who told Zerubbabel, Jeconiah’s grandson, that God would make him a “signet ring” on God’s hand (Haggai 2:23). Zerubbabel was blessed by God as the governor of Judea, and he prospered in that role when the Jewish exiles returned to Jerusalem. The “signet ring” imagery of Jeconiah’s curse is repeated in Zerubbabel’s blessing, which must be more than coincidence. Several rabbinic sources teach that Jeconiah repented in Babylon and that God forgave him and lifted the curse.​

​

PERSONALLY, I always favored the Second Solution (the Lineage of Mary and God) since it explains why there are TWO lineages presented in the Gospels. God restored the cursed line of David through Joseph through “adoption” and God restored the uncursed line of David to the throne through a Virgin birth and a new “Adam” (Jesus Christ).

Looks like you copied and pasted that from a website.

Have you considered the fact that 3 of the 4 sons of Josiah had their names changed? Isn’t there a possibility that Johanan the firstborn might have his name changed as well? That’s kind of the crux of the video. The Jeconiah in Jesus’ lineage might actually be a completely different guy altogether.

 

[atpollard]

Did you watch the video?

I did watch it (after your post).

It was well made. I liked the “Princess Bride” videos spliced in.

The speculation on the first son of the King was interesting. It was certainly something that I had not heard before. It’s weakness is that it is, ultimately, more of an “argument from silence”. There really seems to be NO information about the first born, so ANYTHING is possible. The video presented A POSSIBILITY as if it were the ONLY POSSIBILITY. Joseph may also have been from a cursed bloodline and one of the other possibilities may be true (curse only during life of King, curse later lifted by God, Jesus was not the Son of Joseph).

I really wish there was more information about that first child. I have LOTS of questions that the Bible doesn’t think I need answers to. Why was he skipped when they were appointing sons king? What happened to the King’s eldest son during the Exile? Did he follow his father or his grandfather? If he followed God, is that what kept him hidden from political life (God promised he would destroy Judah as soon as the king was dead.)

 

[atpollard]

Looks like you copied and pasted that from a website.

Have you considered the fact that 3 of the 4 sons of Josiah had their names changed? Isn’t there a possibility that Johanan the firstborn might have his name changed as well? That’s kind of the crux of the video. The Jeconiah in Jesus’ lineage might actually be a completely different guy altogether.

You and I don’t agree on much … but this time I have to admit that you have a valid point.
A name change for the first son seems like (at the very least) a legitimate possibility.
It would make for a heck of a story … the first born that follows God, like his father did, and is denied the crown to hide him from the destruction of the invading army and the corruption of his grandfather’s court in an evil nation … so his descendent could raise the Messiah to restore the Throne of David with God Himself seated on it.

 

[NathanH83]

You and I don’t agree on much … but this time I have to admit that you have a valid point.
A name change for the first son seems like (at the very least) a legitimate possibility.
It would make for a heck of a story … the first born that follows God, like his father did, and is denied the crown to hide him from the destruction of the invading army and the corruption of his grandfather’s court in an evil nation … so his descendent could raise the Messiah to restore the Throne of David with God Himself seated on it.

I think you and I probably agree on more things than not. I’ve been vocal about the Apocrypha on here. But that’s just one topic among many.