Day 5: Jeconiah’s (Jehoiachin
2 Kings 24:8, son of Jehoiakim) sin and curse
Read Jeremiah 22:18-30
Jeremiah 22:30 - Thus says the LORD: Write this man down as childless, a man
who shall not succeed in his days, for none of his offspring shall succeed in
sitting on the throne of David and ruling again in Judah.
No matter what we do, or how we fail God, His plan will never fail. Satan had,
time after time, tried to stop God’s promises from being fulfilled concerning
the coming Messiah. All the evil people in Noah’s time could not defeat God’s
plan. Now, the terrible, willful sin of one man could not stop it either. But
neither could God overlook the sin of this man just to make His promise come
true. Jeconiah’s punishment had to stand, and God sealed it as a curse on his
father, Jehoiakim: he should be called childless. This means God would not
count Jeconiah as being a valid king of the Jews.
Yet, in Matthew 1:11-12, Jeconiah is named in the lineage of Jesus. Did God
break His word? Was Jesus’ kingly line more important than cursing this man’s
sin? The answer to both questions is no. God always keeps His promises, and sin
is always punished – either through Jesus’ death on the cross, or by God’s
discipline in our lives. There would always be consequences to Jeconiah’s sin –
his blood would not be part of the heritage of the Messiah, but repentance
placed him in Joseph’s bloodline. Through Joseph, Jeconiah could be the
adoptive ancestor of Jesus.
*What sin that you have committed do you wonder if God could ever forgive?