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Tuesday, January 3, 2012

Jeremiah 22:30, Jahoiakim, the Missing Man

This is what the LORD says: "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."

//Here's a frustrating fellow. Jahoiakim was a Judean king in the lineage of David, son of Josiah, father of Jeconiah. 1 Chronicles 3 lists his genealogy. 

But Matthew, when he traces the genealogy of Jesus back to king David, leaves Jahoiakim out in the cold. Skips right over him. Matthew 1:11, And Josias begat Jechonias and his brethren, about the time they were carried away to Babylon.

Why did Jahoiakim get written out of the New Testament by Matthew? A clue comes from today's verse. The man whose descendants will never sit on the throne of David is this very fellow, Jahoiakim. This promise is repeated in Jeremiah 36:30.

Matthew, knowing that his genealogy contained a major problem ... it prevented Jesus from ever "sitting on the throne of David" ... does the best he can. He ignores Jahoiakim in the list, perhaps hoping we'll forget about him. Because, as Luke explains in verse 1:32,  the Lord God shall give unto [Jesus] the throne of his father David.

Of course, Matthew himself never said Jesus would sit on the throne of David, and Luke, while making that claim, comes up with a different genealogy that doesn't route through Jahoiakim. Wow, this guy must have really been a pain to work around.

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