Many
religions talk about curses and generational curses. Even the Bible has a lot
to tell on these. I would however like to confine to one man in the Bible and
the one God of the Bible in this regard. This man named Zerubbabel captured my
attention in the recent past. His name appears in the genealogical records of
Jesus given by both Matthew and Luke. Who are the forefathers of this man?
Notorious
Predecessors
Zerubbabel’s
grandfather Jehoiachin also called Coniah was a wicked king of Judah who was
taken into captivity and was imprisoned in Babylon (2 Kings 24:8-17). Jehoiachin’s
father was Jehoiakim, the son of good and righteous Josiah, my all time
favourite king! But Jehoiakim was wicked and notorious enough that he burnt the
scroll containing the word of God (Jeremiah 36:23). The wrath of God went to peak
towards this king that he pronounced judgement cutting short the covenant He
had made with David (Jeremiah 36:30-31): Therefore
this is what the Lord says about Jehoiakim king
of Judah: He will have no one to sit on the throne of David...Jehoiakim’s tragic death and
details was prophesied about earlier in Jeremiah 22: 18-19.
Crucial
Chapter
A
clue for generational curse/blessing lies in this important chapter in the
Bible in Ezekiel 18. The central truth here is: the soul that sins will die.
Curses of the past generation can be broken, provided the individual living in
the present generation mends his/her life in the light of the word of God. This
crucial teaching of the Bible follows the chapter in which we read about
another prophecy regarding Zedekiah, the last king of Judah (son of Josiah,
uncle of Jehoiachin, forefather of Zerubbabel) being deported to Babylon. It is in this
context that Ezekiel 18 throws hope that even after all such cursed past events, a
progeny in the family can mend his/her present life. That was what Zerubbabel
did.
Chain
of Curse
Zerubbabel
came from a very bad past-history. He lived during the Babylonian exile. He was appointed
as governor (Zedekiah was the last king of Judah and after which there were
only governors of Judah, appointed by their captors). Here are some highlights
of a changed life style of Zerubbabel, unlike his ancestors:
- Based on the command given by King Cyrus (Ezra 1:1-4), the captor king, a big group of people of Judah returned to Jerusalem and started to rebuild the temple that was demolished by King Nebuchadnezzar, years back. Firstly, Zerubbabel took lead in restoring the altar and daily worship in the temple. (Ezra 3:1-3)
- He was one of those who rebuilt the temple. (Ezra 3:8)
- He protected the purity of the Lord’s temple. (Ezra 4:2-3)
- He obeyed God’s words that came through the prophets of his time, Haggai and Zechariah. (Haggai 1:12-15)
- He ensured the daily needs of Levites who led the worship. (Nehemiah 12:47)
No
wonder, Zerubbabel received a great promise from God which has been recorded in
Haggai 2:21-23. The chain of curses reversed as blessings and promises from God!
The
Significant Signet Ring
God
had used the very same analogy of a signet ring as a matter of curse earlier to
Zerubbabel’s grandfather in Jeremiah 22:24: Even
if you, Jehoiachin, son of Jehoiakim king of Judah, were a signet
ring on my right hand, I would still pull you off. But later in
Haggai 2:23 we read: “‘On that day,’ declares the Lord Almighty,
‘I will take you, my servant, Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel,’ declares
the Lord,
‘and I will make you like my signet ring, for I have chosen you,’
declares the Lord Almighty.”
What a blessing to Zerubbabel! The finer and
fuller fulfilment of this promise was seen in the progeny of Zerubbabel, Jesus!
Blessed
Zerubbabel
This
is the climax. Zerubbabel’s name appears in both the genealogical accounts of
Jesus (Matthew’s believed to be Joseph’s, traced through Solomon, recorded in
chapter 1, Luke’s believed to be Mary’s, traced through Nathan, another son of
David, recorded in chapter 3). Some scholars say that Zerubabbel’s ancestry also
is similar to Jesus. His mother’s lineage comes through Nathan, son of David, and
that his father’s comes through Solomon. Zerubbabel was a truly blessed man. A
transformed life was all that brought the change in his life. For all of us today, living on this side of
the cross, there are additional promises. Galatians
3:13 can be a tower of strength: Christ redeemed us from the curse of the
law by becoming a curse for us. It is Jesus who helps us to change our bad
ways, bad past and to change the curses to a blessing! God Bless!!
