Can you imagine having a curse placed upon you and all of your descendants by the living God of the Bible? If there was ever a hopeless condition that would be it, don’t you think? Well, that’s what happened to one wicked king of Judah in the days of Jeremiah. But this story doesn’t go the way you might expect, instead it has a remarkable ending which shows Yahweh’s redemptive love. So if you have a few minutes I hope you’ll let me tell you the story of the curse of Coniah and the promised Messiah.

As I live, saith YHWH, though Coniah the son of Jehoiakim king of Judah were the signet upon my right hand, yet would I pluck thee thence;

Thus saith YHWH, 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. (Jeremiah 22:24, 30)

Pretty hopeless, don’t you think?

Now let me challenge you with what seems like a Biblical paradox. The curse of Coniah (aka Jechonias) is only part of the story. The New Testament tells us that this cursed king was in fact one of the ancestors of Yeshua (Jesus) the Messiah. Take a look as this chart showing the Continue reading →