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.