Monday Morning Prophecy #23 – The Messiah Would Come From the Lineage of Zerubbabel

This week marks the end of our look at the Old Testament prophecies of the lineage of the coming Messiah.  In past weeks, we have looked at prophecies related to some notable Old Testament characters including Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Judah, Jesse and David.  Today, we will look at a prophecy related to a slightly lesser known Old Testament character: Zerubbabel.

Haggai the prophet informs us that the Lord chose Zerubbabel to be like a signet ring (his signature).  This is an indication that the Messiah (God’s signet ring on his right hand) would come from Zerubbabel’s lineage:

On that day, declares the LORD of hosts, I will take you, O Zerubbabel my servant, the son of Shealtiel, declares the LORD, and make you like a signet ring, for I have chosen you, declares the LORD of hosts.” [Haggai 2:23]

As we have in prior weeks, let’s look at the genealogies of Christ from the New Testament books of Matthew and Luke to see if Jesus was indeed descended from Zerubbabel.  Let’s start with Matthew (as with prior weeks, I have highlighted the relevant sections in red):

Monday Morning Prophecy #22 – The Messiah Would Come From the Lineage of David

Last week, we looked at the Old Testament prophecy that the Messiah would come from the line of Jesse.  This week we will examine the Old Testament prophecies that the Messiah would come from the line of Jesse’s son David.

In 2 Samuel, the Lord commissions Nathan to go the David:

Now, therefore, thus you shall say to my servant David, ‘Thus says the LORD of hosts, I took you from the pasture, from following the sheep, that you should be prince over my people Israel. And I have been with you wherever you went and have cut off all your enemies from before you. And I will make for you a great name, like the name of the great ones of the earth. And I will appoint a place for my people Israel and will plant them, so that they may dwell in their own place and be disturbed no more. And violent men shall afflict them no more, as formerly, from the time that I appointed judges over my people Israel. And I will give you rest from all your enemies. Moreover, the LORD declares to you that the LORD will make you a house. When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. [2 Samuel 7:8-13]

God assures David that the eternal kingdom would come through his linage.  There are also several passage from the Psalm which indicate that God promised David that his offspring would endure and rule forever.  As indicated when we looked at the prophecies that the Christ would come from the line of Judah, only the Messiah fulfills any promise of eternal rule.

You have said, “I have made a covenant with my chosen one; I have sworn to David my servant: ‘I will establish your offspring forever, and build your throne for all generations.'” Selah [Psalms 89:3-4]

Once for all I have sworn by my holiness; I will not lie to David. His offspring shall endure forever, his throne as long as the sun before me. [Psalms 89:35-36]

There I will make a horn to sprout for David; I have prepared a lamp for my anointed. [Psalms 132:17]

Monday Morning Prophecy #21 – The Messiah Would Come From the Lineage of Jesse

Over the last several weeks, we looked at prophecies made thousands of years before the birth of Jesus that indicated that the Messiah would come from the line of Abraham through Isaac through Jacob through Judah.  This week, we will skip a number of generations and look at Old Testament prophecies that the Messiah would come from the line of Jesse (a descendant of Judah and father of King David).

The prophet Isaiah prophecies hundreds of years before the birth of Christ that the Messiah would come from the line of Jesse:

There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit. And the Spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the LORD. [Isaiah 11:1-2]

In that day the root of Jesse, who shall stand as a signal for the peoples–of him shall the nations inquire, and his resting place shall be glorious. [Isaiah 11:10]

In the New Testament, Paul refers to the prophecies of Isaiah in talking about Jesus:

And again Isaiah says, “The root of Jesse will come, even he who arises to rule the Gentiles; in him will the Gentiles hope.” [Romans 15:12]

Monday Morning Prophecy #20 – The Messiah Would Come From the Lineage of Judah

In the last three weeks, we have looked at Old Testament prophecies that the Messiah would come from the line of Abraham through Isaac through Jacob.  Unlike his father Isaac and grandfather Abraham, Jacob had many more sons – 12 to be exact.  You might know them as the twelve tribes of Israel (Jacob was renamed Israel by God).  They were (in order of birth):

1. Reuben
2. Simeon
3. Levi
4. Judah
5. Dan
6. Naphtali
7. Gad
8. Asher
9. Issachar
10. Zebulun
11. Joseph
12. Benjamin

Indeed, roughly the last half of the book of Genesis deals primarily with the story of Joseph (think coat of many colors!).  However, the Old Testament is clear that the promises of a blessing to the world and a coming Messiah would be fulfilled through the line of Judah.  In blessing his sons at the end of his life, Israel offers the following blessing to Judah:

Judah is a lion’s cub; from the prey, my son, you have gone up. He stooped down; he crouched as a lion and as a lioness; who dares rouse him? The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet, until tribute comes to him; and to him shall be the obedience of the peoples.  [Genesis 49:9-10]

The line of Judah would be rulers forever.  Only the Kingdom of the Lord is eternal.  In another prophecy which we looked at earlier in this series, Micah tells us that the Messiah would come from the line of Judah:

But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel, whose coming forth is from of old, from ancient days. [Micah 5:2]

Finally, in case any of these prophecies seem a little vague, Zechariah makes it clear that the Messiah (the cornerstone) would come from the line of Judah:

“My anger is hot against the shepherds, and I will punish the leaders; for the LORD of hosts cares for his flock, the house of Judah, and will make them like his majestic steed in battle. From him shall come the cornerstone, from him the tent peg, from him the battle bow, from him every ruler–all of them together. [Zechariah 10:3-4]

Now, let’s have a look at the New Testament to see what it has to say about Judah.  The writer of Hebrews leaves no doubt:

For it is evident that our Lord was descended from Judah, and in connection with that tribe Moses said nothing about priests. [Hebrews 7:14]

That said, I would be remiss if we didn’t go back to the genealogies of Christ included in Matthew and Luke (which we introduced several weeks ago) just to be certain that they reflect Judah in the linage.  As always, let’s start with the genealogy from Matthew (relevant section again highlighted in red):

¹ The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.  ² Abraham was the father of Isaac, and Isaac the father of Jacob, and Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers, ³ and Judah the father of Perez and Zerah by Tamar, and Perez the father of Hezron, and Hezron the father of Ram, ⁴ and Ram the father of Amminadab, and Amminadab the father of Nahshon, and Nahshon the father of Salmon, ⁵ and Salmon the father of Boaz by Rahab, and Boaz the father of Obed by Ruth, and Obed the father of Jesse, ⁶ and Jesse the father of David the king. And David was the father of Solomon by the wife of Uriah, ⁷ and Solomon the father of Rehoboam, and Rehoboam the father of Abijah, and Abijah the father of Asaph, ⁸ and Asaph the father of Jehoshaphat, and Jehoshaphat the father of Joram, and Joram the father of Uzziah, ⁹ and Uzziah the father of Jotham, and Jotham the father of Ahaz, and Ahaz the father of Hezekiah, ¹⁰ and Hezekiah the father of Manasseh, and Manasseh the father of Amos, and Amos the father of Josiah, ¹¹ and Josiah the father of Jechoniah and his brothers, at the time of the deportation to Babylon.  ¹² And after the deportation to Babylon: Jechoniah was the father of Shealtiel, and Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel, ¹³ and Zerubbabel the father of Abiud, and Abiud the father of Eliakim, and Eliakim the father of Azor, ¹⁴ and Azor the father of Zadok, and Zadok the father of Achim, and Achim the father of Eliud, ¹⁵ and Eliud the father of Eleazar, and Eleazar the father of Matthan, and Matthan the father of Jacob, ¹⁶ and Jacob the father of Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom Jesus was born, who is called Christ. [Matthew 1:1-16]

And, Luke:

²³ Jesus, when he began his ministry, was about thirty years of age, being the son (as was supposed) of Joseph, the son of Heli, ²⁴ the son of Matthat, the son of Levi, the son of Melchi, the son of Jannai, the son of Joseph, ²⁵ the son of Mattathias, the son of Amos, the son of Nahum, the son of Esli, the son of Naggai, ²⁶ the son of Maath, the son of Mattathias, the son of Semein, the son of Josech, the son of Joda, ²⁷ the son of Joanan, the son of Rhesa, the son of Zerubbabel, the son of Shealtiel, the son of Neri, ²⁸ the son of Melchi, the son of Addi, the son of Cosam, the son of Elmadam, the son of Er, ²⁹ the son of Joshua, the son of Eliezer, the son of Jorim, the son of Matthat, the son of Levi, ³⁰ the son of Simeon, the son of Judah, the son of Joseph, the son of Jonam, the son of Eliakim, ³¹ the son of Melea, the son of Menna, the son of Mattatha, the son of Nathan, the son of David, ³² the son of Jesse, the son of Obed, the son of Boaz, the son of Sala, the son of Nahshon, ³³ the son of Amminadab, the son of Admin, the son of Arni, the son of Hezron, the son of Perez, the son of Judah, ³⁴ the son of Jacob, the son of Isaac, the son of Abraham, the son of Terah, the son of Nahor, ³⁵ the son of Serug, the son of Reu, the son of Peleg, the son of Eber, the son of Shelah, ³⁶ the son of Cainan, the son of Arphaxad, the son of Shem, the son of Noah, the son of Lamech, ³⁷ the son of Methuselah, the son of Enoch, the son of Jared, the son of Mahalaleel, the son of Cainan, ³⁸ the son of Enos, the son of Seth, the son of Adam, the son of God. [Luke 3:23-38]

Again, the Lord leaves no doubt about which of the sons of Israel (Jacob) would continue the line of promise down to the Messiah.  God chose one man, Abraham, to start the line that would eventually lead to the Messiah.  He then proceeds to narrow the line from which the Messiah would come in successive generations.  Next week, we will skip a number of generations and look at another prophecy regarding the ancestry of Jesus.

Return to the Monday Morning Prophecy index page.

Image courtesy of Abby Reed

Monday Morning Prophecy #19 – The Messiah Would Come From the Lineage of Jacob

Thus far, we have looked at the Old Testament prophecies detailing that the Messiah would come from the lineage of Abraham, and more specifically through his son Isaac.  Like Abraham, Isaac had two sons, and the Bible does not leave us guessing which son would be the ancestor of the Messiah.

Rebekah bore twins to Isaac – Esau (the older twin) and Jacob (the younger twin).  After Jacob conspired with his mother to trick Isaac into giving him the blessing meant for Esau, Jacob fled from his home and the anger of his brother.  On his way, he had a dream which is recounted for us in Genesis 28:

Jacob left Beersheba and went toward Haran. And he came to a certain place and stayed there that night, because the sun had set. Taking one of the stones of the place, he put it under his head and lay down in that place to sleep. And he dreamed, and behold, there was a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven. And behold, the angels of God were ascending and descending on it! And behold, the LORD stood above it and said, “I am the LORD, the God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac. The land on which you lie I will give to you and to your offspring. Your offspring shall be like the dust of the earth, and you shall spread abroad to the west and to the east and to the north and to the south, and in you and your offspring shall all the families of the earth be blessed.  [Genesis 28:10-14]

Like he had for Jacob’s grandfather Abraham and his father Isaac, God appeared to Jacob to make it clear that it was through him that his promises to Abraham and Isaac to bless the world through their offspring would be fulfilled.

In the book of Numbers, another prophecy makes it clear that the Messiah would come from the line of Jacob:

I see him, but not now; I behold him, but not near: a star shall come out of Jacob, and a scepter shall rise out of Israel; it shall crush the forehead of Moab and break down all the sons of Sheth. [Numbers 24:17]