Today’s Scripture Reading (July 15, 2017):
Haggai 2
They are rightly called pretenders; Kings and Queens without a throne, crown
or country. They are not imposters, making a claim to a throne to which they
have no right. These men and women are of a royal line but either someone else,
an imposter, sits on their throne or the position has been abolished. And there are some familiar names on the list of
pretenders. One is Charles, Prince Napoleon.
As the name implies, Charles is a descendant of Napoleon I of France. A DNA test
in 2011 left little doubt that Charles is a direct descendant of Napoleon
Bonaparte who reigned as Emperor of France, with a brief interruption in
1814-1815, from May 18, 1804, until June
22, 1815. Of course, the Throne of France belongs to the descendants of the
House of Bourbon, and there are two prominent pretenders to that throne; Louis
Alphonse who would reign as Louis XX, and Henri, d’Orleans who would reign as
Henry VII. But Charles is the pretender to the Throne of Westphalia, and he is
the great-great-grandson of King Jerome Bonaparte
who reigned on that throne until 1813 when the monarchy was abolished. But pretenders hold on to what might have been, and
the sure knowledge that they are royalty.
Zerubbabel was a pretender. He had a
legitimate claim to the Throne of Judah. He was the grandson of the penultimate
King of Judah, Jeconiah, who was the son of Jehoiakim. Jehoiakim reigned for 11
years as a puppet for Babylon. Jeconiah’s reign lasted only three months and
ten days. And even in that short period,
he aroused the ire of the Prophet Jeremiah who said that Jeconiah would be
thrown down from his throne. “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” (Jeremiah 22:30).
Yet, even the pretender had a job to do, and a
duty to fulfill. This would-be King
led the first of the exiles back and laid the foundation for the Temple that
would bear his name – the Second Temple in Jerusalem or Zerubbabel’s Temple.
And the job that he had to accomplish could only be done if Zerubbabel was
willing to be strong and allow God to lead him.
Zerubbabel was never more than a
pretender to the throne of Judah. But as for Jeremiah’s prophecy, it remains
technically correct – no descendant of ‘Coniah, including Zerubbabel,
ever occupied the throne of Judah again. However, Zerubbabel did lead his
people as their governor, but not king, and a child of Zerubbabel would sit on
the throne of David. His name was Jesus, and he ruled his people as Prophet, Priest, and King – forever occupying and
bringing honor to the throne of his father, and Zerubbabel’s father, David.
Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Zechariah 1
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