Road Trippin With Rachael

Who?

When it comes to Zerubbabel, we piece together who he is because there aren’t any biblical accounts that are dedicated specifically to him. In the Old Testament we are introduced to the book of Haggai, when the prophet Haggai is sent to Zerubbable to speak tohim when the Hebrews had returned from Babylon after they had been in exile (Haggai 1:1). At the end of the book, God, speaking through Haggai, tells Zerubbabel that he is going to be like the Lord’s signet ring. Although there is some discussion about what this specifically means, I believe that it was a reminder that the line of David was still there – that God was still keeping his promise to David, and through David’s line a messiah was going to be born. Zerubbabel may have been the governor and not the king of Judah, but he was in the highest position of authority that he could have under another ruling empire. But Haggai isn’t the only place we meet Zerubbabel, we also meet him in the New Testament in Matthew 1:12-13. Here we see proof that God kep his word, and Zerubbabel is recorded as being a part of the lineage of Christ. 

What Do We Learn From Zerubbabel?

For someone who is only mentioned sparingly, ther eis still a lot to be learned from him. One thing I believe we can learn is that God is faithful. Instead of the line of kings being completely cut off, which would have been the norm to squash any sort of rebellion, the line of kings in Judah survived and continued all the way to Christ. We also learn that we live with the decisions of those who come before us. David’s line is full of kings who were faithful, but also with those who weren’t. The exile into Babylon was brought about because of the unfaithfulness of David’s line. However, Zerubbabel was the one who was faithful and responded to the call to return to the land that had been promised to Abraham. We may have to live with the consequences of decisions made before we were ever born, but we are the ones who are called to respond when God calls us. We are each responsible for our own sins, and we have to have a relationship with God ourselves; it isn’t our parents or grandparents faith that is going to save us – we are each called to accept salvation or to deny Christ.