24 “As I live,” declares the Lord, “even though [h]Coniah the son of Jehoiakim king of Judah were a signet ring on My right hand, yet I would pull [i]you [j]off; 25 and I will give you over into the hand of those who are seeking your life, yes, into the hand of those whom you dread, even into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and into the hand of the Chaldeans. 26 I will hurl you and your mother who bore you into another country where you were not born, and there you will die. 27 But as for the land to which they desire to return, they will not return to it.
28 “Is this man Coniah a despised, shattered jar?
Or is he an undesirable vessel?
Why have he and his descendants been hurled out
And cast into a land that they had not known?
29 “O land, land, land,
Hear the word of the Lord!30 “Thus says the Lord,
‘Write this man down childless,
A man who will not prosper in his days;
For no man of his descendants will prosper
Sitting on the throne of David
Or ruling again in Judah.’”
We come next to the son of Jehoiakim, Coniah, who was otherwise known as Jehoiachin. This Coniah was the grandson of Josiah, and could have learned from the mistakes of his uncle and father. But apparently he did not, as God also pronounces judgment on him. Not only that, but God promises that Coniah will be childless with no descendant to sit on the throne.
Yet it didn’t have to be that way, and we see in v. 24 the value that God placed on Coniah, comparing him to a signet ring. The signet ring of a king was a prized and guarded possession. If something was signed with that ring, it was as good as the king’s word. It was a symbol of his rule and authority like nothing else. The wording almost implies that God did not value Coniah that much, but then why bring it up?
The fact of the matter is that God did place tremendous value on His children, on all of Israel even. Despite that, He could not overlook their sin and rebellion, and had to discipline and correct them. It was Coniah’s own deeds that removed him from the very hand of God. And so it is with us, for God sent His Son, Jesus to be a ransom for many. It was not just for the priests or the kings, not just for Israel itself, but for the whole world, for each of us.
We are thus each like a signet ring in our worth to the Father, and yet the choice is ours. Do we stay on the finger of God, save in His hands? Or do we remove ourselves in an attempt to control our own destiny and live life our own way? It reminds me of something Jesus himself said, “Do not give what is holy to dogs, and do not throw your pearls before swine, or they will trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you to pieces.”
Who are the dogs and swine? They are not the unbelievers of this world, but our enemy in the spiritual realm, who would love nothing more than to tear us to pieces. That’s a bit graphic, but the truth is every bit of that, and perhaps worse. Paul told the church at Corinth, “But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, so that the surpassing greatness of the power will be of God and not from ourselves…”
It is not that we by ourselves are so very awesome and great, but each of us is a hand-crafted creation of God Almighty with His breath of life flowing through us. Don’t throw that gift away, but treasure it, and entrust it to the very hand who create it. Keep it from the dogs and swine, and let God do something amazing in you, making a new creation untarnished by sin and rebellion. Use your gift(s) for His glory and none other!