Matthew 1:12 says, "Jeconiah begot Salathiel; and Salathiel begot Zerubbabel." Compare this record with that in 1 Chronicles 3:17-19, "the sons of Jeconiah...Salathiel...and Pedaiah...and the sons of Pedaiah were Zerubbabel...," showing that Zerubbabel was the son of Pedaiah, Salathiel's brother. Zerubbabel was not Salathiel's son, but his nephew, who became his heir. Perhaps this was a case in accordance with Deuteronomy 25:5 and 6, which say that if a man dies without a son as his heir, his brother must marry his wife in order to produce a son to be his heir. Without this case, we cannot understand why there is such a regulation in Deuteronomy 25. Even that word in Deuteronomy is related to the genealogy of Christ.
Ezra 5:1 and 2 say that Zerubbabel was one of the leaders who returned to Jerusalem from the captivity at Babylon. This means that he was a leader in the Lord's recovery. This is a great thing. He was also a leader in the rebuilding of God's temple (Zech. 4:7-10).
Without this return from captivity, it would have been impossible for Christ to be born at Bethlehem. The Old Testament definitely predicted that Christ, as the descendant of David, would be born in Bethlehem (Matt. 2:4-6; Micah 5:2). Suppose none of the people of Israel had returned to Judah, and the time came for Christ to be born at Bethlehem. No one would have been there. Now we can understand why God commanded the captives to return. God's commandment that the captives return was not only for the rebuilding of the temple but also the preparation for Christ to be born in Bethlehem.
It is exactly the same today. Some may ask, "What is the difference between remaining at Babylon and returning to Jerusalem? Isn't it the same, as long as we worship God and walk in the spirit?" It may be all right with you, but it is not all right with Christ. Christ needs some people to bring Him to Bethlehem. You may worship God and you may walk in the spirit in Babylon, but be assured that Christ could never be born into humanity through you. This requires a specific place. You must return from Babylon to Judah. When the time came for the Lord Jesus to be born, some Israelites, descendants of the returned captives, were waiting in Judah. At that time, Joseph and Mary were not in Babylon; they were in Judah. For Christ to come to earth, some of His captured people had to return. For His second coming, Christ also needs some of His captured people to return from their captivity to the proper church life.
The genealogy here says, "Jacob begot Joseph" (Matt. 1:16), but Luke 3:23 says, "Joseph, which was the son of Heli." Whose son was Joseph? Luke's record says "as to the law" (literal translation of "as was supposed" in Luke 3:23). This means that Joseph was not actually the son of Heli, but was reckoned as his son according to the law. Joseph was the son-in-law of Heli, Mary's father. This might have been a case according to Numbers 27:1-8 and 36:1-12, in which a regulation was made by God that if any parents had only daughters as heirs, their inheritance should go to the daughters; the daughters then must marry a man of their own tribe in order to keep their inheritance within that tribe. If we did not have Matthew chapter one we may wonder why such a record exists. Now we see that this is not merely the record of a certain regulation; it is a matter related to Christ, because the virgin daughter who brought forth Christ was such a case. We believe that Mary's parents had no sons and that she inherited her parents' heritage and married Joseph, a man of the same tribe, the tribe of Judah. Even the regulation in Numbers 27 and 36 is related to the genealogy of Christ. Either directly or indirectly the whole Bible is a record of Christ.