Between the Testaments

Transcription

1 1 Between the Testaments Lesson One Brief history of Israel From Saul to Malachi Introduction: I. The Old Testament books of Ezra and Nehemiah record the events of Jewish exiles returning to Jerusalem after two periods of captivity. A. These were the days of rebuilding. 1. The Jewish exiles returned to a city in ruins. a. Jerusalem's walls and buildings had been destroyed. b. And the only hint Solomon's temple ever existed was the ruined foundation where it once stood. 2. So, the remnant of the twelve tribes of Israel who returned were tasked to rebuild the temple and restore Jewish worship in keeping with the Law. 3. They also needed to rebuild the walls of the city to protect those within, and to keep out those not welcomed. B. But the task of rebuilding the temple and the city walls was set aside while most of the Jewish remnant rebuilt homes fine homes with paneled walls. 1. Spiritual lethargy and indifference was common among the Jews in Jerusalem. 2. God even sent prophets to scold the people for neglecting the most important rebuilding project of all. a. Hag 1:3-4 Then the word of the Lord came by Haggai the prophet, saying, 4 "Is it time for you yourselves to dwell in your paneled houses, and this temple to lie in ruins?" 3. Although the temple and the city's walls were eventually rebuilt, apathy returned to dampen the brief period of spiritual fervor.

2 2 II. Malachi was the last prophet God sent to revive and restore a disobedient people. A. During the 100 years between the return of the Jewish exiles (536 BC) 1 and the prophet Malachi ( BC), conditions in Israel were deplorable. 1. The priesthood turned worldly; leaders among the people became corrupt; and the people no longer feared the Lord. 2. Rather than offer Jehovah the best sacrifices as required under the Law, they gave sacrifices that were blind, lame, and sick. 3. As a result, Jehovah despised both the sacrifices and those who made them. B. Malachi rebuked the priests and the people for their sin, rebellion, and spiritual decay. 1. The priests no longer respected the Old Covenant nor upheld the Law. 2. The people were intrenched in sin including: adultery, widespread divorce, unlawful marriages, perjury, exploitation of the poor, sorcery, and more. 3. Their worship was insincere, indifferent, and irreverent, and their tithing was despicable. C. Therefore, God sent the prophet Malachi with a three-fold message. 1. Warn the people of God's impending judgment against all wickedness and unrighteousness. 2. Give a message of encouragement to the remnant of people who remained faithful to the Lord. 3. And prophesy of a future Messianic hope. D. With that, the Old Testament closed on one of the darkest periods of Jewish history. 1. There would be no prophets in the coming years to speak for God through divine inspiration of the Holy Spirit. 2. The voice of God fell silent for the next 400 years. 1 Return of Jewish exiles under Zerubbabel occurred in 536 BC, 70 years after the first group of Jewish captives were taken from Jerusalem in 606 BC (which included Daniel).

3 3 III. When we turn from Malachi to the New Testament and begin reading in Matthew everything has changed in Israel (now called Palestine). A. The close of the Old Testament and the open of the New stand in stark contrast. 1. The Old Testament closed with the Jewish people living under Persian rule, and only a small remnant still faithful to the Lord. 2. That small remnant of the faithful could see a gathering darkness closing in on the Jewish people. 3. From Daniel to Malachi ominous prophecies pointed to events that would threaten to exterminate the Jewish people altogether. B. The New Testament opens with the Jewish people greatly multiplied and flourishing. 1. Jerusalem had become a major hub of trade and commerce in the region. a. Trade routes from east to west passed through Roman Palestine, and much of that trade and commerce flowed into the city of Jerusalem bring with it immense wealth. 2. The modest temple rebuilt during the days of Zerubbabel was now a magnificent structure. a. The temple sat in the middle of enormous courtyards ringed on north, west and south by massive colonnades that could accommodate thousands of worshippers. b. The exterior of the temple was covered with polished marble, and the decorative cornice that crowned the temple was made of pure gold. c. The massive marble columns of the temple were also covered by pure gold leafing the same kind of gold leafing that had once adorned the Temple of Solomon.

4 4 d. It was said that travelers coming to Jerusalem even from a distance of many miles were often struck by the blinding sunlight that reflected off the great temple. 3. Religious fervor was at an all-time high. a. Two religious parties governed the religious and political affairs of the people. (1). The Sadducees were the Jewish aristocracy and controlled the High Priesthood. (2). The Pharisees were the religious part of the common people and were deeply devoted to preserving the Law of Moses and the traditions of their forefathers ("the fathers"). (3). Neither of these religious parties existed during Old Testament times. b. Then there were the Essenes. (1). They deplored the political corruption of the Sadducees as well as the near-fanatical reverence of the Pharisees for tradition. (2). The Essenes chose to live away from Jerusalem in isolated communities in southern Judea around the region of the Dead Sea. (3). They devoted themselves to studying and preserving the scriptures. 4. During the early days of the New Testament period the civil and legal rights of the Jewish people were protected by a sophisticated legal system of courts. a. The courts were arranged in a series of lesser courts to the Great Sanhedrin the Supreme Court of Judaism. b. While the lower courts settled civil and criminal matters, the Sanhedrin decided all cases of capital crimes.

5 5 (1). Rules governing the function of the Sanhedrin in all capital cases essentially made the Supreme Court counsel for the defense. (2). They were obligated to search for any possible way an accused might be acquitted of a capital crime. c. Its seventy members included both Sadducees and Pharisees, with the Sadducees holding a slight majority, and the court's seventyfirst member (or presiding officer) would be the current High Priest (usually a Sadducee). 5. The only downside was the Jewish people were living under the rule of the Roman Empire. a. But as long as the Jewish people kept the peace (Pax Romana), and the Jewish leaders complied with Roman law, Rome's presence in Palestine was paid little attention by most, but certainly not by all. C. However, as the New Testament period dawned the Jews in Palestine also found themselves ruled by a Roman-appointed king by the name of Herod (giving himself the title "The Great"). 1. It was unthinkable that a man with an Edomite heritage would someday be made "King of the Jews." a. The Edomites, along with the Ammonites and Moabites, had been the enemies of the Jewish people since the days of Moses. 2. How could an Edomite become a Jewish king? a. It started with king David's final subjugation of the Edomites who were scattered throughout southern Judah. b. Later, the Edomites (now known as Idumeans) were forced to convert to Judaism, and all Idumean men were circumcised in keeping with the Law of Moses. c. This opened the door for the unthinkable to become a reality. 3. In a vain attempt to win favor with the Jewish people, Herod took several steps.

6 6 a. He was the one who launched the massive building project to enlarge and beautify the temple. b. But when he learned that travelers from the east had come to Jerusalem to worship the one whom Isaiah prophesied would become the new King, Herod ordered the slaughter of Hebrew male babies in Bethlehem, the birthplace mentioned in prophecy. 4. His rash acts against the people over whom he ruled only added to Herod's fears of being deposed in a revolt. a. To ensure his safety, Herod ordered the construction of an expansive fortified palace complex on top of a mountain near the Dead Sea known as Masada with only a narrow, easily-defended pathway zig-zagging from the valley floor to the top of the complex. b. The storehouses and cisterns of the palace complex were so large that, once filled, they could provide for Herod, his family, and his own private army for years against a siege. 5. Herod's Masada complex would be the place where the final scene would play out in the Jewish revolt against the Romans that caused the destruction of the temple in AD 70. IV. What happened between Malachi and Matthew? A. What civil, political, and religious movements during those 400 years of silence caused such a dramatic change? 1. Unfortunately, we can't turn to the inerrant and divinely preserved scriptures to give us a complete picture. 2. But we can piece together a reliable history of that period from hundreds of historical and religious writings of the Jewish people during those 400 years (known as the Apocrypha). 3. The Jewish historian Josephus, and the unknown authors of the apocryphal books of Maccabees, Ecclesiasticus, Wisdom, Esdras and others, give us a rather detailed glimpse into this period of Jewish history.

7 7 B. But what importance is that to us? 1. If God wanted us to know what happened during those 400 silent years, wouldn't he have given us an accurate record from writers guided by the Holy Spirit? 2. And what benefit is that period of history to Christians today? a. The Jewish writings during that period were not inspired of God. b. Many of those writings not only contradict one another, but often contradict the inspired word of God. c. Although some of the apocryphal writings were added to a few versions of the Bible, doesn't their absence in most versions suggest they have little or no value to Christians today? d. Is there anything in the Apocrypha that a Christian must know for salvation from sin and eternal life in heaven? 3. The answer is clearly "No." a. A Christian can live their entire life and go to heaven without ever reading a single word of the Apocrypha. C. However, some of the apocryphal writings are immensely valuable to the Bible student. 1. They provide more than just a history of much of the 400 silent years. a. They record the fulfillment of the prophecies of Daniel and others further validating the truth of these prophecies through fulfilled history. b. They explain the origin of two of the most important Jewish sects during the days of Jesus the Pharisees and Sadducees. c. They also reveal the origin of many Jewish traditions and customs Jesus openly opposed. d. They help us understand why the Jewish religious leaders feared the claims Jesus made of being the Messiah. e. They also help us understand why the Lord's disciples could not grasp the nature of the kingdom Jesus came to establish.

8 8 f. They explain why the Jewish people turned against Jesus after he was arrested and crucified by his enemies. g. And, they explain why the disciples were dismayed and confused by the death of Jesus, and why the Lord's resurrection from the dead came as a shock to others. 2. But most of all, they describe how the Jewish beliefs about the coming Messiah changed over the centuries from the Messiah of the Old Testament prophets which Jesus fulfilled. a. Knowing all this makes us better equipped to defeat the almost universal belief that Jesus will return to establish a kingdom on earth and rule from the throne of David in Jerusalem for a thousand years (the false doctrine of Millennialism). b. So, who is to say that God did not providentially preserve that history to help us 20 centuries later better understand the world into which Jesus was born? D. However, before we can understand what happened during the 400 years between Malachi and Matthew, we must do something first. 1. It's important for us to briefly review the dramatic changes that occurred between the days of Saul, David, and Solomon, and the days of Malachi. Body: I. From the days of Moses to those of the prophet Samuel God ruled his people. A. But the people's desire to have a king and become like other nations was the beginning of the end for Israel. 1. The saying is, "As goes the king, so goes the people." 2. The leadership of Israel's kings contributed greatly to the faithfulness or unfaithfulness of the people. B. During the period known as the United Kingdom, Saul, David, and Solomon ruled the Jewish people. 1. Saul, Israel's first king, ruled for 40 years but in the end disobeyed the Lord.

9 9 a. None of his descendants would occupy Israel's throne. 2. David, Israel's second king, also ruled 40 years and was said by the Lord to be "a man after my own heart." a. He was a great military leader who expanded the borders of Israel and subdued many of Israel's enemies. b. David was far from perfect, and those moments of regret and sorrow are expressed in many of his psalms. c. However, his life overall was characterized by faithfulness to Jehovah which is why God promised that his kingdom would endure forever (2 Sam 7:11-16). 3. Solomon, Israel's third king, was David's son and also ruled for 40 years. a. God granted Solomon great wisdom and entrusted him with the building of Israel's first temple. b. Solomon's rule is often described as Israel's golden years, but Solomon proved to be a disappointment by being swayed in his final years by his numerous wives and concubines. C. Soon after the death of Solomon Israel enters a period of history known as the Divided Kingdom. 1. Rehoboam, Solomon's son, ruled only one year before his extravagant spending and taxation sparked a civil war between the tribes of Israel. 2. Two kingdoms were formed. a. The northern kingdom of Israel consisting of ten of the twelve tribes, initially ruled by Jeroboam. b. And the southern kingdom of Judah consisting of the tribes of Judah and Benjamin, initially ruled by Rehoboam. 3. Not one of the twenty kings who ruled the northern kingdom was faithful to the Lord. a. From the beginning of the northern kingdom till its fall at the hands of the Assyrian empire, the people practiced idolatry and all the unspeakable sins common to idolatry.

10 10 b. During approximately 208 years that the northern kingdom existed, God sent prophets (like Elijah, Elisha, Amos, Hosea, etc.) to plead for the people to return to the Lord. c. Finally, in 722 BC God allowed the Assyrian Empire to destroy the northern kingdom and take many of the survivors away into captivity. 4. Of the twenty kings that ruled the southern kingdom of Judah there was a mixture of good and evil. a. Some kings either permitted or encouraged idolatry in Judah, and the outcome was periods of wickedness like that of the northern kingdom. b. However, other kings were faithful to the Lord and tore down all the idolatrous places of worship, leading the people back to periods of faithfulness. c. God also sent prophets (like Isaiah, Jeremiah, etc.) to get both the king and his people to repent and return to the Lord. d. The southern kingdom survived for approximately 344 years (136 years longer than Israel) before corrupt kings, corrupt priests, and a disobedient people led God to allow the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar to destroy Jerusalem, its temple, and take many captives to Babylon. II. This begins the period of Babylonian Captivity. A. Since the Babylonians conquered all the territory once belonging to Assyria, the descendants of the captives taken during the Assyrian Empire were now living under Babylonian rule. 1. For the next 70 years the Jewish people would live in Babylonian captivity. a. Synagogues (a Jewish house of worship) began appearing throughout Babylon in an effort to bring Jewish worshippers together.

11 11 (1). They could no longer make sacrifices according to the Law because they had no temple. (2). But they could keep many Jewish traditions and practices such as the Passover, and the reading of the Torah (the Law). 2. Despite efforts to maintain Jewish obedience to the Law, many began to turn to the idolatrous worship of the Babylonians. B. God raised up two prophets during the period of the Babylonian captivity. 1. Daniel, who spoke to the rulers of Babylon and the Medes and Persians. 2. Ezekiel, who spoke to the people in captivity assuring them a remnant would return to their homeland. III. Daniel's prophecies and visions. A. The first prophecy is found in Daniel chapter 2 when Daniel interpreted a dream of Nebuchadnezzar. 1. The dream was of a great image (Dan 2:31-35). a. Head of gold (Babylonian empire); chest and arms of silver (Medo- Persian empire); belly and thighs of bronze (Macedonian or Grecian empire); legs of iron, and feet of iron mixed with clay (Roman empire). b. A stone struck the image, and all its parts were crushed and carried away by the wind no trace of them could be found. c. The stone became a great mountain filling the earth. 2. The interpretation of the dream (Dan 2:36-45). a. Nebuchadnezzar was the "head of gold." b. Two other kingdoms, inferior to his, will "rule over all the earth." c. The fourth kingdom will be partly strong and partly fragile. d. In the days of "these kings" (the fourth kingdom) the God of heaven will set up a kingdom (the Lord's church) (Dan 2:44).

12 12 e. It will never be destroyed, nor left to other people; it shall dominate ("break in pieces and consume") all other kingdoms; it shall stand forever. IV. Daniel's visions (Dan 7 12) foretell events fulfilled during the period between the Testaments. A. The vision of four beasts (Dan 7). 1. Three beasts came out of the "Great Sea" one after the other (Dan 7:2-6): 2. The fourth beast was dreadful and strong (Dan 7:7-8): 3. Daniel was given the meaning of vision (Dan 7:15-28). B. The vision of the ram and goat (Dan 8). 1. A ram (with two horns) was pushing westward, northward, and southward, and no animal could stop him (Dan 8:1-4). 2. A goat came from the west, without touching the ground, and had a horn between its eyes and slew the ram (Dan 8:5-7). 3. The horn of the goat broke off, and in its place four "notable ones" (horns) appeared (Dan 8:8-12). 4. A "holy one" asked how long the daily sacrifices and the transgressions and desecration of the sanctuary will continue (Dan 8:13-14). 5. Gabriel interpreted the vision (Dan 8:15-27). a. The ram with two horns represented the kings of Media and Persia (Dan 8:18-20). b. The Medo-Persian empire will fall (cf. Dan 8:6-7). c. The male goat "is the kingdom of Greece" and the large horn "is the first king" Alexander the Great (Dan 8:21-22; cf. 8:5, 8). d. The four additional horns are four kingdoms that shall arise out of first kingdom, but they will not have the power of the former (Dan 8:23-25). e. Daniel was told to "seal up the vision, for it refers to many days in the future" (Dan 8:26).

13 13 f. Daniel fainted and was sick for days because of what will become of "the holy people" (Dan 8:27). C. The visions from Alexander to Antiochus Epiphanes (Dan 11). 1. After Cyrus, three more kings will arise in Persia (Dan 11:1-2). 2. A mighty king will arise (Alexander the Great, Macedonian empire) and will rule with great dominion (Dan 11:3-4). 3. After Alexander two kings (kings of the North and South) battled each other to gain power and extend their territory (Dan 11:5-21). 4. A vile and contemptable person would seize the kingdom (North) Antiochus Epiphanes (Dan 11:21-35). V. Ezekiel's prophecies. A. God's judgment against Judah and Jerusalem (Ezek 1 24). 1. At the time, Ezekiel began to prophesy, Judah had already suffered from two deportations of captives. 2. Despite this, those taken captive and those remaining in Jerusalem clung to false hope given by false prophets that Jerusalem and the temple would not be destroyed. 3. However, Ezekiel confirmed that the Lord's inescapable judgment was coming because the people had profaned His name and His Holy Place by their abominable idolatry. B. God's judgment against the heathen nations (Ezek 25 32). 1. When Judah and Jerusalem fell the nations around her rejoiced. 2. But Ezekiel warned their joy would soon turn to sorrow when the God of Israel judges these wicked and sinful nations. 3. If God would punish His own people, He will not hesitate to punish those who had been the enemies of His people He is the ruler of all nations. C. Prophecies of the nation restored and the messianic age (Ezek 33 48). 1. To keep the people of Israel and Judah from total despair, Ezekiel prophesied that the Lord would bring them back together as one nation and will defend them against anyone attempting to prevent this.

14 14 2. Ultimately, the Lord's scheme of redemption would be fulfilled through the seed of Abraham (Jesus Christ). 3. Ezekiel closes with a prophetic view of the temple, the worship, and the land of the future (spiritual Israel the Lord's church). VI. The Return and Restoration. A. God kept His promise of just 70 years of Babylonian captivity. 1. In 536 BC God raised up Cyrus the leader of the Medo-Persian Empire to conquer the city of Babylon in a single night. 2. When Cyrus learned he was named by Isaiah (Isa 44:28; 45:1) as God's "Shepherd" and the one whom God anointed to rule the world, he issued an edict that all captives may return to their homeland. 3. He also returned the temple treasures taken by Nebuchadnezzar and funded the rebuilding of the Jerusalem temple from his own treasury. B. The first group of exiles returned to Jerusalem under the leadership of Joshua and Zerubbabel (Ezra 1 4). 1. They restored the alter of burnt offering and laid the foundation for a new Temple. 2. However, the people were more interested in building their own houses than rebuilding the temple. 3. After 16 years of inactivity God sent the prophets Haggai and Zechariah to motivate the people to complete the temple. C. The second group of exiles returned under the leadership of Ezra. 1. Ezra devoted himself to reintroducing the people to the Law they had forgotten, and to bring about spiritual reform. D. Approximately 14 years later a third group returned under the leadership of Nehemiah. 1. Nehemiah's task was to encourage the people to rise up and rebuild the walls of Jerusalem

15 15 2. But a century after the return of the first group of exiles, the Jewish people became indifferent to the moral and ceremonial aspects of the Law. a. Worship of Jehovah and morality were in a state of decay. E. God sent his final prophet, Malachi, to cry out against the corruption of the nation and announce the coming of Elijah (John the Baptist: Matt 11:13-14; 17:11-13; Luke 1:17) before the coming of the Messiah. 1. This Elijah would turn the hearts of the people back to God. 2. And with that said, the voice of God fell silent until the prophet John spoke 400 years later.