The history of God’s chosen people, the Israelites, was one of revolt and forgiveness, followed by actually more revolution. After allowing His people to continue living in their crimes, which caused generations of captivity, where they were subjected to the rule of international tyrants, God finally had enough of His people’s disloyalty.
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The Israelites who had left their homeland awaited liberation from their foes. They expected relief in the form of God’s promised Messiah, who may give them from their opponents.
The scriptures were accustomed to hearing directly from God through the Israelites. You might also claim that they had assumed that privilège for granted.
” God told the Israelites exactly what they needed to do to please Him and keep their relationship”, writes Lori Stanley Roeleveld at Christianity .com. ” The Israelites obeyed for a time, but ultimately, they did began following false gods and committing additional acts of defiance. Therefore, God would give them agonizing circumstances so they could repent of their defiance and turn to Him. They obeyed for a time, but the pattern would commence once”.
For a time, the scriptures were also relaying God’s information to His folks, including the last revelation, which came through the apostle Malachi.
Elijah the apostle will be sent to you, witness, before the great and wonderful day of the Lord arrives. And he will turn the hearts of fathers toward their children and the hearts of children toward their fathers, lest I go and utter destruction the land with a decree ( Malachi 4: 5-6, ESV).
Next came 400 years of solitude from God. Not a syllable, not a mark — silence.
” Today, in the moment of Malachi, not only were they never repenting when He pointed out their evil, but they accused Him of being the problem”, Roeleveld writes. Anyone who has loved anyone and kept their own way would know about God’s partnership with the Israelites.
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” Often, that’s a day to be silent, fall backwards to establish a healthy barrier, and help our loved ones to experience the result of that sin”, she continues. That’s what God did with His citizens.
Associated:  , Christmas Day Thoughts: Promises Fulfilled
That doesn’t mean that totally nothing happened, of training. The intertestamental time is well documented in GotQuestions ‘ exemplary review. In Israel, there was a period of political revolution, with the rise of the Greek and Egyptian empires and the rise of Judas Maccabeus and his revolt.
Some scholars think that Antiochus Epiphanes ‘ conversion of the church into a facility for Greek worship occurred during this time in Daniel’s prophecy of the temple’s destruction.
One of them produced a tiny horn, which grew extraordinarily big in the south, west, and beautiful land. It grew wonderful, even to the number of heaven. And some of the hosts and some of the actors were so vicious that they threw them over. It became fantastic, perhaps as great as the Prince of the network. And he was given the daily melted giving, and the location of his refuge was overthrown. And because of transgression, a host may be handed over to it along with the normal burnt offering, and it will throw reality to the ground and act and prosper. Finally, as a holy one was speaking, another holy one said to the speaker,” For how long is the vision regarding the regular burnt offering, the sin that makes desolate, and the giving over of the temple and variety to be trampled beneath?” And he said to me,” For 2, 300 evenings and mornings. The temple must then be re-established in its original state.
Daniel 8: 9-14 ( ESV )
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” By taking the epitaph Epiphanes ( ‘ God Manifest’), Antiochus even claimed to be Zeus incarnate”, explains the Biblical Archaeology Society. These policies were welcomed and accepted by some ancient nations, but in the area of Judea they sparked a historical civil war, particularly among members of the great religious families.
This, of course, led to the Maccabean protest and the Hasmonean monarchy. However, God had other plans for His individuals over the long run. For the first time in 400 years, God sent His angels to Jerusalem to address a priest.
In the weeks of Herod, king of Judea, there was a preacher named Zechariah, of the department of Abijah. And he had a family from the sons of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. And they both walked chastely in all the laws and laws of the Lord, and they were both righteous before God. But they had no child, because Elizabeth was desolate, and both were advanced in years. According to the practice of the church, he was chosen by bunch to enter the church of the Lord and burn incense while serving as a preacher before God while his department was on duty. And at the moment of the incense, the entire population was praying outside. On the right side of the altar of incense, a Lord’s angel appeared to him. And when Zechariah saw him, fear struck him. But the angel said to him,” Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John. And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth, for he will be great before the Lord. And he must not drink wine or strong drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother’s womb. And he will turn the hearts of the fathers to the children and the disobedient to the just, so that there will be a people ready for the Lord, and he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God. He will also go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah, and he will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah.
Luke 1: 5-17 ( ESV )
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And the angel made an announcement to a young woman that she would give birth to the Messiah:
The angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city in Galilee named Nazareth in the sixth month to betrothed to a man from the house of David, Joseph. And the virgin’s name was Mary. And he came to her and said,” Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you”! But she struggled to identify the meaning behind the expression and looked into possible ways to greet it. And the angel said to her,” Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. He will be a great man and be referred to as the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will grant him the throne of his father, David, and he will continue to rule over Jacob’s house forever, guaranteeing that his kingdom will not end.
Luke 1: 26-32 ( ESV )
And when the baby was born, angels made the announcement of His birth to the most modest among us:
And in the same area, there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock at night. And they were overcome with great fear as an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord appeared to them. And the angel said to them,” Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For this day, a Savior, who is Christ the Lord, is born in the city of David. You will discover a baby lying in a manger, covered in swaddling material, and this is a sign for you. And suddenly there was a large group of the heavenly hosts singing praises to God and saying,” Glory to God in the highest, and peace on earth among those with whom he is pleased”!
Luke 2: 8-14 ( ESV )
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A Messiah would be expected to save the Hebrews. They believed that Messiah would be a political figure who would protect the country from the oppression of foreigners. Instead, He sent His Son as a tiny baby into the world to save us from the ultimate tyranny: our own sin.
The culmination of God’s redemptive plan was set in motion when He broke His 400-year silence. And He did it in a most unanticipated way. That’s what we celebrate this week.
Merry Christmas! May your family and you be happy for the work that God did in Jesus.
