End of the Old Testament....Beginning of the New!

There are approximately 400 years between the Testaments. Would you agree that much can happen in that amount of time? The following information (very condensed) is taken from "Old Testament, Student Manual, 1 Kings-Malachi" (these are Institute (college age) study manuals....very helpful to understand all scriptures.)

The End of the Prophetic Voice to Israel
"For years Israel had denied, dishonored, persecuted, fought, and rebelled against the prophets. Now at last the prophets were dead. Malachi was the last of the true prophets to minister to Israel; with him died the prophetic era. Dead too was the hope of Israel. God had desired that this nation be holy, his peculiar treasure. Upon her he had promised to heap his riches, glory and power:"I will abundantly bless her provision: I will satisfy her poor with bread. I will also clothe her priests with salvation: and her saints shall shout aloud for joy." (Psalm 132:15-16) Not only this, but He desired to have her sufficiently pure that He could make her cities His place of habitation. Indeed, she was to become Zion, where the Lord declared he would make his abode forever. (See Psalm 132:13-14) By rejecting the prophets, Israel forfeited the promises and potential of becoming like Enoch's people.

"Now came the dark years when there was no voice to declare "Thus saith the Lord." One would expect the death of the prophets to have been met with joy and rejoicing among the people who rejected the prophets, but just the opposite happened. The people mourned their loss.

"These, too, were the years when the priesthood became nearly powerless. Temple worship lapsed into mere ritual, and the spiritual breath of Israel nearly ceased. Some of the seed of Levi continued to honor the priesthood. Through these few streams of virtue the water of spiritual life trickled, preventing the broken cisterns that Israel had dug for herself from becoming completely dry (see Jeremiah 2:13.)


The Rise of the Scribes
"When Judah returned from exile in Babylon, she brought back with her a number of things that were not a part of her original beliefs. If one of these could be picked out to typify all the rest and symbolize what they meant, it would be the scribes. The scribes were originally educated men who made their livelihood keeping the records of the empire or as copyists of the scriptures. These they studied diligently, both to detect scribal errors and to understand the meaning of the scriptures. Eventually their role expanded. Not only did they supply copies of the scriptures to the growing number of synagogues, but they also became teachers of the law. As long as Israel had prophets, the scribes remained teachers and copyists. But when the prophetic voice ceased in Israel, these experts in the law of Moses began to fill the vacuum.

Pharisees and Sadducees
"At this point in history two very important Jewish groups emerged. They both became powerful and rival sects. (More on these later.)

Conclusion
"For four hundred years the heavens had been silent; not since Malachi had there been a prophet in Israel. Though services had been interrupted, the temple rites had continued during most of that time. Priests had made the proper sacrifice on the great alter, and the people had continued to pray daily while a priest had offered incense upon the altar in the holy place.

"Revelation had ceased, but the outer rites had continued. All had gone like clockwork until one day a priest named Zacharias did not reappear as quickly as he should have from the holy place after his service. The people began to marvel and conjecture. And well they should have, for once again the veil had been lifted, and God's word was proclaimed. The humble and aged Zacharias, of the priestly order of Abia, stood in the presence of an angel. "Thy prayer is heard; and thy wife Elisabeth shall bear thee a son... And his shall... make ready a people prepared for the Lord." (Luke 1:13,17.) This long-desired child was to be a messenger who would go forth in the spirit and power of Elias to declare that the kingdom of God was at hand. Once more Israel would be extended the covenant and the promise. Once more the keys and power were proffered to her. Once more she could become the nation of Jehovah. He who came to prepare the way was called John. Israel had a prophet once again, only this time the prophet would tell of Jehovah. He would be the forerunner, the prophet that would prepare the way for Jehovah's coming to earth as the Son of God and the Messiah that Judah had awaited for so long. And thus the Old Testament, or old covenant, was brought to a close and the New Testament, or new covenant, begun.


MY Word:
Take the time to follow the links and learn more about the above mentioned events and people. Have you ever watched "Fiddler On the Roof"?...watch it. It gives me a sense of how and why the Jews have been able to keep their religion, customs, way of life... alive for thousands of years. Compare their culture with "American" culture...how quickly and how many things have we change in 234 years?! (I barely understand the spoken word of the teenagers not to mention TEXTING!) ;)

~How do you feel about prophets? Do you wish they would just speak "easy, soft" words? Do you just want them to "get off my back"? Are you comforted by their presence but only when you seek them for advice? How are you (am I) like the Jews of old? Would we mourn the prophets if they were gone? Just for the record I wouldn't want to live without prophets! Heavenly Father directs our lives through his prophet...I mean just do as the prophet asks and your life will be better over time! Of that I am absolutely certain!

~I'll fill you in more about Zacharias in the next post.