The Old Testament: Backstory to ChristmasSample

Day 4: Awkward Silence

Most of us are uncomfortable with the awkward silence that comes when there is a lull in a conversation. Just a few seconds of inactivity can seem to stretch into an eternity! Now consider that the period between when the Old Testament leaves off, and the New Testament begins, is over 400 years! Try to imagine a silence that lasts over 4 centuries! Can you imagine —400 years of silence from God?! The Jewish people had to be perplexed at the least, and likely feeling forgotten by God during this time.

Silent ≠ Inactive

What in the world was going on during those 400 years? The short answer is plenty. During those 400 years, God was moving all the chess pieces into place to set the stage for Jesus’ birth. For the many prophecies concerning Jesus to be fulfilled, all of the different players had to be positioned into place to play their part in redemption’s story.

From a historical perspective, at the end of the Old Testament, the Jewish people had returned from Babylonian exile, and the Persians had overthrown Babylon and were the new power players. However, they fell to the Greeks who then were pushed out by the Roman Empire. The Romans would be the regime who would crucify Jesus via the cross along with criminals, thus fulfilling Isaiah’s prophecy (Isaiah 53:12). Also during this time, within the Jewish religion, the Pharisees and the Sadducees emerged. Much of Jesus’ teachings exposed the hypocrisy of the Pharisees and Sadducees, so they were at odds with Jesus and were motivated to put an end to him. Within the nation of Israel, the Herod family had come into power. King Herod would make the decree at the time of Jesus’ birth requiring the killing of all the boys in Bethlehem who were two years old and under which fulfilled the prophecy from the prophet Jeremiah centuries earlier (Matthew 2:16-18). These are but a few of the pieces that needed to be in place to fulfill the many prophecies in the Old Testament which were made concerning Jesus. By most accounts, there are more than 40 different prophecies that were made in the Old Testament about Jesus’ birth, life, and death that were fulfilled by the way the story played out. All of these separate players had been brought together on the world stage at the time of Jesus’ birth—God’s plan was being executed even at the smallest of details.

Connection to Our Story

Perhaps you have been dealing with a period of silence and you are perplexed as to what God is doing if anything. Maybe, you have gotten to the place where you doubt that God is even there anymore. Please let me assure you—He is still there, He is still for you, and is still working on your behalf!! Many times we seem to be unable to see and/or feel Him working and it becomes difficult to continue to believe. However, that’s the time when our faith in Him becomes so very important. We need to trust Him and believe that although we may not see it, nor feel it, He is still working! That belief is called faith, and without faith, it is impossible to please God. Today, choose to have faith and believe He is working for our good!