Gospel of the Kingdom

Study written by 3Crosses Church

Week 7 3Crosses Church Week 7 3Crosses Church

Checkpoint #3 (Final Checkpoint)

Checkpoint #3

Kingdom Project - CheckPoint #3

At this point, you should have been able to read one Old Testament book in its entirety. Take this time to schedule your presentations for NEXT WEEK (perhaps based on which book everyone has chosen and their order in the Hebrew Bible).

Next week, we officially arrive at the New Testament, each person in your group will be encouraged to briefly share their findings based on the following 5 questions. 

  1. How did the book contribute to the Kingdom of God story (People, Place, Rule)?

  2. What excited/challenged you the most as you were reading the book?

  3. In what ways did you feel like the book was pointing to Jesus?

  4. What are some of the ways the book might speak into the members of your group? 

  5. What questions do you still have about the book?

Intertestamental Period (Optional)

This was the dream. Now we will tell the king its interpretation. You, O king, the king of kings, to whom the God of heaven has given the kingdom, the power, and the might, and the glory,  and into whose hand he has given, wherever they dwell, the children of man, the beasts of the field, and the birds of the heavens, making you rule over them all—you are the head of gold.  Another kingdom inferior to you shall arise after you, and yet a third kingdom of bronze, which shall rule over all the earth. And there shall be a fourth kingdom, strong as iron, because iron breaks to pieces and shatters all things. And like iron that crushes, it shall break and crush all these. - Daniel 2:36–40

At the conclusion of the Hebrew Bible, Israel has been swept into exile by the hand of king Nebuchadnezzer and the Babylonian empire (head of gold). 70 years later, n Ezra and Nehemiah tell us that Israel was set free by king Darius and the Medo-Persian empire who took over the Babylonians (chest and arms of silver). It is at this point in history that the Bible goes silent about any the 3rd kingdom of bronze and 4th kingdom of iron and clay that would overtake them all. All of a sudden, without any background information, we open the New Testament and are told that the Roman Empire is in charge and the community of God’s people have been severely divided into different sects (i.e. Pharisees, Sadducees, Essenes). In the blink of an eye a totally different culture has emerged.

If you are interested, let’s take a moment to explore what happened in the 400 years of silence between the Chronicler (or his contemporary the prophet Malachi) and the gospel of Matthew. In order to do this, we will look at some extra-biblical resources that were not included in the inspired canon of the Hebrew Bible, but are still considered to be reliable sources of history (the anonymous book of the Maccabees and the writings of the historian Josephus). When we look at this 400 year gap, we see that even in these silent years, God was orchestrating events in a way that prepared for the spread of the gospel of the kingdom!

400 YEARS OF SILENCE - THE PRIESTHOOD

Be strong, O Joshua, son of Jehozadak, the high priest. Be strong, all you people of the land, declares the Lord. - Haggai 2:4.

The temple is the kingdom location where all 3 of our themes merge. It is the place where God dwells, the throne over which God rules, and God’s people surround it, starting with the high priest. That is why one of the best ways to trace the 400 years of silence is by following the history of the temple and its leadership. The 400 years start with Joshua, the high priest who served in Israel after the exile. 

And the angel of the Lord solemnly assured Joshua, “Thus says the Lord of hosts: If you will walk in my ways and keep my charge, then you shall rule my house and have charge of my courts, and I will give you the right of access among those who are standing here. Hear now, O Joshua the high priest, you and your friends who sit before you, for they are men who are a sign: behold, I will bring my servant the Branch. For behold, on the stone that I have set before Joshua, on a single stone with seven eyes, I will engrave its inscription, declares the Lord of hosts, and I will remove the iniquity of this land in a single day. In that day, declares the Lord of hosts, every one of you will invite his neighbor to come under his vine and under his fig tree.” - Zechariah 3:6–10.

This statement made to Joshua sounds a lot like the covenant stipulations given to Moses and David after him. Would the priesthood follow through? If you have been following the predictable pattern of humanity, you already know the answer.  The priesthood was still marked by sin and we still long for the serpent crusher.

Joshua was the father of Joiakim, Joiakim the father of Eliashib, Eliashib the father of Joiada, Joiada the father of Jonathan, and Jonathan the father of Jaddua. -  Ne 12:10–11.

 

400 YEARS OF SILENCE - THE RISE OF THE GREEK EMPIRE

As I was considering, behold, a male goat came from the west across the face of the whole earth, without touching the ground. And the goat had a conspicuous horn between his eyes. He came to the ram with the two horns, which I had seen standing on the bank of the canal, and he ran at him in his powerful wrath.  I saw him come close to the ram, and he was enraged against him and struck the ram and broke his two horns. And the ram had no power to stand before him, but he cast him down to the ground and trampled on him. And there was no one who could rescue the ram from his power. Then the goat became exceedingly great, but when he was strong, the great horn was broken, and instead of it there came up four conspicuous horns toward the four winds of heaven. Daniel 8:5–8

And the goat is the king of Greece. And the great horn between his eyes is the first king. As for the horn that was broken, in place of which four others arose, four kingdoms shall arise from his nation, but not with his power. - Daniel 8:21–22

In 330 B.C. A young man by the name of Alexander rose to power and would become one of the greatest conquerors the world has ever known. Interestingly, legend says that as Alexander approached Jerusalem, the high priest Jaddua came out in white priestly garments and shared this vision in Daniel. Alexander was humbled and showed tremendous favor toward Israel after seeing himself as the 3rd kingdom of bronze that would take over the Persian empire and become great.

Unfortunately, this peace did not last long as Alexander died at the age of 33 with no successor except his unborn baby. Initially, Alexander's commanders decided to wait for the newborn son to rise up and take his place, but the power hungry officials put to death the son along with his wife. Thus, the kingdom was divided into 5 which would turn into 4 after a pact was made to take down one of the existing generals.

 

The unity that Alexander was able to bring to the world under his reign would pave the way for the gospel of the kingdom to be spread and understood across the nations! However, from this moment forward, the promised place of Israel became a pawn in a much larger battle between the Kings of the North (Seleucus dynasty Syria) and the Kings of the South (Ptolemy dynasty in Egypt) precisely according to Daniel’s prophecy

400 YEARS OF SILENCE - CULTURAL ADVANCEMENTS

The new Greek empire brought significant changes to everyday life as it united the known world. These changes brought about important elements that made up the setting for the gospel of the kingdom! First, there was a new wave of energy to learn and engage with philosophy much like the 16th century renaissance that sparked the reformation. This season of Greek influence is best exemplified in our next priest named Simon the Just.

Simon the Just was inspired by the culture to return back to the traditional ways of the Hebrews. He  brought many changes that took the Jews away from the false temple worship of Mt. Gerizim in favor of returning back to their holy status as God’s set apart people in God’s promised place under God’s rule. Unfortunately, not everyone was on board with the sweeping reforms Simon the Just was making, setting the table for the New Testament cultural divisions.

 

As the Jews struggled to figure out their new identity in this time of transition, culture continued to develop in favor of learning, hellenization, and organization. It has been rumored that Simon the Just was the first president of the newly formed Sanhedrin, was the final editor who cemented the order of the Old Testament, and became the first Rabbi mentioned in the Mishna teachings which explain the Rabbi’s interpretation of the scriptures.

At the same time, the Israelites were split on how to treat their foreign overlords. Some would be sympathetic to the Syrian rule while others would be drawn to the advancements made by the Ptolemy regime in Egypt. In fact, many of the Jews who had been taken to Egypt over the course of time helped Ptolemy Philadelphus translate the Old Testament from a dying Hebrew language to a more centralized and national Greek language. The bright side is that in 284 B.C., 70 translators (or LXX in Roman Numerals) came together at the library of Alexandria in Egypt to translate the Hebrew Bible into the Greek Septuagint. The dark side is that the translation was more focused on using the scriptures as a tool to learn about the Hebrew culture as opposed to passing down orthodox doctrine. This desire to retain historical data was why the apocrypha was added to the Septuagint and the books were rearranged into what we see in our Old Testaments today. This is how the Septuagint would be the same Bible that was circulated across the known Greek-speaking world during the New Testament!

400 YEARS OF SILENCE - THE SERPENT EMERGES

At the same time, some of the advancements were not so helpful. Under the priesthood rule of Onias II, the young son of Simon the Just, Israel had fallen into tremendous debt. In response, Onias II sent a man named Joseph son of Tobias to pay back Ptolemy Eurgetes (Egypt in the South). On the way to Egypt, Joseph overhears the brilliant plot of a few merchants to scheme their way into riches and convinces king Ptolemy to allow him to farm taxes for the king over the people of Israel. This is the origin of the 1st army of despised tax collectors in Israel. 

As we have seen in the scriptures, the serpent only needs one small opening to create chaos. Over the course of a significant amount of time and regime changes, the kingdom of Israel continued to drift further away from YHWH in favor of loyalties to either the northern or the southern kingdoms of Syria and Egypt. Regardless, Israel was on its way to becoming more hellenized under these two nations within the Greek empire. Then, Joseph’s son named Hyrcanus schemed his own father out of his tax-collector position creating two distinct loyalties within the priesthood. This small window of friction boiled over when governor Appollonius (Northern Kingdom) requested the ill-gotten money from the temple treasury and was denied. Before Onias could meet the king to defend his case, the previous ruling king died giving way to Antiochus Epiphanes (Northern King of Syria).

Antiochus Epiphanes used the division in the temple to garner loyalty from the Jews. After the party he sided with was attacked upon the rumor Epiphanes had died, Antiochus Epiphanes marched into the holy land, killed 40,000 people, carried off the important vessels of the temple, built an abominable idol on the altar of burnt-offerings, sacrificed an unclean pig in the temple, spread its broth across the temple space, profaned the sabbath, and filled the temple with the worship of Olympus. The serpent was very much alive and well during these 400 years!

Women received back their dead by resurrection. Some were tortured, refusing to accept release, so that they might rise again to a better life. Others suffered mocking and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawn in two, they were killed with the sword. They went about in skins of sheep and goats, destitute, afflicted, mistreated— of whom the world was not worthy—wandering about in deserts and mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth. -  Hebrews 11:35–38.

400 YEARS OF SILENCE - GOD’S RESPONSE

Then I heard a holy one speaking, and another holy one said to the one who spoke, “For how long is the vision concerning the regular burnt offering, the transgression that makes desolate, and the giving over of the sanctuary and host to be trampled underfoot?”  And he said to me, “For 2,300 evenings and mornings. Then the sanctuary shall be restored to its rightful state.” -  Daniel 8:13–14

These abominable acts of Antiochus Epiphanes took place in 171 B.C.. Approximately 2,300 days later in  164 B.C. the commissioner of Antiochus Epiphanes tried to make the Jews worship other gods but instead sparked a revolt led by a man named Mattathias! Mattathias inspired the Jews to take a stand until he passed the torch of rebellion to his son  Judas Maccabeus. Judas Maccabeus led Israel to some major defeats against the governor of Samaria and the armies of the north who outnumbered the Israelites by a ratio of about 7:1.

At the death of Antiochus Epiphanes, the Maccabeans worked to cleanse the temple place, rebuild the wall that protected God’s people, and fought their way to many victories under the protection of God’s rule. Judas Macabbeus seemed to be a potential serpent-crushing savior in every way, that is until his next move: an attempt to make a peace treaty with the growing empire of Rome.

400 YEARS OF SILENCE - THE RISE OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE

The final stages of the 400 years of silence were inspired by the descending chaos caused by the serpent. Over the course of time, Israel’s new leaders from the Maccabean line would place their allegiance in the kingdom around them that had the most power. First, Johnathan Maccabeus threw his loyalties to the southern kingdom of Egypt when they rose to power. This eventually failed when they were captured by the northern Syrians. One generation later, Simon Maccabeus threw his hat into the ring with Demetrius Nicator of Egypt in hope of defeating the northern Syrian kingdom that had taken out his brother. Unfortunately, that did not work either as they were imprisoned by the Syrians and were killed

Under the Syrian rule, the priesthood was temporarily handed over back to the Jews. Unfortunately, the priesthood had also become divided between the Pharisee separatists and the Sadducee hellenizers. Moreover, violence increased as Aristobulus murdered his brothers to consolidate power over the priestly throne of Israel as proverbial “king of the Jews”. Similarly, Aristobulus’ son named Alexander Janneus followed suit by slaying his brothers and crucifying a vast number of men, women and children in order to force the Pharisees to make a treaty with Syrians. Although it was a hostile time, this also was the setting in which Phanuel lived, the father of the prophetess Anna!

And there was a prophetess, Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was advanced in years, having lived with her husband seven years from when she was a virgin,  and then as a widow until she was eighty-four. - Luke 2:36–37

At the end of Alexander Janneus' life, more splits occurred over disagreements of who should take the throne of Israel; Aristobulus II or Hyrcanus. In order to settle the dispute, the Israelites turned to general Pompey in Rome (the coming kingdom of iron). Pompey originally sided with Aristobulus II, but changed his mind after an Edomite man named Antipater teamed up with Hyrcanus and pleaded on his behalf. This forced Aristobulus to flee and surrender to the Romans to receive a prison sentence. However, the Jews who had followed Aristobulus fought against his enemies but failed to secure the throne. This final act of division ended Jewish independence and officially made the region of Judea a Roman province! Pompey, the Caesar of Rome, would eventually plunder the temple place of its treasure, a puppet governor would rule over Judea, and the priest over the people of Israel would be a Roman puppet named Hyrcanus, the good friend of Antipater. 

The politics of Rome would shift when Julius Caesar rose to power and freed Aristobulus, hoping to spark disruption, division, and chaos to fight against Pompey in the region of Israel. This time, Antipater aligned himself with Julius Caesar! For his actions, Antipater would be assigned the role of procurator over Judea. Antipater had two sons, Phasael would be appointed the governor of Galilee and Herod who was appointed the governor of Jerusalem! Herod violently stifled any rebellions that were made against his rule and put to death all but two members of the Sanhedrin. However, Herod would simultaneously play the hero after receiving orders from Julius Caesar to rebuild Jerusalem and her temple right before Caesar was assassinated. Now, in the latest vacuum of power, one last attempt to overthrow Herod was squashed thanks to the military prowess of Marc Antony who had now appointed Herod to act as King over the land of Judea. Herod made sure that no one would rise up by killing his wife and killing the last surviving daughter of the Maccabean line. All the while, Herod and the Romans contributed to society by building the world’s most complex system of roads and restoring the temple to beauty. Herod then set Antipater to succeed him in the Iduminean tradition as Rome would become the 4th empire of iron under their new Caesar Augustus….

However, little did Herod know that everything that had happened up to this point paved the way for one starry night that would change the rest of history: the beginning of  the gospel of the kingdom!

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5. Share the Gospel + Life Group Discussion Questions

Week 7 • Day 5

Week 7 • Day 5

Congratulations on finishing an overview of the entire Hebrew Bible!!! This week, we will take some time to explore some videos about the writings!

 

Share the Gospel Video:

Week 7 Life Group Discussion Questions

Icebreaker: Have you thought any more about the OT book for our project?
Question: What observations / reflections / or prayers stood out to you this week?

The Writings (Emet): When read in the context of the exile, the writings would have influenced the Israelites to remember that one day God will send His David-like Suffering Servant / Good Shepherd ruler, God will restore the wisdom and blessings that made up the Solomon-like “golden age” kingdom place, and God would restore His people with a Job-like faith that surrendered to the Lord’s definition of what is “good” and what is “evil” regardless of what suffering may come!

Question: Which one of the Emet writings is your favorite and why? What is your experience reading the Psalms? / Proverbs? / Job? Does the Hebrew Bible ordering help you understand the book a little better than before? 

The Writings (Megillot): The Hebrew collection of writings in the emet and the megillot suggest that no matter where God’s faithful people find themselves, they can rest in the fact that God sovereignly rules over all things. YHWH is lovingly pursuing His lost people like a husband pursues his wife, even if it does look like terror is falling upon the righteous and the wicked alike. The writings challenged the Jews to remember what it was like in God’s kingdom place so that they could fear Yahweh as king instead of the chaotic circumstances of foreign kingdoms! 

Question: Which one of the Megillot writings is your favorite and why? What are some situations in your life where you really felt the “hesed” love of God in your life? In what ways is God calling you to reexamine your life and return to Him?

Daniel: How does one sing the Lord’s song in a foreign place? Are God’s kingdom promises that were made through the prophets and envisioned in the writings going to come true? Daniel knew that God’s people were in need of a divine act to rescue them from their circumstances. It would take a miracle for the promised King to deliver God’s people from the kingdom of sin and bring them back into God’s glorious land under God’s rule. 

Question: What is your favorite action sequence in the book of Daniel and why? What is your experience with the book of Daniel and what are some of the challenges you have faced when trying to interpret this prophetic text? How might Daniel encourage you to take a stand for the Lord in your context?

Ezra - Nehemiah / Chronicles: Even though Israel returned from Babylon to their promised land right on schedule, they still could not defeat the kingdom of sin! Ezra and Nehemiah showcase makes us question whether this return is the gospel of the kingdom we have been looking for. The Chronicles remind us one last time that the gospel of the kingdom would be fulfilled through the promised son of David! 

Question: What are some of the patterns in your life that you keep repeating over and over again? What are the things God is calling you to do that you are avoiding or ignoring? How might your group be able to help you carry out some of the things God is calling you to do?

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4. Another Return to God’s Kingdom Place

Week 7 • Day 4

Week 7 • Day 4

This is what Cyrus king of Persia says: “The Lord, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth and he has appointed me to build a temple for him at Jerusalem in Judah. Any of his people among you may go up to Jerusalem in Judah and build the temple of the Lord, the God of Israel, the God who is in Jerusalem, and may their God be with them. And in any locality where survivors may now be living, the people are to provide them with silver and gold, with goods and livestock, and with freewill offerings for the temple of God in Jerusalem.” - Ezra 1:2-4 

After 70 years in EXILE, God’s people were allowed to return to the kingdom place that He had promised to Abraham years ago! The book of Ezra reveals God’s faithful rule as He fulfills His promise of salvation and restoration of His kingdom people. Just look at how the 70 years of exile fulfills this exact prophecy from Jeremiah:

For thus says the Lord: When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will visit you, and I will fulfill to you my promise and bring you back to this place.  For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope… - Jeremiah 29:10-11

God shows His hesed love for His people and wants to bring His blessings to the nations through them! He restores their future and gives them hope! At last, could this FINALLY be the generation that experiences the gospel of the kingdom?

EZRA - NEHEMIAH - GOD’S PLACE

Do you remember a time you were wounded? Maybe it was from a hike, a sport, or even in your heart. I remember one time I hurt my knee really bad and needed to have surgery in order for it to be fixed. The initial pain was awful, but then I had to face months of recovery. Everything was upside down and I kept asking myself “what if?” Then finally the day came where I could truly walk, it was glorious!

In a lot of ways God’s people felt broken and cut off, but our God wants to give His family a hope and a future! So how would all of this turn out? Would the people take advantage of the opportunity God had given them to repent from their sin? Would this be the era when the son of man in Daniel’s vision comes to take the throne? When God’s people head back to the promised land led by Zerubbabel (descendant of David), the first thing they attempt to do is rebuild the temple to God’s kingdom place. Here is what happens:

And all the people shouted with a great shout when they praised the Lord, because the foundation of the house of the Lord was laid.  But many of the priests and Levites and heads of fathers’ houses, old men who had seen the first house, wept with a loud voice when they saw the foundation of this house being laid, though many shouted aloud for joy. - Ezra 3:11b-12

Now when the adversaries of Judah and Benjamin heard that the returned exiles were building a temple to the Lord, the God of Israel,  they approached Zerubbabel and the heads of fathers’ houses and said to them, “Let us build with you, for we worship your God as you do, and we have been sacrificing to him ever since the days of Esarhaddon king of Assyria who brought us here.” But Zerubbabel, Jeshua, and the rest of the heads of fathers’ houses in Israel said to them, “You have nothing to do with us in building a house to our God; but we alone will build to the Lord, the God of Israel, as King Cyrus the king of Persia has commanded us.” - Ezra 4:1-3

We are never told that the Lord takes up His residence in this new temple place. Furthermore, the community is slow to complete the project (see Haggai) while the elders complain that it is not as nice as Solomon’s temple. Instead of the nations being welcome to participate in the blessings of God, they are turned away. Perhaps this is not the gospel of the kingdom that we have been anticipating!

EZRA - NEHEMIAH - GOD’S RULE

Next, Ezra returns to Israel and is passionate about re-teaching the commands of God’s rule. Would this effort restore God’s kingdom rule over His people? Here is what happens:

For Ezra had set his heart to study the Law of the Lord, and to do it and to teach his statutes and rules in Israel. - Ezra 7:10

While Ezra was praying and confessing, weeping and throwing himself down before the house of God, a large crowd of Israelites—men, women and children—gathered around him. They too wept bitterly. Then Shekaniah son of Jehiel, one of the descendants of Elam, said to Ezra, “We have been unfaithful to our God by marrying foreign women from the peoples around us. But in spite of this, there is still hope for Israel. Now let us make a covenant before our God to send away all these women and their children, in accordance with the counsel of my lord and of those who fear the commands of our God. Let it be done according to the Law. Rise up; this matter is in your hands. We will support you, so take courage and do it.” So Ezra rose up and put the leading priests and Levites and all Israel under oath to do what had been suggested. And they took the oath. Then Ezra withdrew from before the house of God and went to the room of Jehohanan son of Eliashib. While he was there, he ate no food and drank no water, because he continued to mourn over the unfaithfulness of the exiles. - Ezra 10:2-6

In His law, God commanded Israel not to intermarry with foreigners (Deut. 23:1-4). At the same time, God’s heart breaks over divorce (Malachi 2:13-16). Here we have both! Tragically, in their zeal to keep the law, we see God’s people sending the most vulnerable women and children away from participation in God’s kingdom family. Perhaps this is not the gospel of the kingdom that we have been anticipating!

EZRA - NEHEMIAH - GOD’S PEOPLE

Finally, Nehemiah’s passion was to rebuild the walls of the great city of Jerusalem. Perhaps if the city walls were rebuilt, then Israel could become the mighty city of people it once was. Here is what happens

They said to me, “Those who survived the exile and are back in the province are in great trouble and disgrace. The wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and its gates have been burned with fire.” When I heard these things, I sat down and wept. For some days I mourned and fasted and prayed before the God of heaven. - Nehemiah 1:2-11

But when Sanballat and Tobiah and the Arabs and the Ammonites and the Ashdodites heard that the repairing of the walls of Jerusalem was going forward and that the breaches were beginning to be closed, they were very angry.  And they all plotted together to come and fight against Jerusalem and to cause confusion in it. - Nehemiah 4:7-8

Instead of a wall-less kingdom that would bless the nations with peace (see Zechariah 2:4-5), the wall sparks conflict between God’s people and the nations. Perhaps this is not the gospel of the kingdom that we have been anticipating! Even after spending 7 days reflecting on the laws given to Moses, God’s people continued to neglect the Sabbath, their temple duties, and set up markets around the walls. God’s kingdom people had a fundamental misunderstanding of what it meant to live under God’s kingdom rule and in God’s kingdom place. Instead, this generation remained under the power of the serpent kingdom. 

This pattern may feel so repetitive to you by now, but the Old Testament is written this way to describe who we are as humans. I am sure there have been plenty of times where you have said “that will never happen again”, or “Lord if you give me _____, I will never____”. I am constantly reminded of this kind of rebellion not only in myself, but as I raise my kids. As a parent, there are consistent moments of correction yet my children do not always listen. I show them what to do and what not to do, but they still want to touch the stove even when it’s hot. 

Yet no matter how much we may mess up or try our best to just fail again, God in His mercy is still moving His kingdom story forward! Who would be the son of man that would come and put a stop to this ugly pattern of sin?

THE CHRONICLER - ONE LAST KINGDOM REVIEW

Surprisingly, the Hebrew Bible concludes with the collection of Chronicles. Have you ever noticed that reading the books of Kings and Chronicles back-to-back can feel so repetitive? That is because they are meant to be. However, when you read the Old Testament in the order of the Hebrew Bible, the Chronicles now become instrumental pieces of literature written to restate the history of Israel one last time before heading into the silent 400 years and the New Testament. 

The Chronicler approaches Israel's history from a bird's-eye perspective centuries after the Babylonian Exile. The anonymous author has a fuller picture of the entire Old Testament and uses his perch to restate genealogies, retell the stories of David, and zero in on the stories of Judah’s kings to prove that the one we have been looking for - the seed of Adam and the woman, the descendant of Abraham from the tribe of Judah, the Moses-like prophet from the line of David, the Good Shepherd, the Suffering Servant, and the Son of Man - has still not appeared. While it may seem that the Chronicles are repetitive, the author places minor nuances in the stories to emphasize that the promise made to David had yet to be fulfilled.

 

At last, we come to the end of the Hebrew scriptures! I hope you have learned a lot along the way, namely that understanding of the Old Testament drives you to a desperate longing for the promised serpent crusher and his kingdom. 

Then he said to them, “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.” - Luke 24:44  

That is why it is no coincidence that the Hebrew scripture ends with a message of HOPE for this promised messiah! At the tail end of Chronicles, we are reminded of the gruesome events of the Babylonian exile. 

Therefore he brought up against them the king of the Chaldeans, who killed their young men with the sword in the house of their sanctuary and had no compassion on young man or virgin, old man or aged. He gave them all into his hand. And all the vessels of the house of God, great and small, and the treasures of the house of the Lord, and the treasures of the king and of his princes, all these he brought to Babylon. And they burned the house of God and broke down the wall of Jerusalem and burned all its palaces with fire and destroyed all its precious vessels. 

He took into exile in Babylon those who had escaped from the sword, and they became servants to him and to his sons until the establishment of the kingdom of Persia, to fulfill the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah, until the land had enjoyed its Sabbaths. All the days that it lay desolate it kept Sabbath, to fulfill seventy years. - 2 Chronicles 36:17–21

In case you were wondering why the Lord decided upon a 70 year exile, now you know that it was because the land of the promised place had missed 70 sabbaths. If the Israelites were supposed to let the land rest every seventh year, that means for 490 years, the land had missed its sabbath rest. Let’s pull out the calculator one more time!

  • The Babylonian exile was completed in 586 B.C. 

    • Ancient Hebrew  360 day calendar → 490 years x 360 days = 17,6400 days

    • 17,6400 days = 483 years and 105 days on the modern Gregorian calendar

    • 586 B.C. + 483 years and 105 days = 1070 B.C.

  • 1070 B.C. is approximately the beginning of the monarchy in Israel along with the return of the ark of the covenant (see 1 Samuel 3-7)

The suggestion is that the exile cleansed the land of all rebellion from the moment Saul took the throne all the way until the completion of the Exile. Additionally, the 490 year motif also triggers thoughts about Daniel’s prophecy of the return of Israel! Lo and behold, the Chronicles recounts the Decree of Cyrus which brought Israel back into the kingdom land and set in motion a timeline of rebuilding started by Nehemiah’s generation. As we await the promised Messiah and deliverance from sin, pause for a moment and compare the last sentence of the Hebrew Bible to Ezra 1:2-4 listed at the very top of this entry!

Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah might be fulfilled, the Lord stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, so that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom and also put it in writing:  “Thus says Cyrus king of Persia, ‘The Lord, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth, and he has charged me to build him a house at Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Whoever is among you of all his people, may the Lord his God be with him. Let him go up.’ ” - 2 Chronicles 36:22-23

You will notice that the last sentence of Chronicles is cut off. It is as if the Chronicler is telling us to start the countdown as we long to meet the son of man!

Share the Gospel: Even though Israel returned from Babylon to their promised land right on schedule, they still could not defeat the kingdom of sin! Ezra and Nehemiah showcase makes us question whether this return is the gospel of the kingdom we have been looking for. The Chronicles remind us one last time that the gospel of the kingdom would be fulfilled through the promised son of David!

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3. The Prophecy of Israel’s Return

Week 7 • Day 3

Week 7 • Day 3

How shall we sing the Lord’s song in a foreign land?  - Psalm 137:4

Over the last couple of days, I wonder if you ever had the feeling that most of our readings from the Emet and the Megillot seem like they do not fit. Perhaps this is what makes these books so difficult to trace when we think about the story of God’s rule in God’s place over God’s people.

Ironically, the next book in the Hebrew Bible order is all about not fitting in. In our traditional ordering of the Bible, the book of Daniel is introduced to us alongside the Major Prophets (Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel, Daniel…). Already, the book of Daniel seems to be a misfit amongst the collection of writings. However, the writings do in fact end with the voice of one last word from a prophet who himself did not fit into his community. The Hebrew authors place Daniel (c. 605 - 535 B.C.) at this location in the Writings because while all these promises from the Major and Minor prophets are exciting and all these “call-backs” from the emet and the megillot are helpful thought exercises, the reality is that Israel is still in exile. Israel is still in the foreign place of Babylon under the rule of a foreign government in which the Hebrew people had been scattered all over the known world! 

The question is simple: How does one sing the Lord’s song in a foreign place? Are God’s kingdom promises that were made through the prophets and envisioned in the writings going to come true? How would God finally rescue and restore His kingdom people, return them to His kingdom place, and reestablish His rule?

DANIEL - GOD’S FAITHFUL REMNANT OF PEOPLE

After a long stretch of stories in which God’s people consistently pollute God’s land with sin, we are introduced to a character named Daniel (“God is my judge” in Hebrew). You would figure that someone who lived in a foreign place under a foreign ruler would be enticed to fall away from faith in the God of Israel. However, like Noah or Joesph before him, Daniel becomes an embodiment of the suffering servant who remains faithful amidst heavy persecution. Daniel is presented to us as one of His people who “passes the tests” of faith that were given to Him! 

The Daniel Fast

Daniel resolved that he would not defile himself with the king’s food, or with the wine that he drank. Therefore he asked the chief of the eunuchs to allow him not to defile himself. And God gave Daniel favor and compassion in the sight of the chief. - Daniel 1:8-9

At the end of ten days it was seen that they were better in appearance and fatter in flesh than all the youths who ate the king’s food. So the steward took away their food and the wine they were to drink, and gave them vegetables.  As for these four youths, God gave them learning and skill in all literature and wisdom, and Daniel had understanding in all visions and dreams…And in every matter of wisdom and understanding about which the king inquired of them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and enchanters that were in all his kingdom. - Daniel 1:15–17, 20

The Fiery Furnace

There are certain Jews whom you have appointed over the affairs of the province of Babylon: Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. These men, O king, pay no attention to you; they do not serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up.”...

…Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego answered and said to the king, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter.  If this be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of your hand, O king.  But if not, be it known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up.” 

…Nebuchadnezzar answered and said, “Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who has sent his angel and delivered his servants, who trusted in him, and set aside the king’s command, and yielded up their bodies rather than serve and worship any god except their own God. - Daniel 3:12, 16-18 , 28 

The Lion’s Den

When Daniel knew that the document had been signed, he went to his house where he had windows in his upper chamber open toward Jerusalem. He got down on his knees three times a day and prayed and gave thanks before his God, as he had done previously. Then these men came by agreement and found Daniel making petition and plea before his God. Then they came near and said before the king, concerning the injunction, “O king! Did you not sign an injunction, that anyone who makes petition to any god or man within thirty days except to you, O king, shall be cast into the den of lions?”...

…Then, at break of day, the king arose and went in haste to the den of lions. As he came near to the den where Daniel was, he cried out in a tone of anguish. The king declared to Daniel, “O Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God, whom you serve continually, been able to deliver you from the lions?” Then Daniel said to the king, “O king, live forever!  My God sent his angel and shut the lions’ mouths, and they have not harmed me, because I was found blameless before him; and also before you, O king, I have done no harm.” Then the king was exceedingly glad, and commanded that Daniel be taken up out of the den. So Daniel was taken up out of the den, and no kind of harm was found on him, because he had trusted in his God. - Daniel 6:10–12, 19-23

DANIEL - GOD’S EVERLASTING RULE

It was one thing for Daniel to be faithful to God as an individual. However - with foreign kings sitting on the throne over God’s people and with the serpent sitting on the spiritual throne in the hearts of God’s people - it would be another thing entirely for God’s people to collectively return to God’s righteous ways and watch as God reestablishes His rule once and for all. 

A core feature of the book of Daniel is the “unveiling’ (or apokalypsis in the Greek) of God’s plan to destroy His enemies and establish His rule over His kingdom people. Similar to Joseph in the book of Genesis, God works through Daniel by giving him the ability to interpret the dreams and visions of the governing authorities. All of these particular visions had to do with the fate of their earthly kingdoms. In these visions, pay close attention to the hope and security found in YHWH’s rule over all the kingdoms of the earth no matter who is in charge. Then, pay attention to why Nebuchadnezzer is restored but Belshazzar’s is destroyed.

King Nebuchadnezzer and the statue fo Gold, Iron, Bronze, and Clay

 “You saw, O king, and behold, a great image. This image, mighty and of exceeding brightness, stood before you, and its appearance was frightening. The head of this image was of fine gold, its chest and arms of silver, its middle and thighs of bronze,  its legs of iron, its feet partly of iron and partly of clay. As you looked, a stone was cut out by no human hand, and it struck the image on its feet of iron and clay, and broke them in pieces. Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver, and the gold, all together were broken in pieces, and became like the chaff of the summer threshing floors; and the wind carried them away, so that not a trace of them could be found. But the stone that struck the image became a great mountain and filled the whole earth. 

And in the days of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that shall never be destroyed, nor shall the kingdom be left to another people. It shall break in pieces all these kingdoms and bring them to an end, and it shall stand forever, just as you saw that a stone was cut from a mountain by no human hand, and that it broke in pieces the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver, and the gold. - Daniel 2:31–35, 44-45 

King Nebuchadnezzer and the Mighty Tree

It is you, O king, who have grown and become strong. Your greatness has grown and reaches to heaven, and your dominion to the ends of the earth. And because the king saw a watcher, a holy one, coming down from heaven and saying, ‘Chop down the tree and destroy it, but leave the stump of its roots in the earth, bound with a band of iron and bronze, in the tender grass of the field, and let him be wet with the dew of heaven, and let his portion be with the beasts of the field, till seven periods of time pass over him,’  this is the interpretation, O king: It is a decree of the Most High, which has come upon my lord the king,  that you shall be driven from among men, and your dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field. You shall be made to eat grass like an ox, and you shall be wet with the dew of heaven, and seven periods of time shall pass over you, till you know that the Most High rules the kingdom of men and gives it to whom he will. And as it was commanded to leave the stump of the roots of the tree, your kingdom shall be confirmed for you from the time that you know that Heaven rules. Therefore, O king, let my counsel be acceptable to you: break off your sins by practicing righteousness, and your iniquities by showing mercy to the oppressed, that there may perhaps be a lengthening of your prosperity.” 

Immediately the word was fulfilled against Nebuchadnezzar. He was driven from among men and ate grass like an ox, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven till his hair grew as long as eagles’ feathers, and his nails were like birds’ claws.  At the end of the days I, Nebuchadnezzar, lifted my eyes to heaven, and my reason returned to me, and 

I blessed the Most High, and praised and honored him who lives forever, for his dominion is an everlasting dominion,and his kingdom endures from generation to generation; all the inhabitants of the earth are accounted as nothing, and he does according to his will among the host of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth; and none can stay his hand or say to him, “What have you done?” 

At the same time my reason returned to me, and for the glory of my kingdom, my majesty and splendor returned to me. My counselors and my lords sought me, and I was established in my kingdom, and still more greatness was added to me. Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and extol and honor the King of heaven, for all his works are right and his ways are just; and those who walk in pride he is able to humble.  - Daniel 4:22–27, 33-37

King Belshazzar and the Mysterious Hand Writings

And you his son, Belshazzar, have not humbled your heart, though you knew all this,  but you have lifted up yourself against the Lord of heaven. And the vessels of his house have been brought in before you, and you and your lords, your wives, and your concubines have drunk wine from them. And you have praised the gods of silver and gold, of bronze, iron, wood, and stone, which do not see or hear or know, but the God in whose hand is your breath, and whose are all your ways, you have not honored. 

Then from his presence the hand was sent, and this writing was inscribed. And this is the writing that was inscribed: Mene, Mene, Tekel, and Parsin. This is the interpretation of the matter: Mene, God has numbered the days of your kingdom and brought it to an end; Tekel, you have been weighed in the balances and found wanting;  Peres, your kingdom is divided and given to the Medes and Persians.” 

That very night Belshazzar the Chaldean king was killed. And Darius the Mede received the kingdom, being about sixty-two years old. - Daniel 5:22–28, 30-31

Nebuchadnezzer received restoration for acknowledging YHWH’s rule while Belshazzar was destroyed for not turning from his wicked ways. Yet while it may be nice to see foreign kings come to a place of repentance, our kingdom journey has been priming us to look for that one King who would remain entirely faithful to YHWH and crush the serpent…ENTER DANIEL 7!

In Daniel’s first apocalyptic vision, Daniel sees 4 “animalistic” kingdoms rise to power. He is then transported to a scene in which he sees God Himself as “the Ancient of Days” take his seat before a series of thrones ready to judge all people. Here, Daniel sees a vision “one like a son of man” standing before the Ancient of Days (without being utterly destroyed) and being given all power and dominion to rule over all things on behalf of the Ancient of Days!

Could this son of man finally be the serpent-crusher and rule on God’s behalf? 

I saw in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven there came one like a son of man, and he came to the Ancient of Days and was presented before him. And to him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him; his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom one that shall not be destroyed. 

‘These four great beasts are four kings who shall arise out of the earth. But the saints of the Most High shall receive the kingdom and possess the kingdom forever, forever and ever.’

And the kingdom and the dominion and the greatness of the kingdoms under the whole heaven shall be given to the people of the saints of the Most High; his kingdom shall be an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey him. - Daniel 7:13-14, 17-18, 27 

DANIEL - GOD’S KINGDOM PLACE

The final chapters of Daniel offer two more apocalyptic visions about things that are yet to come. Counting from his first vision in Daniel 7, the second of Daniel’s mysterious visions imagines the history of the Persian empire that would overtake Babylonians, the Greek empire and the great horn of Alexander the Great that  would overtake Persia, and the Syrian empire that would be an offshoot of the Greek empire and would boast Antiochus Epiphanes IV. In the 2nd century B.C., Antiochus Epiphanes IV utterly destroyed Jerusalem, intentionally sacrificed impure animals on the altar of the second temple, and made human sacrifices to the newly erected a statue of Olympus in the middle of the temple (Daniel 8). 

The third and final vision that Daniel receives adds a supernatural element to these upcoming historical conflicts by revealing the archangel Michael who defends God’s people against the powers of darkness animating the nations. What follows is an extraordinarily detailed vision from the perspective of “the glorious land (v. 16)” and adds incredible detail to the political maneuvers that take place within the rise and fall of Persia and Greece. Then, we read about these back-and-forth maneuvers involving the kings of the north against the kings of the south, explaining the precise political turmoil that would take place between the Seleucid empire in Syria in the north and the Ptolemy empire of Egypt in the south.

Near the end of this vision, Daniel sees a great king who rises to prominence completely independent of and in direct opposition to God and his righteousness. Regardless of whether the true identity of this powerful King of the North is the Roman Emperor or the Antichrist in Revelation, the reader of Daniel is left with an “unveiled’ vision of hope until the time of the end when God’s people would return to the glorious land!

“And the king shall do as he wills. He shall exalt himself and magnify himself above every god, and shall speak astonishing things against the God of gods. He shall prosper till the indignation is accomplished; for what is decreed shall be done. He shall pay no attention to the gods of his fathers, or to the one beloved by women. He shall not pay attention to any other god, for he shall magnify himself above all.  He shall honor the god of fortresses instead of these. A god whom his fathers did not know he shall honor with gold and silver, with precious stones and costly gifts.  He shall deal with the strongest fortresses with the help of a foreign god. Those who acknowledge him he shall load with honor. He shall make them rulers over many and shall divide the land for a price. - Daniel 11:36–39 

“At that time shall arise Michael, the great prince who has charge of your people. And there shall be a time of trouble, such as never has been since there was a nation till that time. But at that time your people shall be delivered, everyone whose name shall be found written in the book. And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt. 3 And those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the sky above; and those who turn many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever. But you, Daniel, shut up the words and seal the book, until the time of the end. Many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall increase.” - Daniel 12:1–4 

GOD’S RESPONSE: THE GOSPEL OF THE KINGDOM

While these jaw-dropping acts of God and these visions gave hope to the kingdom people, it still doesn’t change the fact that they remained in exile. When would this story of desolation and sin ever stop? In one of the most poignant scenes in the entire Hebrew Bible, God’s faithful servant in exile takes it upon himself to pray for the unfaithfulness of the entire nation. After realizing that the 70 year prophecy of Jeremiah was almost completed, Daniel prays and takes the responsibility of the nation's sin upon himself in the hope that the Lord would keep His kingdom promises that He has made up to this point. 

So I turned to the Lord God and pleaded with him in prayer and petition, in fasting, and in sackcloth and ashes. I prayed to the Lord my God and confessed: “Lord, the great and awesome God, who keeps his covenant of love with those who love him and keep his commandments, we have sinned and done wrong. We have been wicked and have rebelled; we have turned away from your commands and laws.”

O Lord, according to all your righteous acts, let your anger and your wrath turn away from your city Jerusalem, your holy hill, because for our sins, and for the iniquities of our fathers, Jerusalem and your people have become a byword among all who are around us. Now therefore, O our God, listen to the prayer of your servant and to his pleas for mercy, and for your own sake, O Lord, make your face to shine upon your sanctuary, which is desolate. O my God, incline your ear and hear. Open your eyes and see our desolations, and the city that is called by your name. For we do not present our pleas before you because of our righteousness, but because of your great mercy. O Lord, hear; O Lord, forgive. O Lord, pay attention and act. Delay not, for your own sake, O my God, because your city and your people are called by your name.” - Daniel 9:3-5, 16-19

Daniel knew that God’s people were in need of a divine act to rescue them from their circumstances. It would take a miracle for the promised King to deliver God’s people from the kingdom of sin and bring them back into God’s glorious land under God’s rule. In response to Daniel’s plea for God to move, the archangel Gabriel appears swiftly to Daniel and offers an apocalyptic timeline of God’s plan revolving around 70 weeks. Time to pull out the calculators!

Daniel  9:24–27

“Seventy weeks are decreed about your people and your holy city, to finish the transgression, to put an end to sin, and to atone for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal both vision and prophet, and to anoint a most holy place. 

  • Hebrew translation is literally “70 7’s” or 70 sets of 7 weeks

    • 70 x 7 = 490

  • Estimated by scholars to be a reference to 490 years

Know therefore and understand that from the going out of the word to restore and build Jerusalem to the coming of an anointed one, a prince, there shall be seven weeks.

  • According to Nehemiah 2, the decree of King Artaxerxes specifically commissions Israelites  to rebuild Jerusalem in 445 B.C.

    • 7 weeks = “7 7’s” or 7 sets of 7 = 49 years

    • Ancient Hebrew 360 day calendar → 49 years x 360 days = 17,640 days

    • 17,640 days = 48 years and 120 days according to our modern calendar

    • 445 B.C. - 48 years and 120 days = 396 B.C.

  • The first 7 weeks signals the rebuilding of ALL Jerusalem which finished c. 396

Then for sixty-two weeks it shall be built again with squares and moat, but in a troubled time. And after the sixty-two weeks, an anointed one shall be cut off and shall have nothing.

  • According to Nehemiah 2, the decree of King Artaxerxes specifically commissions Israelites  to rebuild Jerusalem in 445 B.C.

    • 7 weeks = 49 years (see above)

    • 62 weeks = “62 7’s” or 62 sets of 7 = 434 years 

      • 49 years + 434 years = 483 years

    • Ancient 360 day calendar → 483 years x 360 days = 173,880 days

    • 173,800 days = 476 years 25 days according to our modern calendar

    • 445 B.C. - 476 years and 25 days = 33 A.D.

  • An anointed one “shall be cut off and shall have nothing” in 33 A.D. 

And the people of the prince who is to come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary. Its end shall come with a flood, and to the end there shall be war. Desolations are decreed. 

  • Possible allusion to the destruction of the temple and Jerusalem in 70 A.D.

  • Possible allusion to the prophetic time clock going “to the end”.

    • Thus far 69 of the 70 sets of 7’s have taken place. 1 final set of 7 remains

    • War and Desolations are decreed until “the end”...but when is the end?

And he shall make a strong covenant with many for one week, and for half of the week he shall put an end to sacrifice and offering. And on the wing of abominations shall come one who makes desolate, until the decreed end is poured out on the desolator.”

  • At “the end” Daniel has a vision of the final “week” of 7 years. This final week likely explains the end time period of “tribulation” (see Matthew 25; Revelation)

    • This “tribulation” will feature the 7 year presence of “the prince” who will end sacrifice and offering. 

    • In the middle of the tribulation (3.5 years), the abomination of desolation will come much like Antiochus IV profaned Jerusalem and the temple.

    • The end of the tribulation will result in final judgment on the desolator. 

Share the Gospel: How does one sing the Lord’s song in a foreign place? Are God’s kingdom promises that were made through the prophets and envisioned in the writings going to come true? Daniel knew that God’s people were in need of a divine act to rescue them from their circumstances. It would take a miracle for the promised King to deliver God’s people from the kingdom of sin and bring them back into God’s glorious land under God’s rule. 

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2. The Writings (Megillot)

Week 7 • Day 2

Week 7 • Day 2

The 2nd set of writings is called the Megillot (“scrolls” in Hebrew). This collection of seemingly miscellaneous writings were compiled together because they are sung during festivals in the Jewish calendar. While the order of thi collection is debated, each entry carries the kingdom narrative forward in unique ways!

SONG OF SONGS (Sabbath of Passover + Passover Meal)

Whether it’s the harlotry imagery of Ezekiel, the marriage of the prophet Hosea to Gomer the prostitute, or the contrasting nature of Lady Wisdom and the Adulteress women in Proverbs, there is no shortage of language that compares God’s covenant hesed love for His people to a husband-and-wife marriage relationship that was never meant to be torn apart – imagery established all the way back in Genesis 2! Given this context, the passionate language of Song of Songs written in the wisdom tradition of King Solomon - who himself succumbed to lust and was led astray by the gods of his foreign wives - fits into the kingdom narrative as a window into the deep covenantal affection between God and His people! After God’s people have abandoned His rule and are now outside of the Kingdom place, we await to see if the Lord will pursue His covenant partner. We are invited to watch as these lover’s pursue each other through various “phases”

Dating / Engaged Phase

On my bed by night I sought him whom my soul loves; I sought him, but found him not. I will rise now and go about the city, in the streets and in the squares; I will seek him whom my soul loves. I sought him, but found him not. The watchmen found me as they went about in the city. “Have you seen him whom my soul loves?” 

Scarcely had I passed them when I found him whom my soul loves. I held him, and would not let him go until I had brought him into my mother’s house, and into the chamber of her who conceived me. I adjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem, by the gazelles or the does of the field, that you not stir up or awaken love until it pleases. - Song of Songs  3:1–5 

Marriage / Consummation Phase

You have captivated my heart, my sister, my bride; you have captivated my heart with one glance of your eyes, with one jewel of your necklace. How beautiful is your love, my sister, my bride! How much better is your love than wine, and the fragrance of your oils than any spice! - Song of Songs 4:9–10

Let my beloved come to his garden, and eat its choicest fruits. I came to my garden, my sister, my bride, I gathered my myrrh with my spice, I ate my honeycomb with my honey, I drank my wine with my milk. - Song of Songs 4:16–5:1

“Trouble in Paradise” Phase

I slept, but my heart was awake. A sound! My beloved is knocking. “Open to me, my sister, my love, my dove, my perfect one, for my head is wet with dew, my locks with the drops of the night.” I had put off my garment; how could I put it on? I had bathed my feet; how could I soil them? My beloved put his hand to the latch, and my heart was thrilled within me. I arose to open to my beloved, and my hands dripped with myrrh, my fingers with liquid myrrh, on the handles of the bolt. I opened to my beloved, but my beloved had turned and gone. My soul failed me when he spoke. I sought him, but found him not; I called him, but he gave no answer. The watchmen found me as they went about in the city; they beat me, they bruised me, they took away my veil, those watchmen of the walls. I adjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem, if you find my beloved, that you tell him I am sick with love. - Song of Songs 5:2–6

Set me as a seal upon your heart, as a seal upon your arm, for love is strong as death, jealousy is fierce as the grave. Its flashes are flashes of fire, the very flame of the Lord. Many waters cannot quench love, neither can floods drown it. If a man offered for love all the wealth of his house, he would be utterly despised. - Song of Songs 5:2–6

Mentoring / Learning Afresh Phase

We have a little sister, and she has no breasts. What shall we do for our sister on the day when she is spoken for? If she is a wall, we will build on her a battlement of silver, but if she is a door, we will enclose her with boards of cedar. I was a wall, and my breasts were like towers; then I was in his eyes as one who finds peace. - Song of Songs 8:8–9.

O you who dwell in the gardens, with companions listening for your voice; let me hear it. Make haste, my beloved, and be like a gazelle or a young stag on the mountains of spices. - Song of Songs 8:13–14 

RUTH (Feast of Weeks)

Ruth steps onto the scene of the Hebrew Bible as a foreign woman from the country of Moab, Israel’s historic enemy. In the opening scene of the book, Ruth tragically loses her husband but decides to remain faithful to her Jewish mother-in-law along with her God.

Naomi said, “Turn back, my daughters; why will you go with me? Have I yet sons in my womb that they may become your husbands? Turn back, my daughters; go your way, for I am too old to have a husband. If I should say I have hope, even if I should have a husband this night and should bear sons,  would you therefore wait till they were grown? Would you therefore refrain from marrying? No, my daughters, for it is exceedingly bitter to me for your sake that the hand of the Lord has gone out against me.”  Then they lifted up their voices and wept again. And Orpah kissed her mother-in-law, but Ruth clung to her. - Ruth 1:11-14

Through amazing circumstances, Ruth and Naomi coincidentally stumble upon a family redeemer in Boaz who is able to become their caretaker and marry Ruth. Because of her faithfulness, Ruth, a foreigner and a sufferer, would forever be cemented in the story of God’s kingdom! Look at the lineage of Ruth’s son…

So Boaz took Ruth, and she became his wife. And he went in to her, and the Lord gave her conception, and she bore a son.  Then the women said to Naomi, “Blessed be the Lord, who has not left you this day without a redeemer, and may his name be renowned in Israel! He shall be to you a restorer of life and a nourisher of your old age, for your daughter-in-law who loves you, who is more to you than seven sons, has given birth to him.” Then Naomi took the child and laid him on her lap and became his nurse. And the women of the neighborhood gave him a name, saying, “A son has been born to Naomi.” They named him Obed. He was the father of Jesse, the father of David. - Ruth 4:13-17 

You may have gotten to the book of Judges and expected Ruth to come next. According to the very first verse, this placement makes complete sense. In the days when the judges ruled… - (Ruth 1:1A) In the midst of Israel’s complete rebellion against God’s rule during the time of the judges, God decides to work through one of his faithful foreign people who experiences a story of restoration and enters into God’s kingdom narrative by becoming the great grandmother of king David! It follows, then, that Ruth traditionally acts as the precursor story to the books of Samuel and Kings which document the life of King David!

However, the ancient Hebrews compilers decided to place the story of Ruth much later in the writings. Why? In the same way the Psalms “call-back” to the great king David, we are called to remember that it was the faith of a foreign Moabite woman that brought about the Davidic line. This would have been an incredible encouragement to the exiles existing in a foreign place; that God can still work through His people no matter where they find themselves. Additionally, with Lady Wisdom and the Wise Godly-Wife of Proverbs fresh in our mind, it makes complete sense to immediately meet Ruth. This Hebrew Bible placement as well as some key words that link together makes Ruth the “worthy” and “excellent” personification of Lady Wisdom and the Proverbs 31 woman! 

 

LAMENTATIONS (Destruction of Temple)

Jeremiah’s lamentations are sung to remember the sack of God’s kingdom place by the Babylonians (and eventually the Romans in the 1st century). Jeremiah continues the hesed love imagery by comparing the fallen city to a widow. 

How lonely sits the city that was full of people! How like a widow has she become, she who was great among the nations! Her foes have become the head; her enemies prosper, because the Lord has afflicted her for the multitude of her transgressions; her children have gone away, captives before the foe. - Lamentations 1:1, 5

Her uncleanness was in her skirts; he took no thought of her future; therefore her fall is terrible; she has no comforter. “O Lord, behold my affliction, for the enemy has triumphed!” - Lamentations 1:9 

They heard my groaning, yet there is no one to comfort me. All my enemies have heard of my trouble; they are glad that you have done it. You have brought the day you announced; now let them be as I am. “Let all their evildoing come before you, and deal with them as you have dealt with me because of all my transgressions; for my groans are many, and my heart is faint.” - Lamentations 1:21–22

As we reminisce on Israel’s lowest moment, we are called to be confident in the God of the Israelites because YHWH is the God whose “lovingkindness indeed never ceases” and whose “mercy never comes to an end”. Jeremiah reflects on this hope and says that because God has revealed Himself to be slow to anger and abounding in lovingkindness, it is good for man to be patient and faithfully wait upon Him rather than, “offer complaint in view of his sins”. 

But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope: The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. “The Lord is my portion,” says my soul, “therefore I will hope in him.” - Lamentations 3:21-24 

The Lord is good to those who wait for him, to the soul who seeks him. It is good that one should wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord. It is good for a man that he bear the yoke in his youth. - Lamentations 3:25–27 

Instead, Jeremiah advises that any horrific loss ought to cause God’s people to patiently reexamine themselves and look for God’s powerful rule over the situation. 

Let us test and examine our ways, and return to the Lord! Let us lift up our hearts and hands to God in heaven: “We have transgressed and rebelled, and you have not forgiven. - Lamentations 3:40–42 

The hands of compassionate women have boiled their own children; they became their food during the destruction of the daughter of my people. - Lamentations 4:10

This was for the sins of her prophets and the iniquities of her priests, who shed in the midst of her the blood of the righteous. - Lamentations 4:13 

Jeremiah concludes his lamentations by offering his broken and contrite heart to the Lord, not necessarily having all the answers to his questions, but coming out of his lamentations hopeful of God’s hesed lovingkindness. That is why Jeremiah pronounces a prophecy in favor of YHWH’s kingdom place in Zion and against the serpent’s kingdom place in Edom. Even though the events of Israel’s exile are tragic, the events of tomorrow are favorable. 

The punishment of your iniquity, O daughter of Zion, is accomplished; he will keep you in exile no longer; but your iniquity, O daughter of Edom, he will punish; he will uncover your sins. - Lamentations 4:22

But you, O Lord, reign forever; your throne endures to all generations. Why do you forget us forever, why do you forsake us for so many days? Restore us to yourself, O Lord, that we may be restored! Renew our days as of old— unless you have utterly rejected us, and you remain exceedingly angry with us. - Lamentations 5:19–22

ECCLESIASTES (Feast of Booths)

The words of the Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem. Vanity of vanities, says the Preacher, vanity of vanities! All is vanity. 

I, the Preacher, have been king over Israel in Jerusalem. And I applied my heart to seek and to search out by wisdom all that is done under heaven. It is an unhappy business that God has given to the children of man to be busy with.  I have seen everything that is done under the sun, and behold, all is vanity and a striving after wind. - Ecclesiastes 1:1–2, 12-14

The writings place Ecclesiastes within arms reach of Job and Proverbs as a skeptical book about the “meaninglessness” of all things under the sun - a sentiment that must have been strong amidst the Israelites in exile. In the book of Solomon’s Proverbs, we are presented with nuggets of wisdom that lean toward a “cause-and-effect” relationship in the world. If you sow good actions, you will reap good results. The skeptic of Ecclesiastes, however, begs to differ. Ecclesiastes resents a skeptical teacher who observes the randomness of the world and wonders if the Proverbial cause-and-effect conclusion is actually true or if everything is simply meaningless? 

I said in my heart, “I have acquired great wisdom…I said in my heart, “Come now, I will test you with pleasure; enjoy yourself… I searched with my heart how to cheer my body with wine…I made great works. I built houses and planted vineyards for myself. I made myself gardens and parks, and planted in them all kinds of fruit trees.  I made myself pools from which to water the forest of growing trees. I bought male and female slaves, and had slaves who were born in my house. I had also great possessions of herds and flocks, more than any who had been before me in Jerusalem. I also gathered for myself silver and gold and the treasure of kings and provinces. I got singers, both men and women, and many concubines, the delight of the sons of man. 

So I became great and surpassed all who were before me in Jerusalem…Then I considered all that my hands had done and the toil I had expended in doing it, and behold, all was vanity and a striving after wind, and there was nothing to be gained under the sun. - Ecclesiastes 1:16 - 2:11

There is a vanity that takes place on earth, that there are righteous people to whom it happens according to the deeds of the wicked, and there are wicked people to whom it happens according to the deeds of the righteous. I said that this also is vanity. - Ecclesiastes 8:14-17

​​How cynical must God’s people have been to see YHWH hand them over to exile! The teacher uses this same cynical lens to make his own observations about the world. For example, since the teacher believes that God appointed timing cannot be thwarted (Eccl. 3:1-11), he exposes the need to concern over toilsome labor. 

 What gain has the worker from his toil? I have seen the business that God has given to the children of man to be busy with.  He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also, he has put eternity into man’s heart, yet so that he cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end. I perceived that there is nothing better for them than to be joyful and to do good as long as they live;  also that everyone should eat and drink and take pleasure in all his toil—this is God’s gift to man. - Ecclesiastes 3:9–13 

In the same way, the teacher exposes evildoers in political positions who are supposed to bring about justice, acts of oppression from authorities, rivalries and endless work created by those who labor, loneliness in day-to-day life, and poor wise men replacing old foolish kings in positions of leadership. At this point, one might expect the teacher to abandon any notion of God. However, in a weird way the skeptical teacher concludes that the randomness and meaninglessness of life actually should motivate us to fear the God who rules over everything.

Guard your steps when you go to the house of God. To draw near to listen is better than to offer the sacrifice of fools, for they do not know that they are doing evil. Be not rash with your mouth, nor let your heart be hasty to utter a word before God, for God is in heaven and you are on earth. Therefore let your words be few. - Ecclesiastes 5:1–2 

Considering the meaninglessness of everything under the sun, the teacher confirms a particular finding that is scattered throughout his work: that man should gladly eat, drink, and rejoice in one’s activities as a gift from God.

There is nothing better for a person than that he should eat and drink and find enjoyment in his toil. This also, I saw, is from the hand of God, for apart from him who can eat or who can have enjoyment? - Ecclesiastes 5:1–2 

I perceived that there is nothing better for them than to be joyful and to do good as long as they live;  also that everyone should eat and drink and take pleasure in all his toil—this is God’s gift to man….So I saw that there is nothing better than that a man should rejoice in his work, for that is his lot. Who can bring him to see what will be after him? - Ecclesiastes 3:12–13, 22

Behold, what I have seen to be good and fitting is to eat and drink and find enjoyment in all the toil with which one toils under the sun the few days of his life that God has given him, for this is his lot. Everyone also to whom God has given wealth and possessions and power to enjoy them, and to accept his lot and rejoice in his toil—this is the gift of God. For he will not much remember the days of his life because God keeps him occupied with joy in his heart. - Ecclesiastes 5:18–20

Go, eat your bread with joy, and drink your wine with a merry heart, for God has already approved what you do.  Let your garments be always white. Let not oil be lacking on your head.  Enjoy life with the wife whom you love, all the days of your vain life that he has given you under the sun, because that is your portion in life and in your toil at which you toil under the sun. Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might, for there is no work or thought or knowledge or wisdom in Sheol, to which you are going. - Ecclesiastes 9:7–10

It may have been impossible to figure out God’s reasoning behind the exile. In a similar stream of thought, the narrator of the book steps in and offer this warning about pursuing a life of all-knowing - a life in which we take the throne of our own kingdom. Instead, he encourages us to fear God on his throne and follow his rule that tells us what is “good” and what is “evil”.

Besides being wise, the Preacher also taught the people knowledge, weighing and studying and arranging many proverbs with great care. The Preacher sought to find words of delight, and uprightly he wrote words of truth.  The words of the wise are like goads, and like nails firmly fixed are the collected sayings; they are given by one Shepherd. My son, beware of anything beyond these. Of making many books there is no end, and much study is a weariness of the flesh. 

The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man.  For God will bring every deed into judgment, with every secret thing, whether good or evil. - Ecclesiastes 12:9–14

ESTHER (Purim)

Esther, which is a book that is notoriously written 100 years after the Babylonian exile and famously never mentions the name of God, is full of so-called coincidences! Even though the family of God may have forgotten how to acknowledge Him, He continues to orchestrate all things for His people!

In the kingdom of Persia around 480 B.C., a young Jewish woman named Esther wins the affection of King Ahasuerus and becomes queen in a foreign land. It just so happens that her cousin Mordecai, son of Kish from the tribe of Benajamin (the exact same lineage as king Saul) uncovers a plot to assassinate the king putting him in good favor with the king. This is important because later, Mordecai is persecuted by the king’s assistant named Haman who rolls a dice (pur in Hebrew) to decide the day of destruction for Mordecai and his Jewish people.

It just so happens that the King has a dream and remembers Mordecai’s kind act and intends to honor him instead of Haman. It just so happens that Esther exposes Haman’s plot to the king leading to Haman’s destruction. And it just so happens that the day of the purim becomes the day where the Jews are saved and restored!

Then Mordecai told them to reply to Esther, “Do not think to yourself that in the king’s palace you will escape any more than all the other Jews.  For if you keep silent at this time, relief and deliverance will rise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father’s house will perish. And who knows whether you have not come to the kingdom for such a time as this?” Then Esther told them to reply to Mordecai,  “Go, gather all the Jews to be found in Susa, and hold a fast on my behalf, and do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. I and my young women will also fast as you do. Then I will go to the king, though it is against the law, and if I perish, I perish.” - Esther 4:13-16 

Why does God allow His people to suffer? Is there still hope for God’s people in exile? Or is it all just meaningless? The Hebrew collection of writings in the emet and the megillot suggest that no matter where God’s faithful people find themselves, they can rest in the fact that God sovereignly rules over all things. YHWH will lovingly pursue His lost people like a husband pursues his wife, even if it does look like terror is falling upon the righteous and the wicked alike. The writings challenged the Jews to remember what it was like in God’s kingdom place so that they could fear Yahweh as king instead of the chaotic circumstances of foreign kingdoms! The path forward is to align our delegated rule with God’s kingdom with the utmost reverence, respect, and fear for His supreme authority as the God above the entire universe! And if that means we perish, then we perish. 

Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom, and to turn away from evil is understanding. - Job 28:28

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction. - Proverbs 1:7 

The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. For God will bring every deed into judgment, with every secret thing, whether good or evil. - Ecclesiastes 12:13-14 

God continues to mercifully orchestrate things for His good and glorious will! The writings gave Israel, and continues to give us today, hope of a rescue from exile, where God’s rule will be reestablished over His restored people once more, and where God will return us to His kingdom place!

The Lord reigns; let the peoples tremble! He sits enthroned upon the cherubim; let the earth quake! The Lord is great in Zion; he is exalted over all the peoples. Let them praise your great and awesome name! Holy is he! The King in his might loves justice. You have established equity; you have executed justice and righteousness in Jacob. Exalt the Lord our God; worship at his footstool! Holy is he! - Psalms 99:1-5

Share the Gospel: The Hebrew collection of writings in the emet and the megillot suggest that no matter where God’s faithful people find themselves, they can rest in the fact that God sovereignly rules over all things. YHWH is lovingly pursuing His lost people like a husband pursues his wife, even if it does look like terror is falling upon the righteous and the wicked alike. The writings challenged the Jews to remember what it was like in God’s kingdom place so that they could fear Yahweh as king instead of the chaotic circumstances of foreign kingdoms!

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1. The Writings (Emet)

Week 7 • Day 1

Week 7 • Day 1

At first glance, you may think that the Bible’s collection of writings deviates from the kingdom story we have been following. Perhaps you have come across books like the Psalms, the wisdom books (Proverbs, Job, and Ecclesiastes), or some of the other writings in a devotional setting and thought of them as nothing more than “nuggets” of wisdom that the Bible has to offer. While this may be true, this week we will see how the writings play a HUGE role in escalating the tensions of the kingdom narrative. Recall that up to this point, the northern kingdom of Israel and the southern kingdom of Judah remain in exile. The writings of the Hebrew Bible are strategically placed right after the prophets to act as a type of “call-back” for God’s people to remember what the kingdom of God was like at its peak.

By reminiscing on the golden ages of Israel, the Writings allow us to grow an even deeper anticipation of the gospel of the kingdom and the serpent crusher!

After completing the Law and Prophets, we have been prepared to look for… 

  1. …the reestablishment of God’s kingdom rule through the Good Shepherd, the Suffering Servant of God, and the King from the line of David who would govern with the scepter of righteousness and justice. 

  2. …the return of God’s kingdom place in which God’s temple would be restored and God’s blessings would richly flow out of Israel to all the surrounding nations.

  3. …the rescue of God’s kingdom people from the serpent and their restored delegated rule through a new covenant and a new heart that is wiped clean of all sin and is able to trust in YHWH.

With our kingdom lenses on, we invite you to reminisce on the kingdom in the first collection of writings called the emet (truth in Hebrew). 

PSALMS - REMEMBERING GOD’S RULE

If you have been growing desperate for the David-like messiah, the Psalms is your first “call-back” to remember the shepherd-turned-ruler that “was after God’s own heart”. The Psalter attributes 75 Psalms directly to king David reminding us of the heart of God’s first chosen and anointed suffering servant. By reminiscing on the Psalms, God’s people are invited to anticipate the coming David-like Messiah who would be as steady as a tree planted by streams of water, whose delight would be in the law of the Lord, and who would be like a son to God.

Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers. - Psalm 1:1-3

Now therefore, O kings, be wise; be warned, O rulers of the earth. Serve the Lord with fear, and rejoice with trembling. Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and you perish in the way, for his wrath is quickly kindled. Blessed are all who take refuge in him. - Psalm 2:10-12 

Did you know the entire Psalter is strategically broken up into 5 books? If you follow the overall trajectory of books 1-5, your reminiscing begins to turn to anticipation of (1) the restoration of God’s kingdom rule through the Good Shepherd, the Suffering Servant of God, and the King from the line of David who would govern with the scepter of righteousness and justice.

Book 1 offers insight into David’s shepherd heart as ruler over God’s people. At the same time, we are reminded that David is the prototypical suffering servant.

How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me? How long must I take counsel in my soul and have sorrow in my heart all the day? How long shall my enemy be exalted over me? Consider and answer me, O Lord my God; light up my eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death, lest my enemy say, “I have prevailed over him,” lest my foes rejoice because I am shaken. But I have trusted in your steadfast love; my heart shall rejoice in your salvation. I will sing to the Lord, because he has dealt bountifully with me. - Psalm 13 

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever. - Psalm 23 

Book 2 and Book 3 introduces us to the sons of Korah (12 Psalms) and the family of Asaph (12 Psalms). The sons of Korah come from the line of rebels who were swallowed up by the earth (see Numbers 16) while the Psalms of Asaph broadly revolve around God’s  judgment against the enemies of His kingdom. This section shows that the serpent has had his fangs deeply embedded into the hearts of all people, including these two temple-working families and even David himself.

A PSALM OF DAVID, WHEN NATHAN THE PROPHET WENT TO HIM, AFTER HE HAD GONE IN TO BATHSHEBA - Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love; according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin! For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me. Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight, so that you may be justified in your words and blameless in your judgment. Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me. Behold, you delight in truth in the inward being, and you teach me wisdom in the secret heart. - Psalm 51:1-2

The bookends make it clear that the compilers of the Psalms were looking for this messiah! The only Psalm attributed to Solomon (1 Psalm) alludes to this future King while Ethan the Ezrahite (1 Psalm) also looks for deliverance from this Davidic heir.

End of Book 2:

Give the king your justice, O God, and your righteousness to the royal son! May he judge your people with righteousness, and your poor with justice! Let the mountains bear prosperity for the people, and the hills, in righteousness! May he defend the cause of the poor of the people, give deliverance to the children of the needy, and crush the oppressor! - Psalm 72:1–4 [Of Solomon] 

End of Book 3: 

Lord, where is your steadfast love of old, which by your faithfulness you swore to David? Remember, O Lord, how your servants are mocked, and how I bear in my heart the insults of all the many nations, with which your enemies mock, O Lord, with which they mock the footsteps of your anointed. -  Psalm 89:49–51 [A Maskil of Ethan the Ezrahite] 

As our anticipation hits its peak, Book 4 opens with a Psalm from Moses (1 Psalm)! We have scoured the entire Torah and the Prophets for the greater Moses-like prophet who would bring the gospel of the kingdom. Now, the Psalms calls us to reminisce on the golden calf incident in which Moses lays down his life so the Lord might “return” from his anger. This is how the greater Moses messiah would act! 

Beginning of Book 4:

Return, O Lord! How long? Have pity on your servants! Satisfy us in the morning with your steadfast love, that we may rejoice and be glad all our days. Make us glad for as many days as you have afflicted us, and for as many years as we have seen evil. Let your work be shown to your servants, and your glorious power to their children. Let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us, and establish the work of our hands upon us; yes, establish the work of our hands! - Psalm 90:13–17 [A Prayer of Moses, the man of God] 

This is a CRUCIAL hinge point in the Psalms. We are left to anticipate a Good Shepherd who, like Moses, would rescue God’s people from the foreign serpent and return His them to the promised kingdom place. We are left to anticipate a Suffering Servant who, like Moses, is willing to offer himself as a substitutionary sacrifice for the sins of God’s delegated rulers (Ex. 32:32). From this Moses-moment of intercession, the tone of the book turns into joy that God still rules over all things!

The Lord reigns; he is robed in majesty; the Lord is robed; he has put on strength as his belt. Yes, the world is established; it shall never be moved. Your throne is established from of old; you are from everlasting. - Psalm 93:1–2

Book 5 points to this “Lord” of David who would delight in the law of the Lord and rule perfectly in line with God’s rule of what is “good” and what is “evil”. 

The Lord says to my Lord: “Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool.” The Lord sends forth from Zion your mighty scepter. Rule in the midst of your enemies! Your people will offer themselves freely on the day of your power, in holy garments; from the womb of the morning, the dew of your youth will be yours. The Lord has sworn and will not change his mind, “You are a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.” The Lord is at your right hand; he will shatter kings on the day of his wrath. He will execute judgment among the nations, filling them with corpses; he will shatter chiefs over the wide earth. He will drink from the brook by the way; therefore he will lift up his head. - Psalm 110:1–7 [A Psalm of David]

Blessed are those whose way is blameless, who walk in the law of the Lord! Blessed are those who keep his testimonies, who seek him with their whole heart, who also do no wrong, but walk in his ways! You have commanded your precepts to be kept diligently. Oh that my ways may be steadfast in keeping your statutes! Then I shall not be put to shame, having my eyes fixed on all your commandments. I will praise you with an upright heart, when I learn your righteous rules. I will keep your statutes; do not utterly forsake me! - Psalm 119:1-8

The Conclusion ends with everything praising the Lord for the “horn” of victory that has been raised for His people. We leave the Psalms desperately waiting for this “horn” to be raised in victory over the kingdom of the serpent! 

Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord from the heavens; praise him in the heights! Praise him, all his angels; praise him, all his hosts! Praise him, sun and moon, praise him, all you shining stars! Praise him, you highest heavens, and you waters above the heavens! Let them praise the name of the Lord…Let them praise the name of the Lord, for his name alone is exalted; his majesty is above earth and heaven. He has raised up a horn for his people, praise for all his saints, for the people of Israel who are near to him. Praise the Lord! - Psalm 148:1-5a, 13-14

Let everything that has breath praise the Lord! Praise the Lord! - Psalm 150:6

PROVERBS - REMEMBERING GOD’S PLACE

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction. - Proverbs 1:7

If God’s people were to seek God’s kingdom’s rule (i.e. turning away from sin and walking in accordance with the rule of the Good Shepherd) then one might expect blessings to return to the kingdom place! Who better to affirm this particular cause-and-effect pattern than the wise King Solomon who brought the kingdom place to a state of blessing that was beyond comparison. The proverbs of Solomon “calls us back” to remember and anticipate (2) the return to God’s kingdom place in which God’s temple would be restored and God’s blessings would richly flow out of Israel to all the surrounding nations.

Proverbs begins by offering 10 speeches of a Father to a Son. Within these speeches, a character named Lady Wisdom – who was with God before the foundations of the world (Pr. 3:19) – offers a series of 4 poems. When you look at the interaction of Father speeches and Lady Wisdom poems, you discover that the wisdom of God’s place revolves around the kingdom narrative!

The middle section of Proverbs addresses virtually every aspect of life by contrasting the lifestyle of the upright in God’s place and the wicked foreigners of the serpent kingdom. These contrasts include their speech, influence, inner attitudes and values, wealth management, personal and public reputation, their motivations and how they relate to God, their temperaments, and their eternal destinations. Thus Solomon encourages all of God’s people to continue on the path of wisdom by always fearing the Lord and always trusting in YHWH.

Commit to the Lord whatever you do and he will establish your plans - Proverbs 16:3

Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.- Proverbs 22:6

Blessed is the one who fears the Lord always, but whoever hardens his heart will fall into calamity. - Proverbs 28:14

The book of Proverbs concludes with a tale of two heroes! First, Agur laments that he has no knowledge of the Holy One. However, after Agur interacts with certain scriptures from the story of David and Moses, Agur’s desires begin to change, his heart begins to ponder the brokenness of man, and his eyes begin to observe the marvels of God’s cosmic temple place of creation around him. Eventually Agur develops a basic “cause and effect” worldview signaling that the scriptures and basic observations have led Agur one step closer to Lady Wisdom.

Surely I am too stupid to be a man. I have not the understanding of a man. I have not learned wisdom, nor have I knowledge of the Holy One. - Proverbs 30:2–3

Every word of God proves true; he is a shield to those who take refuge in him. Do not add to his words, lest he rebuke you and you be found a liar. - Proverbs 30:5–6 

If you have been foolish, exalting yourself, or if you have been devising evil, put your hand on your mouth. For pressing milk produces curds, pressing the nose produces blood, and pressing anger produces strife. - Proverbs 30:32–33

Finally, king Lemuel records his mother’s teachings about being exclusively focussed on creating real change and distributing justice over his own kingdom place. The proverb consists of a poem describing a woman that king Lemuel ought to seek; a trustworthy, good, hard-working, present, talented, generous, humble, strong, wise, and God-fearing woman. A woman like Lady Wisdom - the personification of God’s good rule -  is once again the key for God’s people to usher in the Solomon-like blessings of God’s kingdom place of shalom!

The words of King Lemuel. An oracle that his mother taught him: What are you doing, my son? What are you doing, son of my womb? What are you doing, son of my vows? Do not give your strength to women, your ways to those who destroy kings. It is not for kings, O Lemuel, it is not for kings to drink wine, or for rulers to take strong drink, lest they drink and forget what has been decreed and pervert the rights of all the afflicted. - Proverbs 31:1–5

“Many women have done excellently, but you surpass them all.” Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised. Give her of the fruit of her hands, and let her works praise her in the gates. - Proverbs 31:29–31 

JOB - REMEMBERING GOD’S PEOPLE

Do good in God’s place, trust God’s rule, and God’s blessing will come to His people! Seems like a pretty straightforward cause-and-effect correlation, right? But how do we account for the suffering that all image-bearing people experience in this world marked by the serpent? For the righteous remnant in exile, reminiscing on the story of Job heightens the growing desire for answers to these kinds of questions and a faith that is as strong as Job’s! The book of Job grows our desire to see (3) the rescue of God’s kingdom people from the kingdom of the serpent and their restored delegated rule through a new covenant and a new heart that is wiped clean and able to trust in YHWH. 

At the beginning of Job, we are introduced to the heavenly council of God. This is a supernatural reality in which “the satan” (Hebrew word for “the accuser”) is allowed to question the good judgment of God and bring devastation to test Job - a blameless man who is arguably innocent and undeserving of any suffering:

And the Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, who fears God and turns away from evil?” Then Satan answered the Lord and said, “Does Job fear God for no reason? Have you not put a hedge around him and his house and all that he has, on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land. But stretch out your hand and touch all that he has, and he will curse you to your face.” And the Lord said to Satan, “Behold, all that he has is in your hand. Only against him do not stretch out your hand.” So Satan went out from the presence of the Lord. - Job 1:8-12

Job’s 3 friends come to him influenced by a “cause-and-effect” mindset. They attribute Job’s misfortune to a hidden sin that Job has not yet confessed. Job, on the other hand, remains adamant that he is innocent and pleads his case before the Lord. Reminiscing on the story of Job reminds God’s people what it means to possess a heart that seeks God’s definition of what is “good” and “evil” above the wisdom of the world - something his friends failed to do.

From where, then, does wisdom come? And where is the place of understanding? It is hidden from the eyes of all living and concealed from the birds of the air. Abaddon and Death say, ‘We have heard a rumor of it with our ears.’ “God understands the way to it, and he knows its place. For he looks to the ends of the earth and sees everything under the heavens. - Job 28:20-24

After Job and his friends are confronted by Elihu (“He is my God” in Hebrew), Job receives a universal perspective on God’s authority over all things in existence. 

Then Job answered the Lord and said: I know that you can do all things, and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted. ‘Who is this that hides counsel without knowledge?’ Therefore I have uttered what I did not understand, things too wonderful for me, which I did not know. ‘Hear, and I will speak; I will question you, and you make it known to me.’ I had heard of you by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees you; therefore I despise myself, and repent in dust and ashes.” - Job 42:1–6

In the end, Job personifies a servant of God who has suffered and is also able to intercede on behalf of his wayward people. As a result, Job experiences the abundant blessings of restoration. 

“My anger burns against you and against your two friends, for you have not spoken of me what is right, as my servant Job has.  Now therefore take seven bulls and seven rams and go to my servant Job and offer up a burnt offering for yourselves. And my servant Job shall pray for you, for I will accept his prayer not to deal with you according to your folly. For you have not spoken of me what is right, as my servant Job has.” - Job 42:7–8

And the Lord restored the fortunes of Job, when he had prayed for his friends….And the Lord gave Job twice as much as he had before. And the Lord blessed the latter days of Job more than his beginning. - Job 42:10, 12

When read in the context of the exile, the writings would have influenced the Israelites to remember that one day God will send His David-like Suffering Servant / Good Shepherd ruler, God will restore the wisdom and blessings that made up the Solomon-like “golden age” kingdom place, and God would restore His people with a Job-like faith that appealed to the Lord’s definition of what is “good” and “evil” regardless of what suffering may come!

Then Job arose and tore his robe and shaved his head and fell on the ground and worshiped. And he said, “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.”  In all this Job did not sin or charge God with wrong. - Job 1:20–22.

Then his wife said to him, “Do you still hold fast your integrity? Curse God and die.” But he said to her, “You speak as one of the foolish women would speak. Shall we receive good from God, and shall we not receive evil?” In all this Job did not sin with his lips. -  Job 2:9–10.

Share the Gospel: When read in the context of the exile, the writings would have influenced the Israelites to remember that one day God will send His David-like Suffering Servant / Good Shepherd ruler, God will restore the wisdom and blessings that made up the Solomon-like “golden age” kingdom place, and God would restore His people with a Job-like faith that surrendered to the Lord’s definition of what is “good” and what is “evil” regardless of what suffering may come!

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