September 22 - The Kingdom of God

As Christians, we don't have the benefit of fully understanding the world that Jesus entered.  We see things from the other side.  One of the most exciting things that I am doing right now is reading books that help me to understand the culture and thought processes of people living in the First Century.

I'm reading a little book called "The Drama of Scripture, Finding Our Place in the Biblical Story."  It's an amazing process of discovery of the entire Biblical story with information on the history and background surrounding the things that are happening ... placing the Bible into context.

The period of time before the New Testament takes off is a fascinating time, yet one we don't have a lot of understanding about.  I really love the synopsis that this little book gave me.  It helped me put things into a perspective that I didn't have and helps to make sense of some of the things that occur in the New Testament and why they are so important.

When the Jews were given permission to return to Jerusalem during the reign of Cyrus (of Persia), they were ecstatic, believing that God was returning them to their home and that He would return with them to reign and to bring back His rule on earth.  Many Jews didn't return, though and this confused those that had.  There was an expectation that all would come together and things would go back to the way they had been before sin tore their world apart.  The Temple was rebuilt, but it seemed shabby in comparison to Solomon's Temple.  There was a lot of disappointment.  But, in studying the Law, they recognized that God was not finished yet with His judgment.  They needed to prove that they were faithful.  At this point, the Law was being adapted and applied to contemporary situations.

With the coming of Alexander the Greek, Greek culture began to pervade every part of the Empire, including Jewish life - introducing new pagan patterns and questioning belief.  Synagogues were erected to become the center part of Judaism in the far flung reaches of the Empire for those that hadn't returned - the Diaspora.  Worship and study centered around these while the people continued to send money and prayers to Jerusalem to support the Temple.

Antiochus Epiphanes decided that the Jews weren't responding well to Hellenization and decided to simply force them to become Hellenized.  He desecrated the Temple, turning it into an altar for Zeus and then forced them to worship him or his image.  The Maccabbean revolt occurred when one old Temple priest decided it wasn't going to happen.  He killed the Jew who worshiped the image and the Greek guard who forced the worship.  He and his sons fled to the country where they built up a fighting force to force the Greeks out.  Even though they were small, they were mighty and held their own, winning many battles.  On December 25, 164 BC, Judah Maccabee led troops into Jerusalem with shouts of "Hosanna" and waving palm branches (seem familiar?).  They took back the temple, cleaned it out, removed anything that was pagan and rededicated it to the Lord - This is the festival of Hanukkah.

From the Maccabees came the Hasmonean dynasty of Jewish leaders.  While it was initially a good thing, they were corrupted quickly by the powers of the Greeks and later the Romans.  Rome conquered Israel in 64 BC and then placed their own puppets - the Herods, the last of the Hasmoneans - into power as leaders of the Jews. 

Israel was frustrated with being yanked around by foreign powers.  They were the children of God!!  This frustration was seen in their revulsion of anything Gentile.  While they were taught that they were to be a blessing to the Gentiles, they now figured that this blessing would occur far into the future when God had returned.  Their expectation was that God would return with His Messiah to restore them to a favored position in the world.  From this favored position, they would then bless the surrounding nations and from there, the rest of the world.  But, they knew that they were God's children and it was only to them that His favor would come.

His Kingdom would come when He renewed the world, cleansing it of all evil (as they saw it) and bringing redemption.  Israel's God would be the King of the world and everyone on earth would acknowledge this.  They saw in verses such as Isaiah 60:12-14 and Isaiah 2:3 and Psalm 2:9, that God would bring Israel to a place of power over those who had ruled her.  All who refused would be destroyed.

This small group of people knew that God was on their side and while He might be furious with their sin, a day would come when He would send the Messiah (which means 'anointed') to bring forth the Kingdom.  During the 200 years just before and just after Jesus' life on earth, there were many different 'Messiahs' that showed up, hoping to bring forth the Kingdom of God.

What very few remembered or wanted to acknowledge was the message of the Suffering Servant.  Isaiah's Kingly prophecies were remembered, but when it came to this message, they conveniently forgot.  Israel was ready to bring God's kingdom on earth in the first century, no matter what.  They prepared themselves for battle.

What they got was an infant who grew to a man that would teach a very different message than they one they wanted to hear.