Tag: 1 kings

  • Elijah – on a Prophetic Path to Gethsemane

    Elijah – on a Prophetic Path to Gethsemane

    Today, in the first of a 2-part look at ordinary men chosen as extraordinary Prophets speaking for God, we will glance briefly at Moses and Elijah.


    Prophets Before Christ

    Recall that true Prophets of God speak for the LORD God.

    NOT every man who claims to be a be a Prophet of God truly speaks God’s word. Nor is every mortal who speaks a prophesy of God is a worshiper of the LORD.

    And not every prophesy of a true Prophet is an oracle into the future or an eschatological look into the fulfillment of days.

    Yet many prophesies do point us to places and times not yet seen by any man but the appointed Prophet of the LORD.

    The Prophet Moses

    What could be more prophetic than the written words of the man who encountered the 'I AM' speaking the very commands of the Almighty? 

    Moses brought the Law – the very words of the LORD – to the Hebrew people.

    The LORD had called Moses, age eighty to lead the Hebrews out from Egypt. Moses was 120 years old as the Hebrews prepared to cross the Jordan.

    Before he led them from bondage in Egypt into Arabia for forty year prior to crossing the Jordan into Canaan, Moses instructed God’s chosen in the LORD’s ways and means of redemption.

    So Moses went and spoke these words to all Israel.

    “It is Yahweh your God who will cross ahead of you..

    Deuteronomy 31:1,3a,5a LSB

    Yet the LORD instructs Moses with a prophecy of what the Hebrews will surly do:

    a Prophesy through Moses:

    .. and this people will arise and play the harlot with the foreign gods of the land, into the midst of which they are going, and they will forsake Me and break My covenant which I have cut with them.

    “Then My anger will be kindled against them in that day, and I will forsake them and hide My face from them, and they will be consumed…

    Deuteronomy 31:16c-17a LSB


    When the Most High gave the nations their inheritance, when He divided the sons of man, He set the boundaries of the peoples according to the number of the sons of God.

    Deuteronomy 32:8 BSB

    This general reference to humanity and God's 'chosen' would be worthy of your separate study, but we cannot cover it here. 

    from Canaan to Babylon

    Let’s go quickly across the Jordan through the years (centuries, really) with the chosen sons until fulfillment of a foreseen time of Hebrew prophesy from Babylon.

    In order to move so quickly we must overlook and pass many important scriptural milestones.

    Moving past Joshua,

    • the capture of much of the promised land
      • 14th c. B.C.
    • a time of the Judges
      • 14th-11th c. B.C.
    • a king of the people (Saul)
      • 11th c. B.C.

    2 Samuel David becomes King of Judah in Hebron for 7 years then in Jerusalem uniting Judah with Ish-Bosheth (Israel)
    David King of Judah united with Israel
    • David united Israel and Judah
      • ~1000 B.C.
    • Solomon expands his influence back to Egypt and east to Babylon and beyond
      • 973-931 B.C.
    • then, a civil war between Solomon’s sons and their heirs,

    A quick glance at the timeline below will reveal the book of 1 KINGS where we will find Elijah’s story.

    a Failure of Kings Old Testament timeline from Genesis to Malachi focused on the Kings of Israel and Judah and the Prophets
    Old Testament Books timeline

    Elijah map of the Prophet's journeys

    The Prophet Elijah

    ~870 B.C. – 849 B.C.

    Later, as prophesied:

    • defeat of ISRAEL the Northern Kingdom
      • 722 B.C.
    • eventual fall of JUDAH the Southern Kingdom…
      • 586 B.C.

    The Man of God

    The LORD sent powerful Prophets to both Israel and Judah during a divisive time when most every leader (king) “did what was evil in the sight of the LORD.”

    • This includes EVERY KING of ISRAEL for a little more than 200 years !

    Wouldn’t a NATION claiming GOD repent — when confronted by the man of God showing great signs and even raising a man from the dead?

    • Furthermore the Kings of JUDAH fared no better in their 334 years with only eight of twenty kings who “did right in the eyes of the LORD.”

    Elijah was a man of God WARNING the evil LEADERS of a NATION.

    Taking a brief stop on our timeline Before Christ, we proceed past Moses and beyond the break-up of the Kingdom of David to a time of evil kings infamously represented by King Ahab of Israel who reigned for about twenty years from 874 B.C. until 853 B.C. when he was killed in battle.

    Jezebel, the King's wife - arguably a head of Ahab - also proved infamous with her own evil legacy. 

    Elijah’s Prophetic proofs:

    Now Elijah the Tishbite, from the Gilead settlers, said to Ahab,

    “As the LORD God of Israel lives, in whose presence I stand, there will be no dew or rain during these years except by my command! ”

    1 Kings 17:1 CSB

    The severest of droughts - over one thousand dry days in the land - people  and animals will die. 

    Elijah left and lived at the Wadi Cherith where it enters the Jordan.

    1 Kings 17:4b CSB

    So Elijah got up and went to Zarephath. When he arrived at the city gate, there was a widow gathering wood…

    But she said, “As the LORD your God lives, I don’t have anything baked ​— ​only a handful of flour in the jar and a bit of oil in the jug. Just now, I am gathering a couple of sticks in order to go prepare it for myself and my son so we can eat it and die.”

    1 Kings 17:10a, 12 CSB


    Drought. Famine everywhere — and for days upon end.

    Have you ever considered the gravity of the fragile mortal lives of those already suffering under the evil reign of Jezebel and Ahab?

    But a miracle of God through Elijah: the widow’s flour and food never ran out. But then —

    Her son becomes ill and dies. (Probably a common occurrence in these desperate conditions of a three year drought.)

    She said to Elijah, “Man of God, what do you have against me?

    Have you come to call attention to my iniquity so that my son is put to death? ”

    1 Kings 17:18 CSB

    That’s some accusation from the widow who has just lost her only son. Yet note the widow’s contrite acceptance of God’s authority to punish sin (iniquity).

    עָוֹן

    Note the long list of Scriptures [above] from the Law of Moses (beginning with Cain) pointing to punishment for our iniquity. 

    Elijah raises the widow’s son from the dead!

    He cried out to the LORD and said, “LORD my God, please let this boy’s life come into him again! ”

    So the LORD listened to Elijah, and the boy’s life came into him again, and he lived.

    Then the woman said to Elijah, “Now I know you are a man of God and the LORD’s word from your mouth is true.”

    1 Kings 17:20-22, 24 CSB

    WANTED DEAD OR ALIVE poster for Elijah with picture of the Prophet

    Elijah – a contest to the DEATH

    Three years of drought. The King will not like this and consequently blame the righteous man of God.

    When Ahab saw Elijah, Ahab said to him,

    “Is that you, the one ruining Israel? ”

    He replied,

    “I have not ruined Israel, but you and your father’s family have, because you have abandoned the LORD’s commands and followed the Baals.

    1 Kings 18:17-18 CSB

    Tell me if this does not apply to Israel in this day (except that their gods are dreams of their past)? 

    Tell me how King Herod and the religious rulers of Judea were so different from Ahab as the King of Israel challenged the true Prophet of the Lord?

    Then Elijah approached all the people and said,

    “How long will you waver between two opinions? If the LORD is God, follow him. But if Baal, follow him.”

    But the people didn’t answer him a word.

    18:21 וַיִּגַּשׁ אֵלִיָּהוּ אֶל־כָּל־הָעָם וַיֹּאמֶר עַד־מָתַי אַתֶּם פֹּסְחִים עַל־שְׁתֵּי הַסְּעִפִּים אִם־יְהוָה הָאֱלֹהִים לְכוּ אַחֲרָיו וְאִם־הַבַּעַל לְכוּ אַחֲרָיו וְלֹא־עָנוּ הָעָם אֹתוֹ דָּבָר׃


    Much later King Ahab will publically repent! But it will be too late…

    Next Contestant

    ~852 B.C. After the death of Ahab

    “Man of God, the king declares, ‘Come down! ’ ”

    .. “If I am a man of God, may fire come down from heaven and consume you and your fifty men.”

    Then fire came down from heaven and consumed him and his fifty men.

    2 Kings 1:9- excerpts CSB

    So the king sent another captain with his fifty men to Elijah.

    “Man of God, this is what the king says: ‘Come down immediately! ’

    “If I am a man of God, may fire come down from heaven and consume you and your fifty men.”

    So a divine fire came down from heaven and consumed him and his fifty men.

    Then the king sent a third captain with his fifty men. The third captain went up and fell on his knees in front of Elijah and begged him,

    “.. Already fire has come down from heaven and consumed the first two captains with their companies, but this time let my life be precious to you.”

    Ahaziah died according to the word of the LORD that Elijah had spoken. 

    2 Kings 1:11-17 excerpts CSB


    The Ascension of Elijah.

    The time had come for the LORD to take Elijah up to heaven in a whirlwind. Elijah and Elisha were traveling from Gilgal,

    2 Kings 2:1 CSB

    Elijah’s departure is unique, as he is one of only two people in the Bible, along with Enoch (Genesis 5:24), who did not experience death.

    The whirlwind signifies God’s powerful presence, often associated with divine intervention (Job 38:1, Nahum 1:3).

    Elijah’s ascension prefigures Christ’s ascension into heaven (Acts 1:9-11), symbolizing victory over death and the promise of eternal life.

    2 Kings 2:1:: Biblehub.com STUDY BIBLE commentary

    First Century A.D.

    A Son of David, the Son of Man, rides victoriously into Jerusalem now captive of Rome, challenging Jerusalem’s leaders to a duel to the death

    + His +

    for the redemption of sinners.

    “King Jesus, King Jesus, King Jesus, Hosanna!, they cry out…

    And within a few days their KING of the JEWS will be crucified on a Roman cross.

    An Uplifting Recollection

    The Son of Man walked once more toward a familiar hillside covered with an olive grove.

    What must Jesus have recalled as the Lord approached Gethsemane with His eleven dear friends one last time?

    Remember?

    A cloud appeared, overshadowing them, and a voice came from the cloud:

    “This is my beloved Son; listen to him! ”

    Mark 9:7 CSB

    .. They kept this word to themselves, questioning what “rising from the dead” meant…


    NEXT: Ezekiel 

  • “O altar, altar! place of slaughter, place of worship

    “O altar, altar! place of slaughter, place of worship

    And behold, a man of God .. cried out against the altar by the word of the Lord, and said, “O altar, altar! Thus says the Lord:

    1 Kings 13:1-2 excerpt NKJV

    Are you going to listen?

    So SEVERE the message! And who is this anonymous Prophet? (I’ve never heard of him — and we’re in a church gathering after all..) Who is this man approaching the King?


    mega-church with glass walls towering over a Common Era city

    WE worship a King and Priest with his own hill and altar of worship and praise of the People.

    Will we hear God’s Voice through the true Prophet of the Almighty?


    An Altar of Stone on the Stage of Worship

    Surround it with towering Common Era walls of glass — or even a city built for worship of every ancient saint and yet another elevated archepiskopos

    Stand over it and hold up so many sacrifices of the people,, stained with the Blood of unseen sins.. proclaiming the Altar on your stage for ‘Him‘ as Priest of Aaron and King over all your people..

    And so.. you people gathered for a week’s sprinkling of grace.. a people of amplified praise of prepositional paraphrased worship.. have you who praise him as king who thank him as priest.. DO YOU hear the Prophet who rejects the Blood of your every sacrifice?


    Prophet, Priest and King

    It's an ancient and little-noticed scenario of the present .. that of the specific roles of mortal men (yes, men) anointed as intercessors on behalf of those they lead in worship and in an ever-so-brief life in the flesh and blood of the created. 

    Have you heard this Scripture in your worship?

    NOTE the roles of those involved:

    1 Kings 13:

    ‘Behold, a child, Josiah by name, shall be born to the house of David; and on you he shall sacrifice the priests of the high places who burn incense on you, and men’s bones shall be burned on you.’ ”

    1 Kings 13:2b NKJV

    IF you know this Scripture you will realize that I have intentionally omitted some of this introduction in order to focus on its participants. 

    You most likely know that Josiah became a young King of Judah, right?

    A Hebrew view of Scripture

    Although you may recall a more famous Prophet from the book of First Kings, like me you may have wondered why the Christian Bible includes 1 & 2 Kings as O.T. History and not with the Prophets (who lived during these same historic times).

    Tanakh Hebrew Bible books of the Old Testament
    Old Testament [source]

    Take a quick Jewish look back at a fallen and broken Kingdom of David.

    Without noting Scriptures pointing to named authors of God’s written word in the Hebrew list of Nevi’im (Prophets) the Tanakh includes Joshua (the General of Moses), Judges, Samuel (a Priest of the God) and Kings with the former Prophets BEFORE the Exile and other books (i.e. Lamentations of Jeremiah the Prophet) as Post-exilic Scriptures.

    The LEADERSHIP ROLES of GOD’s Chosen peoples have changed over time — both Before Christ and in these last days of Christ’s Chosen Church.

    Has man (anthrōpos) misrepresented the WRITTEN instruction of the LORD?

    Here in 1 Kings we read one (of many) Scriptural examples and warnings to worshipers of God.

    (Have you heard them?)


    Kings in charge (or so they thought)

    Let's examine this Scripture (or Hebrew book of the Prophets) in terms of leadership roles and relationships. 

    And behold, [in] Bethel .. Jeroboam stood by the altar to burn incense. Then [the man] cried out against the altar..

    1 Kings 13:1-2 excerpt

    To set the scene:

    • Bethel בֵּית־אֵל
    Bethel was a royal city of the Canaanites (Joshua 12:16). It appears to have been captured by Joshua (8:7), and it was allotted to Benjamin (Joshua 18:22). 

    To counteract the influence of Jerusalem as the national religious center Jeroboam embarked on the policy which won for him the unenviable reputation of having "made Israel to sin." Here he erected a temple, set up an image, the golden calf, and established an imposing ritual. It became the royal sanctuary and the religious center of his kingdom.

    source

    • Jeroboam יָרָבְעָם

    The LORD brought Israel to ruin before Judah. The decline began from the first kings of each divided nation AND the LORD sent prophets to them again and again.


    Israel’s Rebellion

    READ more (from 1 Kings 12) for the context of the LORD's curse against the altar of Jeroboam. 

    And do not presume, O divided Nation of this Common Era, that WE are so free from the judgement of the Lord our God.

    So Israel has been in rebellion against the house of David to this day.

    12:19 וַיִּפְשְׁעוּ יִשְׂרָאֵל בְּבֵית דָּוִד עַד הַיּוֹם הַזֶּה׃ ס

    But the word of God came to Shemaiah the man of God..

    ” Therefore they obeyed the word of the LORD, and turned back, according to the word of the LORD.

    • Jeroboam

    12:25 Then Jeroboam built Shechem in the mountains of Ephraim, and dwelt there…

    31 He made shrines on the high places, and made priests from every class of people, who were not of the sons of Levi.

    Jeroboam ordained a feast .. like the feast that was in Judah, and offered sacrifices on the altar.

    So he did at Bethel, sacrificing to the calves that he had made.

    And at Bethel he installed the priests of the high places which he had made…

    So he made offerings on the altar which he had made at Bethel .. And he ordained a feast for the children of Israel, and offered sacrifices on the altar and burned incense.

    1 Kings 12:33 NKJV excerpt

    a Prophet from Judah

    • a man of God
    Returning to 1 Kings 13 and the cursed altar where we began don't miss that an unnamed Prophet delivers this key message from the LORD.

    13:1 וְהִנֵּה אִישׁ אֱלֹהִים בָּא מִיהוּדָה בִּדְבַר יְהוָה אֶל־בֵּית־אֵל וְיָרָבְעָם עֹמֵד עַל־הַמִּזְבֵּחַ לְהַקְטִיר׃

    And behold, a man of God went from Judah to Bethel by the word of the Lord, and Jeroboam stood by the altar to burn incense. 2 Then he cried out against the altar by the word of the Lord, and said, “O altar, altar! Thus says the Lord:

    Behold, a child, Josiah by name, shall be born to the house of David; and on you he shall sacrifice the priests of the high places who burn incense on you, and men’s bones shall be burned on you.’ ”

    3 And he gave a sign the same day, saying, “This is the sign which the Lord has spoken: Surely the altar shall split apart, and the ashes on it shall be poured out.”

    4 So it came to pass when King Jeroboam heard the saying of the man of God, who cried out against the altar in Bethel, that he stretched out his hand from the altar, saying, “Arrest him!”

    Then his hand, which he stretched out toward him, withered, so that he could not pull it back to himself.

    The altar also was split apart, and the ashes poured out from the altar, according to the sign which the man of God had given by the word of the Lord.

    1 Kings 13:5 NKJV – more

    6Then the king answered and said to the man of God, “Please entreat the favor of the Lord your God, and pray for me, that my hand may be restored to me.”

    So the man of God entreated the Lord, and the king’s hand was restored to him, and became as before. Then the king said to the man of God, “Come home with me and refresh yourself, and I will give you a reward.”

    Who with ears to hear does not tremble at this outcome spoken by the 'man of God' - an unnamed Prophet hearing the KING order his arrest; and yet a son of man healing the outstretched arm of Israel's King and self-appointed Priest? 

    But have you even heard of such a thing in YOUR contemporary evangelical house of worship?

    Before Christ in Gethsemane

    אֱלֹהִים

    “Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill.

    Matthew 5:17 NKJV –

    Jesus preached from 'the Law and the Prophets,' which includes both books of Kings. 

    He went into their synagogue. And behold, there was a man who had a withered hand.. Then He said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” And he stretched it out, and it was restored as whole as the other.

    Matthew 12:9a,10a, 13 NKJV

    So could a man of God have healed Jeroboam's withered arm? Do you believe that JESUS could have instantly healed this man in the Synagogue? 
    scene of torches approaching a dark garden area
    Garden of Gethsemane

    And suddenly, one of those who were with Jesus stretched out his hand and drew his sword, struck the servant of the high priest, and cut off his ear… In that hour Jesus said to the multitudes,

    “Have you come out, as against a robber, with swords and clubs to take Me? I sat daily with you, teaching in the temple, and you did not seize Me.

    excerpt from Matthew 26 NKJV

    “But all this was done that the Scriptures of the prophets might be fulfilled.”
    Then all the disciples forsook Him and fled.

    Gospel of Matthew 26:56 NKJV

  • a Failure of Kings Advent 4 of Christ

    a Failure of Kings Advent 4 of Christ

    What do you think about Kings?

    • Do you have a Sovereign?
    • Would you like to follow one?

    Who is your King?

    Perhaps your gut response would be no different than that of the high priests of Jerusalem at the capital trial of Jesus.

    The chief priests answered, We have no king but Caesar.

    Gospel of John 19:15b King James Version

    You may say that WE have no religious leaders in charge of a nation. But look closer at leadership titles where you will discover priests in politics. And don’t miss some presidents, premiers, prime ministers and even kings governing as Caesars.

    Descendants of Abraham did not always have kings, nor did the kings of Israel, Judah and Judea always have power.

    a reminder of Roger@TalkofJesus.com

    a glance at kings of the Promised Land

    Previously we witnessed pre-history as a timeline, essentially beginning again from the restoration of life at the time of NOAH.

    Which kings in history have been successful and which kings were a failure?

    TODAY, before we proceed to the recognized historical kings of Israel let’s also consider others from the Mosaic record.

    kings and princes mentioned by Moses

    mālaḵ verb, מָלַךְ

    Strong’s H4427 in the following manner: reign (289x), king (46x), made (4x), queen (2x).. more

    And Bela the son of Beor reigned H4427 in Edom: and the name of his city was Dinhabah.

    • KINGS of cities (or later City-States in places such as Greece)
    • Perhaps Prince would fit better.
    • Or maybe, Mayor? (But they were military generals as well.)

    meleḵ מֶלֶךְ

    The KJV translates Strong’s H4428 in the following manner: king (2,518x), misc..

    That these made war with Bera king H4428 of Sodom, and with Birsha king H4428 of Gomorrah, Shinab king H4428 of Admah, and Shemeber king H4428 of Zeboiim, and the king H4428 of Bela, which is Zoar.

    Genesis 14:2 King James Version


    These are just a few of the kings who made war. (That’s what Kings tend to do.) Therefore, Abraham (a Prince without a city. So like these kings and generals he was treated as a king when he helped them win a battle.

    And Melchizedek king H4428 of Salem brought forth bread and wine: and he was the priest of the most high God.

    14:18 וּמַלְכִּי־צֶדֶק מֶלֶךְ שָׁלֵם הוֹצִיא לֶחֶם וָיָיִן וְהוּא כֹהֵן לְאֵל עֶלְיוֹן׃

    Melchizedek NOT just the mayor of Jerusalem or a mere Prime Minister or even Prince (as Abraham was generally treated) — the כֹּהֵן – kōhēn – Priest of ʿelyôn ‘ēl


    IF in this 21st century of the Common Era WE independent evangelists (who know nothing of kings) attempt to compare Abraham, Melchizedek, David or Solomon to any common Caesar of this day,

    or

    IF WE anoint JESUS with simply the same royal title of any King (such as Charles),

    THEN WE miss many overlapping roles of Sovereignty the Lord God gave to these men

    AS WELL AS equally important roles of the Christ our High Priest and our Prophet dismissed and diminished by the common Caesar’s of these last days.

    Roger@TalkofJesus.com

    Kings of the Promised People

    kingdom Saul David Solomon & surrounding kingdoms of Ammon, Edom and other gentiles

    From a promise of the LORD to Abraham, a king without a country,

    to David conquering King uniting twelve tribes, Solomon son of David built the Temple and an Empire.

    You will be as familiar with the Dan to Beersheba borders as me.

    Additionally you may have discerned that Solomon conquered to the north beyond Damascus as far as Tiphsah on the Euphrates River [1 Kings 4:24].

    Solomon a distant memory of success

    The Jews of Jesus’ incarnate days had visualized their glorious past in the empire of Solomon. These contemporaries of Jesus nostalgically recalled Solomon as a Caesar of Israel in his time.

    From ~989 B.C. until his death in ~931 B.C. Solomon’s influence extended even into all the nearby world.

    Centuries of Failed Kings Before Christ

    King Solomon, however, loved many foreign women along with the daughter of Pharaoh [king of Egypt]—women of Moab, Ammon, Edom, and Sidon, as well as Hittite women.

    2 These women were from the nations about which the LORD had told the Israelites, “You must not intermarry with them, for surely they will turn your hearts after their gods.”

    1 Kings 11:1-2 BSB

    Christian preaching makes much of monogamy here while ignoring common customs of marriage alliances between political rulers of nations through intermarriage. Yet the LORD had forbidden it.

    And incentives inviting our cultural bias against the True God of Israel continue as a leaven diluting a Common Era Church to this day.

    Frequently forced alliances led to the fall of Israel [722 BC] and decline through gradual apostasy compromised Judah just a century later [606 BC].

    esile to babylon

    606 B.C. Some captives taken to Babylon. (Daniel included)

    597 B.C. More captives taken to Babylon. (Ezekiel included)

    586 B.C. Jerusalem is destroyed by fire.


    Kings of Chosen Captives

    Without dwelling on all the kings of both Israel and Judah who ‘did evil in the sight of the LORD,’ we’ll move forward to those left powerless by defeat and the refining of the Lord our God.

    2 Kings 17 – Failure of Israel

    3 Against him came up Shalmaneser king of Assyria.

    And Hoshea became his vassal and paid him tribute. But the king of Assyria found treachery in Hoshea, for he had sent messengers to So, king of Egypt, and offered no tribute to the king of Assyria, as he had done year by year.

    Therefore the king of Assyria shut him up and bound him in prison.


    Egypt's king (not so much a god and Pharoah to an Assyrian king) wouldn't help Hoshea out of his political servitude to Shalmaneser king of Assyria. 

    Does this king's representative vassal relationship sound somewhat prophetic of a later Herodian whoredom with Rome?

    Then the king of Assyria invaded all the land and came to Samaria, and for three years he besieged it.

    In the ninth year of Hoshea, the king of Assyria captured Samaria, and he carried the Israelites away to Assyria…

    2 Kings 17:5-6a ESV ~724BC -722 BC


    Meanwhile, back in Judah

    Hezekiah trusted in the LORD, the God of Israel. No king of Judah was like him, either before him or after him. He remained faithful to the LORD and did not turn from following Him; he kept the commandments that the LORD had given Moses.

    7And the LORD was with Hezekiah, and he prospered wherever he went. He rebelled against the king of Assyria and refused to serve him. 8He defeated the Philistines as far as Gaza and its borders, from watchtower to fortified city.

    2 Kings 18:5-8 BSB

    • 701 B.C. 200,000 of the inhabitants of Judah captured by Sennacherib
    • 621 B.C. Nineveh, Assyria falls to Babylon and Media (the Medes)
    • 586 B.C Judah falls to Babylon, the rebuilt Temple destroyed and captured families of the leading Jews led captive to Babylonia
    esile to babylon
    Flight of the Prisoners, Artist: Tissot, Photographer: John Parnell, Photo © The Jewish Museum, New York

    600 years Before Christ, No more Kings of Israel;

    No King of the Jews in Jerusalem!


    Hope only for a few

    Biblical Foundations of Freedom

    The Prophesy of Isaiah, with some familiar to Christians as prophesy foreseeing the Messiah born in Bethlehem of Judea (formerly Judah), is set earlier than what we have just read in the context of the divided kingdom.

    Isaiah 10:

    Here in part is Isaiah’s and the LORD’s lament:

    11 ” ‘..shall I not deal with Jerusalem and her images

    as I dealt with Samaria and her idols?’ ”

    19 And the remaining trees of his forests will be so few

    that a child could write them down.

    22 For though your people Israel be as the sand of the sea, only a remnant of them will return. Destruction is decreed, overflowing with righteousness.

    Two mote Empires (Before Christ & Rome)

    For those who like me may have occasionally fallen asleep in history class I'll make this rise and fall of three Empires brief.
    • a remnant does return to Jerusalem and rebuilds its wall and Temple
      • 536 B.C. Cyrus the Great permitted the return. 49,897 Jews returned from Babylon to Jerusalem.
    • 516 B.C. The temple was completed. source
      • (Jerusalem will later get a Governor, Nehemiah and a Priest, Ezra),
      • But still no King since they are subjects of Persia.
    If not a king, how about a Queen?

    And the king loved Esther above all the women, and she obtained grace and favour in his sight more than all the virgins; so that he set the royal crown upon her head, and made her queen instead of Vashti.

    Esther 2:17 KJV

    Yet Esther becomes co-regent of the Medes and Persians [~478 B.E.] not simply a small remote city of Jerusalem.

    • Malachi’s prophecy likely came sometime after the ministry of Nehemiah around BC 458-445.
    • Malachi is the last prophet to speak before Christ.

    Before Caesars, Greeks

    The advent of Christ takes place in Judea and beyond, documented in Greek texts as was the whole New Testament. Persia.

    323 BC world map of Alexander the Great

    It’s a period of some 400 years Before Christ.

    Jews from Persia in the east, in Samaria to the north and even west as far as Rome became divided in their interest in the Bible given by Moses and the Prophets.

    Thanks to Alexander the Great, the nearby world of the Herod’s and Jews spoke Greek (not Hebrew or certainly not the Latin of Rome).

    In the timeline of all history Rome’s consequent defeat of other kings, princes and generals after Alexander’s death and division of yet another Empire would set the stage for the birth of a King from before all time born into it in a little Judean town unnoticed by a vassal King appointed by Caesar, a king of a captive Israel actually raised in distant Rome.

    These centuries of ADVENT lead up to a glorious day central to all of history and all of mankind.


    NEXT: Christmas 2024 of the Common Era, God-willing