God’s Grace in the Old Testament

Study 7 in a series of 7The Promise key as

Expectation

The key to unlocking the grace of God in the Old Testament comes when we understand the concept of promise. God promises to save, guide and direct us because of his covenant love. This demonstrates his grace.

Over recent weeks we have looked at ‘promise’, ‘blessing’, ‘covenant’, ‘love’, prophetic prediction, & messianic prophecies. These are some of many aspects of the central key of promise in the OT.

The OT concept that expresses God’s promise in the Bible that we looked at last time was: Messianic prophecies.

We discovered that it is unwise to assume that the Old Testament contains strong and clear promises about a coming messianic figure. This is because the promises are nearly all in picture language.

Māšîaḥ (Messiah) = Christos (Christ) = anointed one. So, the terms ‘the Lord’s Anointed’/ ‘his Anointed’/ ‘Anointed One’ (26 times in the OT) means the one who has been set apart by anointing with oil.

But, of these references, only once is Māšîaḥ used directly in reference to a future messianic figure (Daniel 9:24-26).

In the ANE, the weather was hot and dry. Olive oil was commonly used on the skin as a cosmetic barrier against the sun, or as a moisturiser on dry skin (Ps 104:15). It was used to refresh guests (Ps 23:5), and to pamper oneself (Proverbs 21:17). With the addition of spices, oil was often used as a deodorant (Ruth 3:3).

The practice of anointing with oil as a sign of consecration was of spiritual significance and a ritual that was unique to Israel in the ANE.

But for those without a Jewish background who read the Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible in the second century BC (Septuagint = LXX), the word christos meant ‘someone who uses a deodorant’.

1940’s ad for ‘Mum’

We thought of words that have changed in meaning in our lifetime.

‘Anointed ones’ were priests (Leviticus 4:1-3) and prophets (Psalm 105:15), and later the kings of Judah and Israel (1 Samuel 10:1). A special-recipe sacred anointing oil was used to set these people apart for their duties (Exodus 30:22-25).

During the first temple period (monarchy), the incumbent king was always understood as ‘the Lord’s Anointed’. So messianic prediction in the OT is sometimes confused with what the prophets said about the current king. Broadly speaking, we could call all of the kings of Israel ‘messiahs’, as they were all anointed at their enthronement.

Regardless of what the people thought or the prophets foretold, a human king could never live up to the expectations of a divine or perfect king.

The promises of a future Messianic figure were couched in different metaphors. Some of the metaphors referred to horticulture.

Branch: Isaiah 4:2; Jeremiah 23:5-6;Zechariah 3:8-10Shoot /Root / Stump: Isaiah 11:1-5, 10;Sprig: Ezekiel 17:22-24

Another metaphor for the messianic figure is The Servant of the Lord. There are 4 ‘Servant Songs’ in Isaiah. 42:1-4 justice to nations49:1-6 save all peoples50:4-9 he is humiliated52:13—53:12 redemption thru his pain

Another important metaphor is sonship. In Ancient Israel, the firstborn son was the heir and the spiritual head when the father died. Israel as a nation was seen as God’s son (Hosea 11:1).Also, the king was seen as God’s son (2 Sam 7:13-14).But a messianic figure will be the son of a virgin and called Immanuel (Isaiah 7:14).

We shared how an encounter with God’s Son has impacted our lives.

We discussed how we We discussed how we humans are sons and humans are sons and daughters of God daughters of God (Genesis 1:27). (Genesis 1:27).

*We looked at the *We looked at the difference between us difference between us being sons / daughters of being sons / daughters of God and God’s only God and God’s only begotten Son.begotten Son.* Also we looked at why we * Also we looked at why we need to have the right to need to have the right to be God’s children (Jn 1:12) be God’s children (Jn 1:12) when we are already sons when we are already sons & daughters of God.& daughters of God.

We discovered that the prophets predicted that this messianic son will be given a divine name as well as authority. He will be the new Son of David. His birth will be in Bethlehem. He will come in glory as the Son of Man.

Further to this, repeatedly through the OT, the promise God made to David in 2 Samuel 7:12-16 would be repeated (Psalm 132:10-18; 89:38-45). There would be a Davidic king on the throne over God’s people forever.

There are about 44 direct Old Testament messianic prophecies that deal with a coming Messiah and Saviour. These passages do not say much when taken individually, but if we take these promises together, they paint a vivid picture of what Christians interpret as a description of the person and work of Jesus Christ.

We thought about a statement of faith that we could make about the Messiah.

Of course we can say with faith, based on the New Testament, and in the wisdom of hindsight, that Jesus is the Messiah and that because we trust him we may receive forgiveness of sins (Matthew 26:28) & life in his name (John 20:31).

Tonight we examine the concept of ‘expectation’as a symbol of grace in the Old Testament.

The prophets built on the The prophets built on the message proclaimed by message proclaimed by their predecessors, and at their predecessors, and at least claimed that they, as least claimed that they, as well as their forebears, well as their forebears, selected and interpreted the selected and interpreted the Word of God for their Word of God for their hearers. hearers.

Are you planning anything for Christmas?

During the first temple period there were 4 factors that may have contributed to Messianic expectation. a)Promise of the everlasting Davidic throne (2 Sam 7)b)Continuation of the Davidic dynasty (2 Chron 36)c)Glorification of human kingsd)Creation of hope by the Spirit (Amos 9:11; Hosea 3:5)

Apart from this dependence on David, there were 2 passages that carried messianic hope in the first Temple period:Isaiah 9:1-7 & Micah 5:1-5.

It is clear that the OT prophets predicted that a child would be born, he would be a king, he would provide a sacrifice & forgiveness for the sins of the people, he would intercede on behalf of the people, and that he would be Saviour, God with us.

The prophets were not just ‘cheer leaders’ encouraging expectation. Rather, they were expressing the thoughts of the people as God’s mouth-pieces, and addressing the expectation that was already in the hearts of God’s people. Also, they had become disillusioned with incumbent kings when they disobeyed God.

During periods of instability, when ungodly kings ruled Judah, the people of God sought either one of 2 options. Firstly, when the king forsook the Lord and worshipped idols, the people did the same. A second option was that some looked beyond their earthly king to a promised future godly king who would live up to their expectations (Isaiah 7:1-14).

In the pre exilic era not all the expectation was messianic. During that time, the prophets also predicted God’s judgment on idolatry and other evil practices (see 1 Kings 21:17-29).

Did any of your prayers get answered? What were they?

Several specific factors marked the exilic period (586 – 516 BC). Jerusalem was destroyed, the people of God who survived were taken away as slaves into Babylon, and the Davidic monarchy (which the Lord had promised would last forever) was over (We assume Zedekiah died soon after 586 BC – 2 Chron 36:11-14).

The exile saw the destruction of the Temple, the violent deaths of those who opposed the Babylonians, and the forced march of those who survived. Amid this trauma, the people cried out to God. He heard them and promised that they would return to Israel and that they would be given a replacement Davidic king as well as a new covenant (Ezekiel 37:18-28).

Some expectations are unrealistic and can become crippling. What are some expectations that will never be met or can cause problems?

During the exile, the description of the ’ebed YHWH – the Servant of the Lord (Isaiah 42:1-4; 49:1-6; 50:4-9; 52:13– 53:12) could never have been fulfilled by any human who was living, or anyone who had ever lived. In fact, later Jewish interpretation of Isaiah 53, identifies this as messianic.

In the early period after the exile (after 516 BC) the Temple and city walls were rebuilt. Short-term messianic hope was raised by Zechariah (6:9-15) & Haggai (2:21-23) in Zerubbabel, a Davidite who became governor, and in his high priest, Joshua. But these leaders never lived up to the divine nature that was expected of them.

During each era of Judah’s history there was a shift in focus. In the pre exilic era, expectation concerned the next king. In the exilic era the hope was projected further into the future, to the end of the exile. But in the post exilic era, the expectation was for a messiah who would come and redeem his people at the end of time.

There are several documents from this second temple period that specifically refer to Messiah. The Psalms of Solomon & 3 Books of Enoch specifically refer to the coming Messiah.

They reflected the strong hope of an expected Messiah that was fulfilled at the first Christmas when Christ was born and God became human (Galatians 4:4).

What are your hopes and prayers now?

This was our last study in the series of the symbols of grace in the Old Testament.

© 28th November 2011, K. Sarlow