I've been mulling this over for the last few days trying to grasp the desperation these people faced. 400 years of silence. Not a word of prophecy, no miracles and no "Thus saith the Lord" for 400 years. I get impatient and frustrated when I feel like God hasn't spoken to me for a week let alone going through your whole lifetime with nothing but silence from God. I can't help but wonder if I was living in those times would I have held out hope?
Prophets promised Israel a Saviour (see Isaiah 7, 9 to start) and that promise was repeated generation after generation with no one knowing when it would actually come to pass.
At church on Sunday I learned more of the history of state of the nation of Israel during this time. The book of Malachi provides a good picture of the times right before that 400 years of silence. The people of Israel had become greedy, selfish and arrogant before God and that which was evil they began calling good. The government was corrupted and divorce was on the rise. Hearing my pastor describe what a horrible place Israel had become really helped me to put this theme of hope into perspective.
I don't know about you, but there are some days when I watch the news, read the newspaper or hear about horrific things that have happened to the lives of those around me that I truly long for my Messiah to come. Isn't that just like the time of Jesus' birth? I'm beginning to understand the hope these people clung onto for Someone to save them from the reality they faced, Someone to rescue them from sin that surrounded them, a King to rule with dignity, love and justice. I get it. I want that same thing today. I long for Jesus to return and save us from the horrible place this world has become.
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