Day 66 ~ the end of an era, then 400 years of silence

Zephaniah

• Zephaniah was a prophet writing to Judah, a contemporary to Jeremiah with good king Josiah (killed by Pharaoh Necho). We read again the sentiments that the chosen people will build houses and not live in them, will plant gardens but will not get to harvest their crops.

Haggai

• Haggai 1:1 - written in August - December, 520bc. "In the second year of King Darius, in the sixth month, on the first day of the month, the word of the LORD came by Haggai the prophet to Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest..." - you don't get much more specific in identifying when this was written. This is 18 years after Cyrus has allowed the captives to return to Jerusalem to rebuild the temple. But the temple is still not rebuilt, and the people are just barely getting by. 1:9-10 tells us: "...Why?” says the LORD of hosts. “Because of My house that is in ruins, while every one of you runs to his own house. 10 Therefore the heavens above you withhold the dew, and the earth withholds its fruit". In other words, get busy.
• Chapter 2 - even though the temple is not as nice as it's former building, the glory and peace will be greater.
• 2:12 - Zerubbel,the high priest, came back in 538bc (see Ez. 2:2)

Zechariah

• Two months after calling Haggai to prophecy, the Lord calls Zechariah. Chapters 1-8 are to be contemporaneous to Ezra 5-6. Zechariah worked with Haggai. There are many messianic references in this book.
• 1:11 - was the earth at peace in the eleventh month of 520bc? It would be interesting to compare historical records.
• 2:8 - the Jews are the apple of God's eye
• 4:6 - not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit, says the Lord.

Let's talk about Government, and the transition that is occuring post exile. 4:11-14 - A new type of government is described, more balanced. The line of kings line has been cut off with the captivity. We don't hear of another king after Jehoiachin (who served in bondage in Babylon and was released by Evil-Merodach) or Zedekiah (who reigned as a puppet of the Babylonian empire in Jerusalem until the fall in 586bc). Of course, God never wanted kings in the first place (I Samuel 8:19-21). The more balanced government that will begin to transition through the next four hundred years before Christ is governors and a high priest instead of kings overbearing weaker high priests. Here, Zerubbabel is governor in Jerusalem, Joshua is the high priest in the first wave of returnees. In a later wave, Nehemiah is the governor, and Ezra is the high priest.

• 5:11 - a house of wickedness will be removed from Jerusalem and will be built in Babylon (Shinar).
• 7:4-10 - What is your motivation for fasting? empty religion vs. true spirituality. Genesis
• 9:9-10 - king riding a donkey, fulfilled in Matthew 21:1-5
• 11:4-13 - prophecy of shepherds interesting - dismissed three in one month - what does that mean? 30 pieces of silver - like with Judas selling Jesus
• 12:10 - they will look on Me whom they have pierces - Christ on the cross fulfilled in John 19:34-37
• 14:5 - reference to the earthquake during king Uzziah's day.
• Chapter 14 - end times? not yet occurred in our day?

Malachi

• Written to Israel - the name used for the recombined kingdom with one capitol in Jerusalem. Sounds like the priests are going off track again - this time substituting sub-standard sacrifices where good stuff is available.
• 1:11 - God's name will be great among the Gentiles
• Chapter 2 contains some commentary on marriage. Apparently, to cleanse themselves of pagan culture, many divorces occurred when the Jews returned to Israel. They had been captives 70 years (or more in the case of those returning from the northern kingdom) and had married outside the tribes of Israel. Their answer was a quick and easy divorce. But God thought that was dealing treacherously.
• 3:1 - the next prophet will prepare the way before Me. Matthew 11:7-10 - John the Baptist. After a succession of overlapping prophets, the Jewish people will have to wait 400 years.
• 3:8-10 - don't rob God of his tithes and offerings.
• Chapter 4 - Elijah will return. Many thought Jesus was Elijah. Elijah never died, remember?

So, what happens the next four hundred years before the New Testament begins (Intertestamental period)? Apparently the books of the Old Testament, even these later ones after the exile, were well known, because Jesus starts out quoting them from the beginning of his ministry. I gathered this info from some online sources, including "gotquestions.org":

• The political, religious, and social atmosphere of Palestine changed significantly during what some refer to as the “400 silent years”. Much of what happened was predicted by the prophet Daniel. See Daniel Chapters 2, 7, 8, and 11 and compare to historical events.
• Israel was under the control of the Persian Empire from about 532-332bc and allowed the Jews to practice their religion with little interference (including the time of rebuilding the temple.
• This relatively peaceful and content time was just the calm before the storm. Alexander the Great defeated Darius of Persia, bringing Greek rulership to the world and required that Greek culture be promoted in every land that he conquered. As a result, the Hebrew Old Testament was translated into Greek, becoming the translation known as the Septuagint (which is what Jesus probably knew). Alexander did allow the Jews religious freedom, though he still strongly promoted Greek lifestyles. This was not a good turn of events for Israel, since the Greek culture was very worldly, humanistic and ungodly.
• After Alexander died, Judea was ruled by a series of successors, culminating in Antiochus Epiphanes who overthrew the rightful line of the priesthood and desecrated the temple, defiling it with unclean animals and a pagan altar (see Mark 13:14) (Was this the desolation described in Daniel?). Eventually, Jewish resistance to Antiochus restored the rightful priests and rescued the temple.
• The period that followed was still one of war, violence and infighting. Around 63 BC, Pompey of Rome conquered Palestine, putting all of Judea under control of the Caesars. This eventually led to Herod being made King of Judea by the Roman emperor. This would be the nation that taxed and controlled the Jews, and eventually executed the Messiah on a Roman cross.
• Roman, Greek, and Hebrew cultures were now mixed together in Judea, with all three languages spoken commonly.
• During the span of the Greek and Roman occupations, two important political/religious groups emerged in Palestine. The Pharisees added to the Law of Moses, through oral tradition, and eventually considered their own laws more important (see Mark 7:1-23). The Sadducees represented the aristocrats and the wealthy. The Sadducees, who wielded power through the Sanhedrin, rejected all but the Mosaic books of the Old Testament. The Jews, once again, were conquered, oppressed, and polluted.
• The synagogue was created. Most of the Jews in Babylonia remained there even after King Cyrus permitted them to return to the Land of Israel. While sacrifices could be offered only from the altar in Jerusalem, prayers and study of scripture could be offered anywhere. The Talmud tells that at the time of the destruction of the Second Temple in Jerusalem (69ad, soon after Christ's death), there were 394 synagogues in Jerusalem alone.