It is organized by sections that each have a unique writing style in support of God’s plan for redemption of mankind (through Jesus). MAIN IDEA: The Old Testament consists of books written before Jesus was born. OBJECTIVE: To teach the students about the organization of the Old Testament and how each section of books point to Christ.
For more information, I recommend “Reader's Digest Atlas of the Bible” (Pages 144-171) and “History and Geography of the Bible” by Bob and Sandra Waldron.This lesson is the second in our series explaining how the Bible is organized. Hopefully it helps make the transition from Malachi to Matthew more understandable. Yes, I know this is an oversimplified view of history, but it gives you a rough idea of 400 years, in the space of a few hundred words. At that point, this area of the world was formally made part of the Roman Empire. This state of affairs would last until the AD70s, when Rome destroyed Jerusalem and a great many Jews in the Jewish War. Technically not part of the Roman Empire, but subject to it. In order to gain and maintain their power, they allied themselves with Rome, and Judea, Galilee, and Samaria become Roman territories.
As the line of the Maccabees dwindled over time, and through some murky politics, the Herodian family came into power, with the aid and support of Rome.
After Alexander's death, the kingdom was split into three parts, and Judea became a much fought over location, changing hands several times.Įventually, Israel won independence through uprisings led by the Maccabees (note: it is this occasion that the celebration of Hanukkah is a memorial for). It was though his efforts that the Greek in which the New Testament is written was spread and made the common language. This enabled Alexander the Great, some years later, to effectively conquer the world. The result was disastrous for the Persians, who were soundly defeated and weakened. Eventually, it attempted to invade Greece, which was at this point a collection of city-states. From this point the Persian Empire continued to spread (and it was during this time that the Jews were permitted to return to Jerusalem and the surrounding area). In Daniel 5, it is recorded how the Medo-Persians conquered Babylon almost effortlessly. Without going into a great deal of historical detail (hopefully just enough to explain things without getting boring), let us consider how things went from Babylon to Rome. This is further made apparent by the mention of the fifth kingdom, the rock not cut by human hands that grows into a mountain. This kingdom is the Roman Empire, which is what we find in the New Testament. The dream then states that this kingdom will be replaced by a fourth kingdom, which is represented by the iron legs and the feet mixed of iron and clay. History tells us how the Persian empire was defeated by the Greeks, and of how Alexander the Great came to rule a vast area of the world. This empire will be replaced by the Greek, or Macedonian Empire: the bronze belly. Later in the book of Daniel, as well as in other histories, this is recorded. That kingdom will be replaced by a kingdom represented by the silver chest: the Medo-Persian Empire (usually referred to as the Persian Empire in secular history – Medo-Persian refers to the Persian Empire's conquering of the Medes, and then of the Medes becoming the ruling class). The head of gold is Nebuchadnezzar, king of the Babylonian Empire. The dream is of a statue, composed of various materials. This dream lays out the general case of affairs for the next several hundred years. In Daniel 2:24-45, God gives Nebuchadnezzar, through Daniel, the explanation of a dream. How did it get from the one case of affairs to the other? At the beginning of the New Testament, Israel has been divided into separate territories, overseen by Rome.
At the end of the Old Testament, the Jews have returned from captivity, have rebuilt Jerusalem and the temple, and are under governance (at least nominally) by the Persian Empire. During this 400 years, much happened that is not recorded in scripture. There is a space between Malachi and Matthew of about 400 years.