The Kingdom Part III
Notes
Transcript
The Kingdom Part III
The Kingdom Part III
As we’ve walked through the kingdom theme we’ve been dealing with the question
Who has the right to rule?
We looked at this initially in the context of Genesis 1-3 -
Last time we contrasted Cain and Solomon
Kingdom begins by Abiding
The Physical Kingdom cannot be obtained or maintained apart from Spiritual Relationship with God
The kingdom is not a declaration of being Justified before God
Authority brings Responsibility
Spiritual Condition of the King
We have been delegated authority
Make and Equip Disciples
Today we’re going to overview a lot of material and cover some extrabiblical history of the intertestamental period. Though we haven’t really defined what the kingdom is in this study, we’ve seen some pertinent aspects of it. Our definition for that is going to get filled out in our study of Matthew and beyond, but today, we’re going to look at how this kingdom theme gets distorted. At the end of today, I hope you can look on the Pharisees and understand how they got to where they were, and perhaps you may even recognize yourself in them.
Let’s Pray
So we’re going to start by briefly overviewing some of the covenants of Israel. You may remember from our Habakkuk study that we referenced Israel as a people whose identity is both born out of the covenants and maintained in them. The Jews are a covenant people. As such, we need to understand what the covenants are.
The first covenant we will look at is with Abraham:
6 “I have made you exceedingly fruitful, and I will make nations of you, and kings will come forth from you. 7 “I will establish My covenant between Me and you and your descendants after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your descendants after you. 8 “I will give to you and to your descendants after you, the land of your sojournings, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God.”
Here we see the 3 prominent aspects of the covenant:
- Seed
- Blessing
- Land
6 “I have made you exceedingly fruitful, and I will make nations of you, and kings will come forth from you. 7 “I will establish My covenant between Me and you and your descendants after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your descendants after you. 8 “I will give to you and to your descendants after you, the land of your sojournings, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God.”
- Seed
- Blessing
- Land
Last time we dealt with the Davidic Covenant which builds upon the Seed portion of the Abrahamic Covenant. This covenant is given in 2 Samuel 7:12-16.
16 “Your house and your kingdom shall endure before Me forever; your throne shall be established forever.” ’ ”
We discussed the three elements listed here of
House - David’s Line
Kingdom - Dominion/People
Throne - Authority
- Seed - Kingdom
- Blessing
- Land
The blessing portion of this covenant is seen throughout the redemptive narrative of Scripture. One place to observe this is the New Covenant foretold in Jeremiah.
33 “But this is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel after those days,” declares the Lord, “I will put My law within them and on their heart I will write it; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. 34 “They will not teach again, each man his neighbor and each man his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they will all know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them,” declares the Lord, “for I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more.”
Recognize the similarity in language, “I will be their God and they shall be My people.”
7 “I will establish My covenant between Me and you and your descendants after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your descendants after you.
We need to remember that the New Covenant is not instituted in Jeremiah, but it’s coming is a message of hope to those under persecution and in exile. Jesus institutes this as He is the King of the kingdom coming.
25 In the same way He took the cup also after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood; do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.” 26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes.
We will look more at this another day. I also want to call out that this redemptive narrative, this blessing aspect of the Abrahamic covenant, is the provision for the spiritual reconciliation of the kingdom. Because of this promise, we have relationship with God.
- Seed - Kingdom
- Blessing - Kingdom
- Land
The land portion of the covenant is clarified and expanded in Deuteronomy 29-30 in sections that are now marked the Palestinian Covenant, or the Land Covenant. Once again, we discussed these sections consistently in our study of Habakkuk with Deut 28 being the conditional outcomes of the Mosaic Covenant recognizing the promise in Deut 30 as the ultimate coming of God’s kingdom as depicted in the vision of Habakkuk 3.
As such, a quick note about the Mosaic Covenant is necessary here. When we think of the Mosaic Covenant we probably think of the Law. The literal word here is Torah, it’s what we use for the first five books of the Bible. More specifically, some of you probably think of the 613 commands, prohibitions, or regulations provided. I wonder though, how do you answer the question:
What was the purpose of the law?
I’m sure you’ve heard lots of answers to this question.
Symbolic of Christ
Exemplary for Christian Living
Provided restitution of sin
Provided for relationship with God
Rules for living in the kingdom
Leviticus Class - And He Called - how to have fellowship, growing, constant, communion with God.
Lev 1.1 vs Numbers 1.1 - From the tent of meeting vs In the tent of meeting
The Law was never a means to salvation.
Paul clarifies this in Galatians.
21 Is the Law then contrary to the promises of God? May it never be! For if a law had been given which was able to impart life, then righteousness would indeed have been based on law.
22 But the Scripture has shut up everyone under sin, so that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe.
The law not only shows the need for a savior, a redeemer, but it also teaches the means for a sinful people to abide in the presence of God. Its primary function is to teach.
Torah literally translates into “instruction.” One cannot follow the law into salvation anymore than you can follow my teaching into salvation. Salvation has always been through faith alone in the promised redeemer.
2 For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God. 3 For what does the Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.”
Given this, we need to remember that this instruction provided in the law was to teach people how to approach God in constant communion. It’s function was to teach people who God is and thereby how to abide in Him, how to follow Him, how to remain in Him.
Like all good instruction, there are benefits to its application and consequences for not applying it. These are the conditional outcomes that are provided in Deuteronomy 28-30 which includes the Land Covenant.
Remember that on either side of the conditional outcomes of the Mosaic Covenant, good or bad, God’s kingdom is coming and His kingdom will be established.
Deuteronomy 30:5-6 begins to tell us what will happen after all of these things:
5 “The Lord your God will bring you into the land which your fathers possessed, and you shall possess it; and He will prosper you and multiply you more than your fathers.
6 “Moreover the Lord your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your descendants, to love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, so that you may live.
What we’re going to see in our historical study today, is how ruling the land begins to be equated with the kingdom and outweighs the other elements. Similarly, the purpose of the law begins to be morphed into how to posses the land and thusly, how to possess the kingdom. Now it is true that possessing the land is a blessing of obedience and there are significant parallels and even ties between the land and the kingdom, but this is not the purpose of the law. If this is the purpose and goal of the law then the legalism of the Pharisees is justified. But rather, the purpose of the law is to teach people about God and show His graciousness in dwelling with mankind. This is what is meant when Jesus says I came to fulfill the law.
17 “Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfill.
He is the Word, the teaching the graciousness the character of God incarnate as represented in the law. The gospel of Matthew is centered around this.
Review:
- Seed (Kingdom)
- Blessing (Kingdom)
- Land (Kingdom)
Abrahamic Covenant holds association with the Kingdom
Abrahamic Covenant is already guaranteed.
So lets turn to some history and see how this shift occurs.
Assyrian Exile (722 BC) - 2 Kings 17
Because of their sin and forsaking God
Babylonian Exile (605-536 BC) - 2 Kings 24
Sins of Manasseh (Idolatry and sacrificing of his sons to foreign gods - 2 Kings 21)
Temple Destroyed/God’s Glory Departs (586 BC) - 2 Kings 25
Captives Released by Cyrus (539 BC) - Ezra 1
Temple Rebuilt (536/520-515 BC) - Haggai 1 & Ezra 6
God’s glory does not come into the temple
Reforms/Walls Rebuilt (444 BC) - Nehemiah 2
Intertestamental Period Begins (~420 BC)
Results of Exile:
Use of Aramaic
Practice without Sacrifice
Study/Obedience/Prayer
Potential origin of synagogue
Let’s continue into the intertestamental period
Alexander the Great (336-323 BC)
Tutored by Aristotle
Brilliant Military Strategist
Reclaims Greece
332BC Captures Jerusalem
Greek Language
Ptolemaic Dynasty (323-198 BC)
Ptolemy I Soter (Savior) one of Alexander’s Generals - King of Egypt
Jerusalem “Temple State”
Great Freedom
Diaspora Dispersion
Lots of Jews in Alexandria (Egypt)
Hellenization (Assimilation to Greek Culture)
Forsaking of Traditional Jewish Culture
Koine Greek Language (Hebrew not understandable)
LXX in Alexandria (as the story goes)
Resistance to Hellenism arises
Seleucid Rule (198-167 BC)
Antiochus III conquers Ptolemaic Empire at battle of Philippi (198 BC)
Seleucus one of Alexander’s Generals (Syria)
“Hellenizers” rule the temple - High Priest appointed by bribe
Antiochus IV assumes title Antiochus Epiphanes (Manifestation - the revealing of God on earth)
Jerusalem sacked and temple looted
decrees against festivals and circumcision
Illegal to posses Scriptures
Worship of Greek gods required (Dionysius - God of wine, fertility, and theater)
Temple used to worship Zeus (167 BC)
3 Years
Pigs sacrificed on the altar
Some would believe this is the Abomination of Desolation from Dan 12
As with all times of persecution, there is renewed interest in Eschatology
Jewish Leaders Rebel
Maccabean War (167-141 BC)
Hasidim (Pious Ones) - desire to preserve Jewish culture
Eventually become the Pharisees
Openly criticize Hellenizers
Strict Adherence to the Torah
1000 Jews were slaughtered because the refused to fight on a Sabbath, even when attacked, for fear of breaking the law.
Join with Mattathias in open warfare, but Mattathias family leads
164BC Temple is reclaimed - this is Hanukkah dedication
Treaty with Rome (brought about Judas, Mattathias’ son) which eventually routed the Seleucids to retreat
Hasmonean Dynasty (141-63 BC)
Mattathias heirs named it
First period of Jewish autonomy since the exile
Hasidim have little to no role in new government
Three Factions of Judaism
Hellenized Jews - Greek Wannabe
Hasmoneans - Ruling Class
Hasidim - Pious Ones (Pharisees)
Tensions increase greatly in this time. Alexander Jannaeus, a Hasmonean King, crucified 800 Pharisees in one year to protect power
Roman Period Begins (63 BC)
Pompey captures Jerusalem and enters the Holy of Holies
Caesar Augustus - Golden Age (44 BC)
Pax Romana - Roman Peace
Eternal Rome
Deification from Julius to Claudius (54 AD) - Golden “Messianic” Age of Rome
Herod the Great becomes King (37 BC)
Roman Senate declared him “King of the Jews” in Alexandria
Returned with Roman troops and claimed the throne
Half Jewish
Began Refurbishing of the Temple
Jesus, the Messiah, the King of the Jews, is born
Results of the Intertestamental Period:
Greek Common Language
Jews in Exile
Hellenization/Anti-Hellenization
Desire for the “Kingdom”
So why have we covered all of this history?
We need to know in order to understand
Historical Context
Matthew Starts with 42 specific generations of history
The conditional outcome of following the law was not the purpose of it
Jesus invitation of the kingdom includes the future outcomes, but it also includes today
The purpose of the law was instruction
Fishing Example
We don’t want to repeat mistakes
The purpose of the sanctified life is to recognize who God is, to become more like Christ
This doesn’t mean we should purposefully break God’s commandments, but we should be instructed into deeper relationship with Him.
We cannot lose sight of purpose
What is our purpose?
Make and Equip Disciples
Where we end today brings us to the time of Christ, to the time of the gospels.
The kingdom, the rule, the possession has become the purpose of the law instead of the outcome of it.
Jesus is going to correct that. And this is what we’re going to study in Matthew, the purpose of the people of God.
Let’s Pray
