Page 111 - Biblical Backgrounds

Connect…

If you have crossed that blank page of your Bible separating the Old and the New Testaments, you have
most certainly asked, “How did we get here?” The changes are too clear and significant to ignore.
Israel’s territory seems to be larger in the New Testament times compared to the Jews’ restoration from
Babylon. The world’s (dominating) superpower is no longer Persia in the New Testament times. Jewish
spiritual leaders, such as High Priests, seem to be more politically inclined in the New Testament times
than in the Old Testament. Sects such as Sadducees and Pharisees are never heard of in the Old
Testament, yet they appear in the New Testament, etc.

Malachi (the last book of the Old Testament) closes with “Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet
before the great and awesome day of the LORD comes.” (Malachi 4:5). There are over 400 years between
Malachi 4:5 and the coming of John the Baptist and Jesus Christ. This period is the intertestamental
period, commonly referred to as the 400 years of silence. “Silence” should not imply that God was
inactive, for indeed he was working among his people, but that no one spoke in that period with the
authority of “thus saith the LORD.”

This era is worth studying. Its understanding informs us of the political, cultural, and religious trends of
the New Testament times. For example, that there were over 400 years without a “thus sayeth the
Lord” prophet may give us a clue as to why many flocked to the wilderness to hear John the Baptist
preach (Mark 1:4-5). We have already covered much of the intertestamental period in the past
chapter(s), as the Hebrew people were predominantly subjected to Alexander the Great and the
Ptolemies. Let us now delve in and see the latter stages of this era, building up to the coming of the
Messiah.

The Lesson ...

Location and History

Israel is a small strip of land roughly 150 miles long and 50 miles wide. It has a very strategic location
bordering three continents (Africa, Asia, and Europe). Hence, it is safe to say that it was at the center of
the Ancient Near East, a region roughly corresponding to today’s Middle East. Topographically, Israel is
divided into four regions running from north to south: the coastal plain, the central hills, the Jordan Rift
Valley, and the Negev Desert. The coastal plain is a fertile, mostly flat coastal plain that fronts the
Mediterranean Sea coastline. Next is the central hills (highlands). In the North (Galilee and Samaria),
relatively fertile valleys transverse the hills. In the south (beyond Jerusalem), the hills are barren.

East of the central highlands lies the Jordan Rift Valley, which is a small part of the 6,500-kilometer-long
Syrian-East African Rift. In Israel, the Rift Valley is dominated by the Jordan River, Lake Tiberias (known
also as the Sea of Galilee and to Israelis as Lake Kinneret), and the Dead Sea. The Jordan River is Israel's
largest river (322 kilometers long). Originating from near Mount Hermon, it flows south through the
freshwater Lake Tiberias before ultimately pouring into the salty Dead Sea. With a capacity estimated at

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