Many Christmas carols celebrate the birth of Jesus and the reasons he came to earth. Some, like Handel’s “For Unto Us a Child Is Born,” quote Old Testament prophecies about Jesus.
That’s a good thing.
When times are tough and news is distressing, it helps to look at the way Jesus fulfilled Old Testament prophecy. Seeing the amazing ways God revealed the coming of Jesus sends faith soaring. That assures us God will manage the future well too.
God unfolded his plan in stages, beginning with a promise to Eve, the first woman.
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When I first became a Christian, one of the things that puzzled me around Christmas time every year was why people called Jesus “Messiah.” I didn’t know what the word meant, but the way people said it made it sound like something super special. I was also confused over why people said the Jews were waiting for this Messiah.
So in this post, I’ll answer three questions:
What does messiah mean?
Why were Jews waiting for a messiah?
What New Testament word is equivalent to messiah?
1. What Does “Messiah” Mean?
The Hebrew word translated “anointed” and “anointed one” is māshîaḥ,from which we derive our English word messiah. A priest or prophet (or both) used oil to anoint David and his descendants as kings, so they were called anointed ones, or messiahs. It’s one of several titles the kings held.
2. Why Were Jews Waiting for a Messiah?
The short answer is that when Jesus was born, the Jews were governed by foreign rulers, but the prophets had promised that one day they would have an anointed king (messiah) descended from David ruling over them again.
Here’s the longer answer.
The Davidic Covenant
The Lord made a covenant with King David that promised this:
The Lord declares to you that the Lord will make you a house. When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.
2 Samuel 7:11–13
Although David had wanted to build God a house in the form of a temple, God promised to build David a house in the form of a dynasty—the house of David. Because David had shed so much blood in wars, he could not be the one to build a temple. Instead, an offspring would become king and build the house of the Lord. That offspring’s throne would last forever. These promises are called the Davidic Covenant.
After David died, his son Solomon built a temple. People thought that Solomon’s throne would last forever through a never-ending succession of sons. But that didn’t happen because eventually the kings and people forsook God for other gods.
The Bad News and the Good News
About 300 years after David, the prophet Isaiah prophesied that God would send the people into exile because of injustice and bloodshed (Isaiah 5:7). But Isaiah also prophesied good news. First, a remnant would return from exile. Second, after the return, God would send a new king who would differ considerably from the flawed kings the Israelites had known:
For to us a child is born,
to us a son is given;
and the government shall be upon his shoulder,
and his name shall be called
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Of the increase of his government and of peace
there will be no end,
on the throne of David and over his kingdom,
to establish it and to uphold it
with justice and with righteousness
from this time forth and forevermore.
Isaiah 9:6–7
So this king would sit on the throne of David and would reign forevermore!
What Isaiah and the other prophets warned about came to pass. About 400 years after David reigned, God exiled the people and temporarily halted David’s dynasty. When the exiles returned about 70 years later, they had no anointed king—no messiah—of their own yet. That’s why the Jews were awaiting a messiah, an anointed king.
The Messiah Comes
“The Annunciation” by John William Waterhouse, 1914 (U.S. public domain)
A thousand years after King David’s reign, the angel Gabriel greeted a young virgin named Mary who was a descendant of David’s:
And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.”
Luke 1:30–33
When the angel told Mary that Jesus would reign forever, he meant her baby would be the promised Messiah. Later, the prophet John the Baptist witnessed the Holy Spirit anoint Jesus for ministry, making him an Anointed One. Jesus reigns now in the heavenly places. One day, God will create the new heavens and earth where Jesus will reign forevermore as the King of kings (Revelation 19:16; 21:1; 22:3).
3. What New Testament Word Is Equivalent to “Messiah”?
Although most of the Old Testament was written in Hebrew, most of the New Testament was written in Greek. The Greek word for “anointed one” is christos, from which we get our word Christ. So, Christ is the New Testament equivalent to Messiah.
Conclusion
People call Jesus “Messiah” (which means “Anointed One”) because that was one of the titles that the kings who were anointed to sit on David’s throne possessed. The people in Jesus’s day were waiting for a messiah because prophets prophesied that one day King David would have a descendant whose throne would last forever. The angel Gabriel said Jesus was that king. The New Testament calls him “Christ,” which is equivalent to Messiah.
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Who doesn’t love feasts? God gave the people feasts they could enjoy before him. Indeed, God commanded the Israelites to gather together at seven sacred assemblies every year involving feasts. Leviticus 23 describes them:
Passover (verse 5)
Feast of Unleavened Bread (6-8)
Feast of First Fruits (9-14)
Feast of Weeks (15-22)
Feast of Trumpets (23-25)
Day of Atonement (26-32)
Feast of Booths (33-43)
The people gathered at the tabernacle (later, the temple). Not only did these festivals ensure that people remembered God’s mighty works, but they pointed to something significant about Jesus. In fact, Jesus fulfilled the first four on holy days!
What do I mean by “fulfilled”?
The apostle Paul wrote that the festivals “are a shadow of the things that were to come; thereality, however, is found in Christ” (Colossians 2:16-17). In other words, the feasts and what they commemorated foreshadowed some reality about Jesus. Thus, Jesus fulfilled the feasts when he completed that which they foreshadowed.
With that in mind, let’s look at the four holy days Jesus fulfilled and then consider the three he didn’t fulfill—and why.
The Four Feasts Jesus Fulfilled
The Jewish religious calendar begins in spring on Nisan 1, the month that the people escaped from Egypt (Exodus 12:1-2). That day is called Rosh Chadesh Nisan. Two weeks later come the year’s first three sacred assemblies, which overlap. In fact, they’re so closely related that they are often collectively referred to by the name of the first: Passover.
For Detail Lovers
The Jewish calendar is lunar, unlike the Gregorian calendar used by most of the world today. That causes Nisan 1 to fall on different dates in March or April each year. Most people think the Jewish new year is in the fall. That is because around the third century AD, many Jews started celebrating the new year in the fall (more on that later).
Passover celebrated God’s deliverance. For it, God commanded Israelite families to sacrifice alamb each year on Nisan 14, without breaking any of its bones. This was the Passover sacrifice. That night, they ate the lamb with bitter herbs. This was the Passover feast.
The annual sacrifice and feast commemorated how the Destroyer passed over homes protected by lamb’s blood so the inhabitants would not die and could instead begin the journey to the promised land.
For Detail Lovers
Here’s what happened. The Lord sent Moses to Pharaoh with a message: Let my people go! This was because the Egyptians had enslaved the Israelites. Nine times Pharaoh refused, and nine times the Lord brought plagues as a sign that he was more powerful than Pharaoh’s gods.
Then the Lord announced the tenth plague: The Destroyer would come that night and kill the Egyptian firstborn males. But he commanded the Hebrews to sacrifice a lamb and paint its blood on the top and sides of the doorframe. When the Destroyer came, he would pass over homes protected with lamb’s blood.
According to Rabbi Dovid Rosenfeld, since the temple’s destruction in AD 70, no Passover lambs have been sacrificed. He says that Jews today consider Nisan 14 a minor holiday and refer to Nisan 15 to 21 as Passover.
Jesus’s Feasts Fulfillment
On Thursday, Jesus ate the Passover Feast with his disciples. The Jewish leaders arrested him that night and Rome crucified him the next day. Soldiers did not break his legs when they broke the legs of those crucified with him so “that the Scripture” regarding the Passover lamb “might be fulfilled” (John 19:33,36).
The New Testament declares, “Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed” (1 Corinthians 5:7). Just as Passover commemorated God delivering his people from slavery to Egypt so they could journey to the earthly promised land, so Jesus’s sacrifice delivers God’s people from slavery to sin so that they can journey to the heavenly promised land. Just as the first Passover lambs’ blood protected from death, so Jesus’s blood protects from the second death (hell), granting eternal life.
“The Last Supper” by Giampietrino (public domain)
For Detail Lovers
Because Jewish days began at sunset, Jesus was crucified on the same religious calendar day as the feast, Nisan 15. Thus, when he gave his disciples bread and wine at the Passover feast and said, “This is my body” and “This is my blood of the covenant,” he linked the Passover feast to his sacrifice (Matthew 26:26,28).
2) The Feast of Unleavened Bread: Chag HaMatzot
Nisan 15-21 (sunset March 27 to sunset April 3 or 4, 2021)
The Feast of Unleavened Bread celebrated God’s continued deliverance with a week of feasts. Each year before the feasts began, Jewish families completely emptied their homes of leaven (Exodus 12:19). Then for seven days, they ate nothing with yeast. They also made daily food offerings. On the first and last days of the week, they held sacred assemblies at the temple and did no work.
The Feast of Unleavened Bread recalled that the Hebrews fled from Egypt quickly onNisan 15, without time to let bread rise. Leaven often symbolized corruption and could not be used on the altar.
Jesus’s Feasts Fulfillment
Just as the festival’s bread was without yeast, so Jesus was without corruption. Just as Jewish families purged yeast from their houses, so today followers of Christ purge sin from their lives:
Let us therefore celebrate the festival, not with the old leaven, the leaven of malice and evil, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.
1 Corinthians 5:8
3) Feast of Firstfruits
Sadducees: Sunday after Sabbath after Passover (April 4, 2021); Pharisees: Nisan 16 (March 29, 2021)
“The Angel and Women at the Empty Tomb” by Gustave Doré (public domain)
The Feast of Firstfruits celebrated the first of the grain harvest. This was because the first sheaf of barley was a sign that God was about to bless his people with more. So Jews brought a sheaf of barley to the temple to wave before the Lord and give thanks for the harvest to come. They could not eat any barley until they performed this ritual.
The Hebrews began celebrating this holy day after they arrived in the promised land. Thus, it reminded families that their harvests were God’s gift and there was more to come.
Jesus’s Feasts Fulfillment
Jesus rose from the dead on the Feast of Firstfruits. His resurrection promises that he will resurrect those belonging to him when it is time to enter the new promised land. Just as the first sheaf of barley anticipated a greater harvest of barley, so Jesus’s resurrection anticipates a greater harvest of souls.
But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep… For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. But each in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ.
1 Corinthians 15:20–23
For Detail Lovers
The Sadducees celebrated the Feast of Firstfruits on the day that followed the Sabbath that followed Passover (always a Sunday). The Pharisees celebrated Firstfruits on the second day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread (Nisan 16). According to Harold W. Hoehner in Chronological Aspects of the Life of Christ, Nisan 16 fell on the Sunday following the Sabbath that followed Passover in both AD 30 and AD 33. These are the two years most scholars place the crucifixion.
Loaves of bread, courtesy of Adobe Stock
4) Feast of Weeks (Pentecost): Shavuot
7 weeks after Firstfruits (Sadducees, May 23, 2021; Pharisees, May 17, 2021)
The Feast of Weeks celebrated the end of the wheat harvest. It was also called Pentecost because it came 50 days after the Sabbath of the Feast of Unleavened Bread. Then on this day, worshipers presented two loaves of wheat bread made with leaven to the Lord.
For Detail Lovers
In preparation for the festival, people made provision for the poor. In time, the celebration also commemorated the giving of the law at Sinai not long after the Israelites escaped Egypt. If Jesus was crucified in AD 30 or 33 as most scholars think, the Sadducees and Pharisees celebrated Pentecost on the same day the year of the crucifixion.
Jesus’s Feasts Fulfillment
On this sacred day, Jesus baptized his followers with the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:1-4). Just as the wheat harvest had produced loaves of bread, so the resurrection produced the church. Just as the loaves contained leaven, so the church contains imperfect people.
“The Holiday Series: Rosh Hashana” by Arthur Szyk, courtesy of The Arthur Szyk Society (www.szyk.org)
The Three Feasts Jesus Has Not Fulfilled
The seventh month of the year held three more celebrations, and their final fulfillments are yet to come. For Jesus said, “I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also” (John 14:3).
5) Feast of Trumpets: Rosh HaShanah
Tishri 1 (sunset September 6 to sunset September 7, 2021)
The Feast of Trumpets celebrates God’s providence. Trumpets call people to gather before God in rest from all harvests, including grapes and citrus. Priests blew trumpets from morning to night. This feast began a time of spiritual renewal.
For Detail Lovers
Today, the celebration extends over two days and includes a celebration of the civil new year. This change may have happened around the third century AD. Exodus 12:1-2 commands that the Jewish year begin on Nisan 1, so that remains the new year on the Hebrew religious calendar.
Jesus’s Future Feasts Fulfillment
Just as the trumpet sounded to call people to the temple after all harvests were complete, so when the earthly harvest of souls is complete, another trumpet will sound to call for the ingathering of souls:
For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord.
The Feast of Trumpets was followed by the Hebrews’ holiest day of the year, the Day of Atonement. This was not a feast, but prepared the people spiritually for the feasts to come.
On this day, the people prepared themselves by ceasing all work, fasting, denying themselves comforts, and confessing and repenting from sins. Meanwhile, the high priest presented sacrifices to cleanse the people and all the holy things from the year’s accumulated defilement of sin. He also took two goats and sacrificed one to make atonement for sin. Then he laid his hands on the head of the other, confessed the people’s sins, and sent the goat into the wilderness as a sign that their sins had been carried away.
Jesus’s Future Feasts Fulfillment
In Jesus’s first coming, he atoned for sin on the cross, completing the work of the first goat. But the Judgment follows his second coming, after which he will remove all sin and causes of sin, fulfilling what the second goat pointed to (Matthew 13:41; Revelation 20:10-15). What the Day of Atonement pointed to will be fully and finally complete.
7) Feast of Booths: Sukkot
Tishri 15-22 (September 21-28, 2021)
The Feast of Booths celebrates the journey to and arrival in the promised land. It was the final festival of the year and provided another week of feasts. The people brought fruit and tree branches to rejoice before the Lord. For seven days, they dwelt in temporary booths constructed from branches. This commemorated the Lord’s good care as the Hebrews journeyed through the desert. Then on the eighth day, they entered homes, commemorating arrival in the promised land.
“Examining the Lulav” by Leopold Pilichowski (public domain) shows tree branches and citron fruit used in the Feast of Booths
For Detail Lovers
By Jesus’s day, water and light ceremonies took place during the Feast of Booths (John 7-8). People bound together a palm frond, myrtle, and willow (called a lulav) to carry with citron fruit in a procession during the water ceremony.
Jesus’s Future Feasts Fulfillment
Just as the Hebrews lived in temporary booths until they reached the earthly promised land, so our souls dwell in temporary shelters—our earthly bodies—while we journey to the new promised land. When Jesus returns, he will raise our bodies into glorious, imperishable bodies. We will bring to him the fruit his Holy Spirit has grown in our lives.
For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed. For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality.
1 Corinthians 15:52–53
Another feast awaits: the wedding feast of the Lamb (Revelation 19:7-9). The Lord God will bring us to the new heavens and earth. There he and Christ, our Passover Lamb, will dwell in our midst forever (Revelation 21:1-3). There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain. Our journey ends. We will arrive.
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Years ago, I wanted to know more about Jesus in the Old Testament. So I bought a burgundy leather Thompson Chain-Reference Bible. It had all kinds of study helps, including cross-references—the verses listed in the margins that point you to related passages. I looked forward to finally looking up all those places in the New Testament where it said Jesus fulfilled something in the Old Testament.
But I quickly found out I didn’t have enough background to understand many of the connections. Indeed, one of the things that confused me was that not all the underlying passages were prophecies. It turns out that the New Testament finds Jesus in the Old Testament in multiple ways, not just prophecies.
Diving into the many Old Testament passages that reveal God’s plan of salvation through Jesus will strengthen your faith. So here, I’ll show three ways we find Jesus in the Old Testament. To demonstrate how the three ways work, I’ll use the most well-known fact that people know about Jesus in the Old Testament; namely, that the Old Testament predicted a messiah, and the New Testament says that Jesus is that Messiah.
What Does “Messiah” Mean?
First, let’s define messiah.Our English word messiah comes from the Hebrew word for “anointed one.” All the kings that ruled from Jerusalem in Israel were called anointed ones—messiahs. That’s because the kings were anointed for service to God when they were crowned.
In Old Testament times, it wasn’t only kings who were anointed for God’s service. Priests were as well, and so were some prophets. But by the time of Jesus’s birth, when people talked about their expectation that God would send a messiah—an anointed one—they were looking mainly for a king. They wanted a mighty warrior like David who could free them from Roman rule and sit upon David’s throne.
Messiah = Christ
The Old Testament was written mostly in Hebrew, while the New Testament was written mostly in Greek. Our English word christ comes from the Greek word for “anointed one.”Christ and messiah are therefore interchangeable. So when John records that he wrote his Gospel “so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ” (John 20:31), he means that Jesus is the Messiah that the Old Testament talks about. That is also why the New Testament equates “Christ” with “King of Israel” (Mark 15:32).
Promises
The first way that the Old Testament reveals Jesus is through promises, and in particular, covenants. A covenant is a special kind of promise. It’s like a contract that governs relationships, such as marriage vows. The Pentateuch (first five books of the Old Testament) and the histories (Joshua to Esther) contain a number of covenants between God and people which point to Jesus in some way.
For example, God made a promise to King David that’s known as the Davidic covenant. In the Davidic covenant, God promised David an offspring who would build God a temple and who would have a throne that lasted forever.
“King David” (Rembrandt, [public domain] via Wikimedia Commons)
When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.
2 Samuel 7:12-13
How the Davidic Covenant Portrays Jesus in the Old Testament
This promise about a temple-building messiah was initially fulfilled by Solomon. But the New Testament tells us that Solomon’s temple was only a copy of the holy places in heaven (Hebrews 9:24). Jesus is now fulfilling that portion of the Davidic covenant, but in the true holy places in heaven. In fact, he is building a temple made up of those who belong to him:
You are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord.
Ephesians 2:19–21
Moreover, Jesus said, “The one who conquers, I will make him a pillar in the temple of my God” (Revelation 3:12).
Prophecies
The second way that the Old Testament reveals Jesus is through direct prophecy. Most are found in the prophetic books (Isaiah to Malachi), though some are in the Pentateuch and histories. Since a prophet delivered the Davidic covenant to David, it is both a promise and a prophecy. Indeed, many of the promises in the Old Testament are also prophecies.
Many Jews thought David’s son Solomon was the only fulfillment of God’s promise to David of a temple-building offspring. After all, he built the first temple, so why wouldn’t he also be the one whose throne would last forever through a line of never-ending descendants? But here’s what the Lord God told David about Solomon:
I will establish his kingdom forever if he continues strong in keeping my commandments and my rules, as he is today.
1 Chronicles 28:7
David warned Solomon, “If you seek him [God], he will be found by you, but if you forsake him, he will cast you off forever” (1 Chronicles 28:9). Sadly, when he was old, Solomon worshiped other gods. That was a clue that Solomon might not be the only fulfillment of the Davidic covenant’s promise of a temple builder.
About 500 years after David, a king ascended the throne who abandoned God entirely. In fact, he shoved the altar to the Lord aside and put idols in the temple so he could worship them there.
How Isaiah Portrays Jesus in the Old Testament
During this time of apostasy, God sent the prophet Isaiah with messages of both judgment and hope. The message of judgment was that God would exile the people and end David’s dynasty.
But there was also a message of hope. Isaiah said that the exile would not be permanent. And eventually God would send another anointed ruler; that is, another messiah. Here is one of Isaiah’s prophecies about the future king.
For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will do this.
Isaiah 9:6-7
Notice this descendant of David will rule forevermore. He would not have an unending line of descendants but would rule forever himself. This cast new light on the Davidic covenant.
Just as Isaiah prophesied, the people entered exile and David’s dynasty ended.
How Ezekiel Portrays Jesus in the Old Testament
But God gave more messages of hope through three prophets serving him during the monarchy’s fall. Here is one about a future shepherd, which is what God called the kings.
And I will set up over them one shepherd, my servant David, and he shall feed them: he shall feed them and be their shepherd. And I, the LORD, will be their God, and my servant David shall be prince among them. I am the LORD; I have spoken.
Ezekiel 34:23-24 (emphasis mine)
Now, David was dead. So why did God say that this future ruler would be “my servant David”? There are two reasons. The first reason was to show that the shepherd would be a descendant of David. The second reason was to show that David was a type of this future King. In fact, this leads us to the third way that we find Jesus in the Old Testament.
Portents
The Crucifixion (Rembrandt [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons)
A portent is something that foreshadows something in the future. Many Old Testament people, events, and institutions foreshadowed something significant about Jesus. For example, the earthly temple that Solomon built foreshadowed the living temple Jesus is building. English Bible translations use a number of different words to describe portents, including portents, shadows, copies, patterns, and types. The New Testament describes many portents in the Pentateuch and the Psalms.
By calling the future shepherd David, God revealed that King David was a type of the future messiah who would rule forever. That is why the New Testament claims that Jesus fulfills Scripture that describes events in David’s life.
How Psalm 22 Portrays Jesus in the Old Testament
For example, in Psalm 22 David describes enemies who pierce his hands and feet (probably with a sword) and cast lots for his clothing:
For dogs encompass me; a company of evildoers encircles me; they have pierced my hands and feet—I can count all my bones—they stare and gloat over me; they divide my garments among them, and for my clothing they cast lots.
Psalm 22:16–18
Jesus quoted Psalm 22:1 on the cross, bringing attention to it: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Matthew 27:46). John 19 records Jesus’s crucifixion, which involved soldiers piercing with nails Jesus’s hands and feet:
When the soldiers had crucified Jesus, they took his garments and divided them into four parts, one part for each soldier; also his tunic. But the tunic was seamless, woven in one piece from top to bottom, so they said to one another, “Let us not tear it, but cast lots for it to see whose it shall be.” This was to fulfill the Scripture which says, “They divided my garments among them, and for my clothing they cast lots.”
John 19:23–24
Remarkably, just as enemies gambled for David’s clothing 1000 years earlier, so soldiers gambled for Jesus’s clothing. Psalm 22 is not direct prophecy, but rather John’s Gospel depicts David’s sufferings as portending Jesus’s sufferings. That is because King David is a type of King Jesus.
Conclusion
In summary, three ways we find Jesus in the Old Testament are in
Promises, such as the covenants found in the Pentateuch and histories
Prophecies found in the prophetic books and elsewhere
Portents found in the Pentateuch and the Psalms
This is a fabulous subject to pursue that can greatly grow your faith.
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For many years, the prophecy that confused me most was Isaiah 7:14: “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.” Every Christmas I heard pastors quote this, but none had ever explained its context. What confused me was that the next three verses say that the prophecy will be fulfilled within 14 years. If it was supposed to be fulfilled in the eighth century BC, how could it apply to Jesus?
Let’s go ahead and clear that up.
What Triggered “The Virgin Shall Conceive” Prophecy
First, here’s what brought on this prophecy.
King Ahaz’s dad had died, leaving him the sole king of Judah at age 20. Judah was a small kingdom south of Israel and Syria. Farther north and east, the kingdom of Assyria was growing rapidly by conquering one kingdom state after another. The kings of Israel and Syria knew they couldn’t stop the powerful Assyria alone, so they wanted to form a coalition along with Judah. But Ahaz refused to join them.
Ahaz’s refusal angered the kings of Israel and Syria, so they attacked. Unfortunately, Ahaz was not a godly king, and so the Lord allowed the two kings some victories. When Ahaz still wouldn’t join, the two kings decided to depose Ahaz and replace him with a puppet king who would do their bidding.
Assyrian relief depicting conquests from the British Museum, photograph by Jean E. Jones
The Lord’s Offer
The Lord God sent Isaiah with a message for this young, frightened king. He told Ahaz not to fear the two kings because they would not take the throne from him (Isaiah 7:3-7). Instead, Israel would cease to exist within 65 years (verse 8). He cautions Ahaz, “If you are not firm in faith, you will not be firm at all” (verse 9). Then he makes this incredible offer:
Ask a sign of the LORD your God; let it be deep as Sheol or high as heaven.
Isaiah 7:11
In other words, God tells the scared ruler to ask any sign he wants as proof that the Lord will be with him and will not allow his two enemies to remove him from the throne. He can request a miraculous sign that is as deep as hell or as high as heaven.
What did Ahaz do? He refused God’s offer! He told Isaiah, “I will not ask, and I will not put the LORD to the test” (Isaiah 7:12). Why? Because he had already decided what he wanted to do and it didn’t involve submitting to or trusting the King of kings.
The Promise That the Virgin Shall Conceive
Isaiah was not fooled by Ahaz’s fake piety. If Ahaz would not request a sign, God would give him a sign nonetheless. Isaiah replied,
Hear then, O house of David! Is it too little for you to weary men, that you weary my God also? Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel. He shall eat curds and honey when he knows how to refuse the evil and choose the good. For before the boy knows how to refuse the evil and choose the good, the land whose two kings you dread will be deserted.
Isaiah 7:13-16
Isaiah no longer calls God “your God,” but rather “my God,” for Ahaz has rejected God as his King of kings.
“Virgin,” “Immanuel,” Curds, and the Child’s Age
According to John N. Oswalt in The Book of Isaiah: Chapters 1–9, the Hebrew word translated virgin means “young woman of marriageable age.” Jews would assume she was a virgin, of course, so the Hebrew word can be translated either “maiden” or “virgin.” There’s another Hebrew word that can only be translated “virgin,” but that’s not what Isaiah uses here. We’ll come back to why later. For now, note that the prophecy in its immediate context refers to a young woman who is a virgin at the time of the prophecy. She’ll marry, conceive, and bear a child. The woman is not named, but it is not the mother of the crown prince Hezekiah, for he was born before Ahaz rose to sole king.
The name Immanuel means “God with us.” Therefore, the child would be a sign that God was with Judah even though the king was abandoning God. God’s presence is a comfort for the godly, but terror for the ungodly.
Curds (a milk product like ricotta cheese) and honey were wealthy fare. Yet, when the child knows right and wrong (age 12-13), he will eat curds and honey and both Israel and Syria will be deserted.
Ahaz Openly Rejects God
Ahaz sent messengers to the king of Assyria, saying “I am your servant and your son” (2 Kings 16:7). These are titles that show Ahaz has rejected his covenant duty to serve under God alone and has put Assyria’s fearsome king in God’s place.
Here’s what this means. A king who rules over other kings is called a suzerain, and the kings serving him are called vassals. In those days, the suzerain protected his vassals in exchange for money, soldiers, and submission. The suzerain called his vassals “sons,” and the vassals called their suzerain “father.” So when Ahaz said to Assyria’s king, “I am your servant and your son,” he was offering to be his vassal.
In other words, Assyria didn’t have wait to conquer Judah—Ahaz sought him and surrendered before Assyria came near. Ahaz did this so that this king of kings would rescue him from Israel and Syria.
The trouble was that in Judah, the kings were supposed to have the Lord God as Suzerain. Ahaz had switched teams. And he used the temple treasures which belonged to the Lord God as tribute to his new lord.
But Isaiah isn’t done with prophecies about a child. He recorded more in the next two chapters.
Prophecies about Isaiah’s Child
Here’s what introduces the next set of child prophecies:
And I went to the prophetess, and she conceived and bore a son.
Isaiah 8:3
The Hebrew translated “went to” is a euphemism in the Old Testament that usually means the first time that a husband and wife come together for marital relationships. Because of this, some scholars think that Isaiah’s first wife may have passed away and he married a prophetess who bore him another child. Thus, Isaiah 7:14 might refer to this child.
Immanuel’s Land
Isaiah 8:4 prophesies that before Isaiah’s newborn reaches three, the two kings won’t threaten Ahaz anymore. Assyria would demolish Syria and subdue Israel. But Ahaz’s trust in Assyria instead of God would cost him dearly because Assyria wasn’t trustworthy. Assyria would sweep into Judah and wreak havoc in “your land, O Immanuel” (Isaiah 8:8).
By calling Judah “Immanuel’s land,” Isaiah links this prophecy about his son to the previous chapter’s prophecy about a child called Immanuel, God With Us. Now we have two prophecies about a child being born as a sign that God is with Judah. They’re also linked by the name Immanuel.
Isaiah then says this about his own children:
Behold, I and the children whom the LORD has given me are signs and portents in Israel from the LORD of hosts, who dwells on Mount Zion.
Isaiah 8:18
Isaiah’s newborn is a sign of what’s to come within three years. But he and his children are not just signs; they portend (or foreshadow) future events. We’ll come back to this too.
For to Us a Child Is Born
Isaiah has another child prophecy in the ninth chapter:
For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will do this.
Isaiah 9:6-7
The Adoration of the Shepherds, by Bartolomé Esteban Murillo – Museo Nacional del Prado (Public Domain)
Unlike the prophecies in the previous chapters, this prophecy of a child is about no ordinary child. It was obviously a prophecy about a future child, not a child in Isaiah’s day. This child would bring the righteousness that Ahaz abandoned, and he would rule forever.
The Initial Fulfillment of “The Virgin Shall Conceive”
So what happened next? Assyria attacked both Syria and Israel, just as Ahaz had requested. Within three years of Isaiah’s son’s birth, the two kings that threatened Ahaz were dead. A decade after Ahaz refused God’s offer, Assyria demolished Israel.
But the king of Assyria was untrustworthy and swept into Judah too, killing many. So many died that the remnant left could not use all the milk. They turned the milk into curds, and everyone ate curds and honey. So the child prophecies of Isaiah 7 and 8 were fulfilled in Isaiah’s day, but not the child prophecy of Isaiah 9.
Now that we have seen Isaiah 7:14 in its original context, let’s look at how the Gospels use it.
The Later Fulfillment of “The Virgin Shall Conceive”
By the time of Christ, most Jews were using the Greek version of the Old Testament called the Septuagint. The Septuagint translated “virgin” in Isaiah 7:14 with a Greek word that meant virgin, not a young woman of marriageable age.
Matthew 1:18 records that Mary “was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit.” An angel confirmed this to her fiancé Joseph (verse 20). Matthew explained all this and wrote,
All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet: “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel” (which means, God with us).
Matthew 1:23
Matthew knew that Isaiah 7:14 was fulfilled in Isaiah’s day, so why did he write this? Because he also understood how OT portents work. The Bible uses a number of words for portents, including type, shadow, foreshadow, figure, and picture.
Most people today are less familiar with portents, so I’ll explain with a story.
A Potato Portent
Adobe Stock, used by permission
Sometimes my husband calls me from the grocery store saying, “I found great looking salmon. Would you like some for dinner tonight?” I’ll reply, “Yes! Don’t forget to buy a potato.”
That night, I’ll sauté half the fish while Clay slices and boils the potato. I serve most of the fish and refrigerate the leftovers and the potato. The next night, I sauté the rest of the fish and refrigerate the leftovers.
Are you wondering about the cold, uneaten potato? Its presence foreshadows that something more will happen with the fish. And more will happen. On the third night, I’ll beat an egg, mash the potato into it, and stir in minced chives, salt, and pepper. Next, I’ll break up the leftover fish and fold it into the egg and potato mixture. Finally, I’ll form the mixture into fish cakes that I’ll sauté in butter and oil until they are browned and crispy and oh-so delicious.
Just as I made obvious links between the potato and fish before I told you how they were related, so Isaiah placed obvious links between the child prophecies in chapters 7, 8, and 9 without fully telling us how they were related. He linked the birth of a child, the name Immanuel, and the land of Judah. He also contrasted the current king’s wickedness with the future king’s righteousness, and Assyria’s king’s ruthlessness with Immanuel’s justice.
Just as the unused potato foreshadowed that something more was coming, so the unfulfilled chapter 9 prophecy foreshadowed that something more was coming as well.
Prophecies and Portents
As I noted above, Matthew knew that Isaiah 7:14 was fulfilled in Isaiah’s day. But he also knew that Isaiah 9:6-7 had not been fulfilled prior to Jesus’s coming. Jesus alone fulfilled it. And he was familiar with Mary’s story of Jesus’s miraculous birth to her as a virgin.
As Matthew read the passages—especially in the Septuagint—he realized that Isaiah 7:14’s prophecy that the “virgin shall conceive” was no coincidence. There was more going on than what was fulfilled in Isaiah’s day.
He realized that Isaiah 7:14 is a direct prophecy that was fulfilled in Isaiah’s day, but its fulfillment portended a future event. In other words, the woman and child in Isaiah’s day foreshadowed Mary and her son Jesus. The woman in Isaiah’s day was a virgin at the time of the prophecy, but Mary was a virgin at the time of conception. The child in Isaiah’s day was called Immanuel, or God With Us, as a sign that God was still with Judah. But that child foreshadowed Jesus, who was literally God with us.
And that is why Isaiah used an ambiguous Hebrew word for virgin. The first meaning was meant for the initial fulfillment, but the second for the ultimate fulfillment.
Fulfilled Prophecy as Portents
Here’s another analogy for understanding prophecies that have fulfillments that foreshadow a significant future event.
I live in sunny Southern California where it doesn’t snow. Most of the year, we see what looks like one brown mountain range to the north. But sometimes in the winter, we’ll see a massive, snow-covered mountain range in the distance and a smaller brown mountain range closer to us (see the photo).
Photo by Virginia Thompson
The nearer mountain range leads our eyes up to the mountain range that is farther off and obviously much bigger. In the same way, some prophecies have a nearer fulfillment that points to and leads our eyes to a greater, future fulfillment. The nearer fulfillment foreshadows the coming fulfillment.
Deep as Sheol or High as Heaven
Let’s look back at the Lord God’s generous offer to King Ahaz:
Ask a sign of the LORD your God; let it be deep as Sheol or high as heaven.
Isaiah 7:11
Consider that the immediate fulfillment in Isaiah’s day wasn’t a sign that was as deep as Sheol (hell) or as high as heaven.
But the typological fulfillment in Jesus’s day certainly was.
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When times are crazy, it helps to remember God’s faithfulness to fulfill his promises about Jesus’s first coming. That’s because it assures us he’ll fulfill his promises about Jesus’s second coming. Join me in a new online Bible study of Discovering Jesus in the Old Testament! Your faith will soar as you discover how the Old Testament unfolds God’s incredible plan. And your hope will rise as you grasp his promises for you when Jesus returns.
This 13-session study begins June 22. Subscribers can watch my weekly teaching videos for free. All you need is a copy of the Bible study book to follow along with the discussion and the subscriber password from my last newsletter. (Not subscribing yet? Get the password when you register).
Learn what Moses said about Jesus
Benefits
These are the benefits you can expect from this OT online Bible study:
Grow in faith as you see God’s eternal plan unfold.
Know God’s incredible, unchanging love for you.
Understand your place in the Bible’s big story.
Increase your joy as you learn and rejoice in the future awaiting you.
Here’s what one reader said of Discovering Jesus in the Old Testament:
Amazing and mind-blowing and helped us all grow in our faith and our relationship with God.
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How This Online Bible Study Will Work
Starting Monday, June 22, I’ll post weekly videos and discussion questions so you can interact with me and others learning from the study. When the video is up, I’ll email a link to it to those who have registered.
Each week:
Watch the video.
Answer the online questions.
Complete a chapter in the study book.
That’s it!
FAQS
What if that’s not a good date?
No worries! Begin any time from June 22 on. I’ll check in regularly.
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Go at your own pace!
Is there a fee?
The videos are free to my newsletter subscribers—you just need your subscriber specials password.
How do I get the password?
Newsletter subscribers: The password is in my latest newsletter. Not a subscriber? When you register, you’ll subscribe automatically and receive a confirmation email with the password.
Does the password unlock anything else?
Yes! There are timelines to go with the study and other materials here: Free Resources
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For bulk purchases and other buying options, go to the registration page: Discovering Jesus in the Old Testament Online. The Amazon link above is an affiliate link for which I receive a small commission.
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Discover what the prophets said about Jesus
Your faith will grow as you journey in discovering all God has planned since before the foundation of the earth. You’ll see how God enfolded his plan, what Jesus fulfilled in his first coming, and what he has for you in his second coming.
You’ll never tire of studying Scripture with this fresh and engaging Bible study encounter. Through persuasive instruction and inspiring devotions, it reveals God’s redemptive plan from the beginning of creation. Explore…
timeline icons to help you track God’s plan through the Old Testament
key questions at the beginning of each section to guide your focus
opportunities for creative expression, including full-page graphics and bookmarks to color
sidebars that offer fascinating historical insights
practical application questions to guide and deepen your walk with Christ
online opportunities for connection and interactive community
As you discover new ways to engage with God’s Word through this in-depth approach to studying Scripture, you will gain wisdom and understanding about his incredible, unchanging love for you.
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Christians often wonder why so many Jews didn’t recognize
that Jesus was the Messiah. As one gal put it, “How could they miss it when it’s
so obvious?”
There are a number of reasons, but one was that Jesus wasn’t what the Jews of his day expected. In fact, Jesus surprised even godly Jews like John the Baptist. Here are four ways Jesus differed from expectations, and why these differences are so much better.
1. Jesus’s kingdom was not of this world.
“Messiah” comes from the Hebrew for “anointed one.” It’s one
of the titles of the kings descended from David. “Christ” comes from the Greek
for “anointed one. “Christ” and “messiah” are synonymous.
God interrupted David’s dynasty when the kings stopped submitting
to God as the King of kings. But the prophets who announced the exile that
ended their reign also announced that God would bring the exiles back and would
send a new king descended from David. This king would rule forever:
Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore.
Isaiah 9:7
The Jews expected an immediate reign on earth.
By Jesus’s day, the exiles had long ago returned, but the promised messiah hadn’t appeared. Instead, Rome ruled them. Because of this, most Jews expected a messiah to lead a revolt against Rome and establish an earthly kingdom at once. In fact, others had already declared themselves messiahs and had revolted in vain.
Jesus fulfilled some prophecies about the messiah in his first coming.
“Christ Preaching” (La Petite Tombe), by Rembrandt (public domain)
Jesus identified himself as the messiah (John 4:25-26). He
was descended from David and was born in Bethlehem. He also performed signs
that were expected in the age of the messiah’s rule, such as giving sight to
the blind and healing the lame, and he sent word to John the Baptist that this
was evidence he was the messiah (Isaiah 35:5-6; Matthew 11:4-5; Luke 5:24;
18:42). He rode into Jerusalem on a donkey colt as the people welcomed him as messiah
in fulfillment of prophecy (Zechariah 9:9; Matthew 21:4-9).
Because of this, Jesus’s disciples expected him to establish
an earthly kingdom immediately. That’s why they asked him, “Lord, will you at
this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” (Acts 1:6). It’s also why John the
Baptist was confused when Jesus didn’t rescue him from prison (Matthew 11:2-3).
Jesus did not fulfill all prophecies about the messiah in his first coming.
Jesus did not establish a kingdom on earth at his first
coming. Instead, he said, “My kingdom is not of this
world” (John 18:36). He also withdrew when people tried to force him to
be king. In addition, he explained that the kingdom of God was going to be a
different type of kingdom:
Being asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, he answered them, “The kingdom of God is not coming in ways that can be observed, nor will they say, ‘Look, here it is!’ or ‘There!’ for behold, the kingdom of God is in the midst of you.”
Luke 17:20-21
Jesus will fulfill remaining prophecies in the future.
So then, how will Jesus fulfill the prophecies about ruling forever? First, Jesus rules at the Father’s right hand now (Ephesians 1:20-21). But there’s more to come. Jesus said he will return “on the clouds of heaven” and will gather his servants “from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other” (Daniel 7:13-14; Matthew 24:30-31). God will make a new heaven and earth, and the new Jerusalem will descend on it (Revelation 21:1-2). The “throne of God and of the Lamb” will be there and Jesus’s servants will reign with him “forever and ever” (Revelation 22:3-5).
2. Jesus was both messiah and the prophet like Moses.
“The Feeding of the Five Thousand” by Jacobo Bassano (public domain)
In the first century AD, Jews desired the fulfillment of
prophecies about both a messiah and a prophet like Moses. That is why when
Jesus began teaching and performing miraculous signs, “some of the people said,
‘This really is the Prophet.’ Others said, ‘This is the Christ’” (John
7:40-41).
The expectation of a prophet like Moses comes from this
prophecy:
The LORD your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your brothers—it is to him you shall listen… And the LORD said to me, “… I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their brothers. And I will put my words in his mouth, and he shall speak to them all that I command him. And whoever will not listen to my words that he shall speak in my name, I myself will require it of him.”
Deuteronomy 18:15,17-19
Jesus gave many signs that he was the prophet like Moses.
For example, Moses turned water to blood and Jesus turned water to wine. Like
Moses, Jesus commanded the sea and it obeyed. With Moses, the people ate manna that
miraculously appeared in the wilderness; with Jesus, the people ate bread and
fish that miraculously multiplied in the wilderness.
Some Jewish leaders desired neither a messiah nor a prophet.
“Christ Driving the Money Changers from the Temple” by Rembrandt (public domain)
The Jewish leadership consisted of members from two competing Jewish sects: the Sadducees and the Pharisees. The Sadducees were aristocratic and wealthy priests who wanted good relations with Rome so they could stay in power. They hoped for neither a messiah nor a resurrection, partly because they held the five books of Moses in higher regard than other OT books, such as the writings of the prophets.
Jesus presented problems for priests. First, Moses had had authority over even the high priest. Therefore, if a prophet like Moses appeared, the Sadducees would have to give up their authority and status. This was apparent when Jesus drove money changers and sellers out of the temple, thus challenging the priests’ authority to run the temple as they they saw fit (Mark 11:15-18).
Second, they wanted to prevent anyone claiming to be a messiah (king) from gaining followers lest Rome quell not only the rebellion but also the Sadducees’ power.
Many Jewish leaders expected a messiah submissive to them in spiritual
matters.
The rest of the Jewish leaders were Pharisees. They wanted
a warrior king who would lead a revolt against Rome, but who also would be
submissive to them in spiritual matters. They taught that the messiah and
prophet were two different people.
Why was it important to Pharisees that the messiah and prophet be different?
The Pharisees had a set of rules that they used to interpret
how the law of Moses should be applied. For example, their rules described what
could and couldn’t be done on the Sabbath. The problem for them was that Moses
had been the ultimate authority for how to apply the law, so a prophet like
Moses might threaten their authority. Indeed, that’s what happened.
Jesus rejected the Pharisees’ authority to interpret the law of Moses.
False witnesses accuse Jesus before the ruling council (José Madrazo, 1803, public domain)
When Jesus healed people, the Pharisees told him to stop doing
so on the Sabbath. Jesus told them their reasoning was bad, and he continued
healing. He also pointed out that they rejected God’s commands in favor of
their rules, which he disparaged as mere “tradition of men” (Mark 7:8-13). That
Jesus rejected their traditions about how to apply the law incensed the Pharisees
and convinced most of them that he couldn’t be the messiah.
The crowds embraced Jesus as both messiah and prophet.
Unlike the Jewish leaders, the crowds were fine with the
messiah also being the prophet like Moses. That’s why they declared him “the Prophet
who is to come into the world” and then attempted to make him king (John
6:13-14). But ruling on earth wasn’t part of Jesus’s immediate plan.
Still, when large crowds started following Jesus because of
his miracles, the Jewish leaders feared they would lose their power:
So the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered the council and said, “What are we to do? For this man performs many signs. If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation.”
John 11:47-48
The Sadducees didn’t care that Jesus rejected the Pharisees’
traditions—they did too. But they cared a lot about losing their waning
political power.
3. The messiah was the suffering servant.
Isaiah prophesied about a righteous, suffering servant. But no one thought the messiah and the suffering servant could be the same person. Why? Because the messiah was supposed to rule forever, while the suffering servant had to die:
And they made his grave with the wicked and with a rich man in his death, although he had done no violence, and there was no deceit in his mouth.
Isaiah 53:9
“The Crucifixion” by Rembrandt (public domain)
See the problem? The Jews didn’t see how the messiah whom they thought would save Israel from Rome and establish an everlasting kingdom could also be the suffering servant who dies. That is why when Jesus told his disciples that he would suffer, be killed, and on the third day be raised, Peter rebuked him and said this would never happen (Matthew 16:21-22).
That also is why when Jesus told the crowd he would be lifted up from the earth, they surmised that he was speaking of death and replied, “We have heard from the Law that the Christ remains forever. How can you say that the Son of Man must be lifted up?” (John 12:34).
Isaiah gave clues that the suffering servant was the messiah.
Four Servant Songs proclaim the coming of a righteous,
suffering servant: Isaiah 42:1-9; 49:1-12; 50:4-9; and 52:13-53:12. They hint
of similarities between the suffering servant and the messiah, for both would
be anointed by God’s Spirit (Isaiah 11:2; 42:1);
bring justice (Isaiah 9:7; 42:1; Jeremiah 23:5);
be righteous (Isaiah 42:6; 53:11; Jeremiah 23:5);
make others righteous (Isaiah 53:11; 61:3;
Jeremiah 33:15-16);
participate in bringing Israel back to God
(Isaiah 49:5; Jeremiah 23:3-5); and
be part of a new covenant (Isaiah 42:6; Ezekiel
34:24-25).
Jesus fulfilled prophecies about the suffering servant.
That Jesus was crucified with the wicked and buried in a
rich man’s tomb clearly fulfills prophecy about the suffering servant (Isaiah
53:8-9 cf. Luke 23:32-33,50-53). But the next two verses reveal something remarkable.
Yet it was the will of the LORD to crush him; he has put him to grief; when his soul makes an offering for guilt, he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days; the will of the LORD shall prosper in his hand. Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied; by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant, make many to be accounted righteous, and he shall bear their iniquities.
Isaiah 53:10-11
This passage says that though the servant died, he shall
prolong his days! in other words, the suffering servant will come back to life.
Moreover, because Jesus conquered death as the suffering servant, he reigns as
Messiah forever.
4. The prophet was also the suffering servant.
“The Ascension of Christ” by Rembrandt (public domain)
Moses was a type of Jesus. Jesus was not merely a prophet speaking God’s words, he was the Word who was God (John 1:1).
Isaiah’s prophecies about the suffering servant show the servant had similarities to but was far superior to Moses. The Lord God gave the first covenant through Moses, but he gave the suffering servant as the new covenant (Isaiah 42:6-7). The suffering servant fulfilled everything the sacrificial system put in place by Moses could not fully do (Isaiah 53:5-6). He was the light for the nations that Israel failed to become under the law of Moses (Isaiah 49:6). And as suffering servant, Jesus died, arose, and atoned for people’s sin as Moses wanted to do but could not (Exodus 32:30; Isaiah 53:12).
Conclusion
The Jews expected the promised messiah to lead a revolt on earth, but Jesus said his kingdom was not of this world. They thought that the messiah, the prophet like Moses, and the suffering servant were three different people, but Jesus demonstrated he is all three. Because he is the suffering servant who died and rose again, he is Messiah King who will reign forever in the new heaven and earth. As the suffering servant, Jesus fulfilled all to which Moses and the sacrificial system pointed. And because the suffering servant bore our iniquities, we can become God’s children and live in his kingdom with him eternally.
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Discovering Jesus in the Old Testamentby me, Pam Farrel, and Karla Dornacher: This Bible study shows how God revealed his plan of redemption in the OT. It combines Q&A, short devotionals, and gorgeous art.
Christ from Beginning to Endby Trent Hunter and Stephen Wellum: An interesting, easy-to-read book that divides biblical history by God’s covenants.
NIV Biblical Theology Study Bible edited by D.A. Carson: If you want a study Bible that traces God’s redemptive plan, this is for you! I’m currently reading this one and it’s my favorite study Bible yet.
Typos by Leonhard Goppelt, translated by Donald H. Madvig: For those who enjoy scholarly depth, this look at how the NT interprets the OT typologically is fantastic (the Greek title is pronounced “TWO-poss”).
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I took oil painting lessons from my mother-in-law, Rae, who was a former Disney artist. (The painting displayed in this post is her work. Sadly, we lost my paintings in a move.) Each week she critiqued my progress and told me what to work on next. One week I added complementary under layers to my canvas. Because the butter leaf green background needed red for depth, I squirted red ochre onto my palette and swirled it with dabs of other pigments. The odors of linseed oil and turpentine permeated the air as I leaned close to my aluminum easel so I could meticulously merge the muddy maroon into the mossy background.
Close-up of Rae’s painting shows colors used in sky
As I carefully brushed and delicately blended, my husband walked in the door, stopped, and declared, “You gave the painting measles!”
“No, I didn’t,” I said, frowning. “It’s depth.”
“Come over here and look at it,” he said, laughing.
None too pleased over his lack of appreciation for my artistic enhancements, I walked over to where he stood and looked back at the painting. Sure enough: measles. What up close looked like subtle gradations of color, at a distance looked like leopard skin.
When I took my polka dotted canvas to Rae, she showed me how to meld undertones by standing back to see what the painting as a whole needed, coming in close for precise brush strokes, and then stepping back again to view the overall affect. It didn’t take long before the reds and greens not only looked as if they belonged together, but showed they needed each other for depth and balance.
The Need for Big Picture Bible Studies
Discovering Jesus in the Old Testament
Reading the Bible is like painting a picture in our minds and souls. While it’s important to come in close to study passages and books, it’s also important to step back and see how the individual parts explain and deepen our understanding of the whole. Then we can see how all the parts of the Bible belong together and how they need each other for depth and balance—for the whole picture.
In the Bible studies I write with Pam Farrel and Karla Dornacher, the book Discovering Jesus in the Old Testament gives the big picture. Every chapter starts with Genesis and ends with Revelation as it displays an aspect of what the Old Testament promises, prophecies, and types tell us about Jesus. For instance, the chapter “Jesus the King Forever” starts with God’s mandate to humankind to reign over the earth, looks at God’s promise to King David of a descendant whose throne will last forever, sees how the prophets say David was a type of a future righteous King who will reign forever, notices what the New Testament says about Jesus fulfilling these OT passages, and rejoices in what is to come: Jesus reigns forever and humankind reigns under him in the new heavens and earth.
The Need for Close-up Bible Studies
Discovering Joy in Philippians
Just as Rae taught me to come in close when painting detail, so we do best when we alternate stepping back for the big picture and moving in for the detail in studying the Bible. That’s why we also write books that move in close, too. For instance, Discovering Joy in Philippians looks with great detail at the apostle Paul’s letter to the Philippians. It starts in Acts with Paul preaching the gospel in Philippi and being thrown in prison. But we see that wonderful things happen when he and Silas sing praises to God. Then the Discovering book delves deeply into Philippians and all Paul says about discovering joy in any circumstance.
Discovering Hope in the Psalmsis a close-up look, too. It examines ten psalms about the hopes God’s people share. These psalms show us how to pray in a way that helps our hope in God soar, even–or especially–when we encounter disappointment or evil. The psalms point us to the One who gives us hope for now and eternity.
What Are You Looking For?
If you haven’t studied the Bible’s big picture for some time, consider Discovering Jesus in the Old Testament. If you’ve recently finished a big picture study, one of our close-up studies may be a fit for you.
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Would you like to know more about Jesus in the OT (Old
Testament)? Have you looked up a passage that the New Testament says Jesus
fulfilled, but found it confusing? Does understanding the Old Testament seem
daunting?
If so, you’re not alone!
Here are three things every Christian should know about Jesus in the OT, including timelines.
1. God Planned to Send Jesus Before He Created People
For my seventeenth birthday, my then-boyfriend Clay gave me
a white leather Bible containing both the Old and New Testaments. Until then,
I’d had only a paperback New Testament. Not having been raised in a Christian
home, I was excited to finally be able to read the rest of the Bible and see
what it said.
As I read through Genesis, I thought, So that’s what happened!
God created people good, and that was Plan A. But they blew it and disobeyed,
so God had to go with Plan B, a flood. Later, I read about God calling
Israel to be a nation and giving them commandments. But the Israelites blew it
and disobeyed God too. I thought, Israel was Plan C, and Jesus was Plan D!
God had to keep starting over because people kept messing up his plans.
Wrong!
I had missed the significance of these verses:
Christ…was foreknown before the foundation of the world but was made manifest in the last times.
1 Peter 1:19-20
… the Lamb who was slain from the creation of the world
Revelation 13:8
God…saved us and called us…because of his own purpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began, and which now has been manifested through the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus.
2 Timothy 1:8-10
In other words, the never-changing God of love knew before
he created the world and the first humans that Jesus would one day die for the
sins of the world. He knew Satan would deceive Adam and Eve, and he had a plan
in place to rescue humankind. There was always just one plan. God revealed that
plan over time, beginning in Eve’s lifetime.
2. The Old Testament Points to Jesus in Three Ways
Many people think that the only way the Old Testament points
to Jesus is through direct prophecy. But that’s not true. The New Testament
tells us of three ways.
Promises about Jesus in the OT
In 2 Samuel 7:11-13, God promised King David an offspring whose rule would last forever. The angel Gabriel told Mary that this promise pointed to Jesus (Luke 1:31-33). The Old Testament contains many such promises, some of which take the form of covenants.
“The Prophet Jeremiah” from the Sistine Chapel, by Michelangelo (public domain)
Prophecies about Jesus in the OT
In the Bible, God sometimes revealed things to people that
they could not see or understand through natural means. These revelations are prophecies.
Most prophecies called people to repent to avoid judgment. But sometimes they
predicted a significant future event. That is the case in Isaiah 53, which
prophesies the coming of a suffering servant who would die and whose soul would
make “an offering for guilt” (Isaiah 53:9-10). First Peter 3:22 cites this
passage and tells us it refers to Jesus Christ.
Portents of Jesus in the OT
Portents foreshadow something in the future. Some Old
Testament people, institutions, and events foreshadow either Jesus or something
significant in Jesus’s service or life. Bible translations use a variety of
words to describe people and things that foreshadow the future, including portents,
patterns, copies, shadows, and types. Jesus and the apostles
frequently identified Old Testament types that Jesus fulfilled. They show us
the amazing way that God directed history so that people could see his
redemptive plan unfolding throughout the ages.
For example, 1 Corinthians 5:7 reads, “Christ, our Passover
lamb, has been sacrificed.” Here Paul is saying that the sacrificed Passover
lamb that saved the Israelites’ lives in Exodus 12 was a type of Jesus
Christ, who now saves our lives through his sacrifice.
3. God Revealed His Plan at Significant Points in History
God revealed his plan to rescue people from slavery to sin
and from death gradually. But at crucial historical events, he revealed large
parts of the plan all at once. These revelations related to what was happening
at the time.
Eve’s Day
Eve’s Day
After Eve disobeyed God and ate the forbidden fruit, the
Lord God promised her a deliverer who would crush the head of the serpent who
deceived her.
Abraham’s Day
Abraham’s Day
At a time when most people had forgotten God, the Lord called
Abraham to journey to a foreign land. There God promised to give that land to
Abraham’s descendants so that they could be his people and he would be their
God. He promised that Abraham’s barren, post-menopausal wife would bear a
child—and she did! Abraham and his son Isaac were both prophets to whom God
spoke. The New Testament tells us which of God’s promises to Abraham referred
to Jesus. God also instructed Abraham and Isaac to act out an event that foreshadowed
something monumental in Jesus’s life. In fact, Paul tells us that “Scripture…preached
the gospel beforehand to Abraham” (Galatians 3:8).
Moses’s Day
Moses’s Day
After Egypt enslaved Abraham’s descendants, God sent Moses
to deliver the Israelites from slavery and take them to the land God promised
to Abraham’s descendants. Through Moses, God made a covenant with the
Israelites so they could be his people. They built a tabernacle where God’s
presence could dwell in a special way. God gave them commandments so they could
have blessed relationships with him and others. Moses told the people that one
day a prophet like him would arrive, and the people must listen to him. The New
Testament tells us that many of the institutions and events in Moses’s day
foreshadowed Jesus.
David’s Day
David’s Day
Eventually, a king arose who had a heart after God. His name
was David. The Lord promised David a descendant whose throne would last
forever. David was also a prophet to whom God revealed other things about this future
king, some of which David turned into psalms.
Major Prophets’ Day
The Major Prophets’ Day
Many of the kings that followed David weren’t good.
Eventually, kings led the people so far from God that he sent prophets to warn
them to come back lest he remove them from the land. For example, the prophet
Isaiah told a wayward king about coming judgment and restoration. But Isaiah
also spoke of a future righteous king and a suffering servant. Later, God spoke
through Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Daniel during tumultuous times that included the
people being exiled and the temple destroyed. They talked of a new covenant and
a mysterious “one like a son of man” who came “with the clouds of heaven” to be
presented before “the Ancient of Days” (Daniel 7:13).
2nd Temple’s Day
The 2nd Temple’s Day
After a 70-year exile, several groups of people returned to
Jerusalem to rebuild the temple. They remained under foreign rule, though. Yet
prophets encouraged them to build a new temple and await the future righteous king.
Jesus’s Day
When Jesus came, he explained how the Scriptures spoke of
him. The Jews had trouble understanding at first, partly because they didn’t
realize that the prophet like Moses, the suffering servant, and the future
righteous king were all the same person. They also hadn’t understood how the
institutions that Moses put in place pointed to Jesus too.
Today
Today
After Jesus’s death and resurrection, his apostles
proclaimed what Jesus taught them. They explained how Jesus wants us to live
today, and they told us to look forward to eternity.
Forever
Forever
The New Testament writers urged Jesus’s followers to always
remember that eternity in Jesus’s Kingdom awaits. He’ll resurrect our bodies
into glorious bodies. There will be no more sorrow or pain. We’ll be in God’s
loving presence forever.
I’ve created timelines for you to download and print on the Free Resources and Subscriber Specials pages. They’ll help you see at a glance the events surrounding God’s amazing revelations about Jesus in the OT. They go with chapters in our book, Discovering Jesus in the Old Testament.
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An earlier form of this article on the Minor Prophets first appeared on Crosswalk.com on 1/19/2017.
By Jean E. Jones
Many Christians find the last 12 books of the Old Testament—known as the Minor Prophets—well, boring! Why? First, they don’t see how the books relate to today. Second, they don’t know what was going on at the time. And third, the prophets address a lot of unfamiliar people and places.
“Prophet Malachi” by Duccio di Buoninsegna
Some Christians even skip reading the Minor Prophets. That’s a shame because they tell us a lot about social injustice and what God thinks about the rich and powerful taking advantage of the poor and weak—a topic certainly relevant to our times! Plus, they give us insights into what everyday life was like during Old Testament times. They also show us how God deals with evil—then, now, and still to come.
Here I’ve put together some interesting facts about the Minor Prophets that will help you make sense of them.
1. “Minor” means short, not unimportant.
In ancient days, the books of the Bible were copied onto scrolls. The longer prophetic books required their own scrolls, but the 12 shorter prophetic books fit together on a single scroll. So the Major (“long”) Prophets were grouped together first, and the Minor (“short”) Prophets followed them.
2. The Minor Prophets are also called the Book of Twelve.
Twelve writers wrote the books in the Minor Prophets, the same number as there were tribes of Israel and apostles of Jesus. Four writers wrote the five books in the Major Prophets, the same number of writers who wrote the Gospels.
3. A prophet prophesies prophecy.
“Prophesy” is a verb meaning to communicate a message from God. “Prophecy” is a noun referring to a divine message.
4. The Minor Prophets are clustered around three events.
“Jonah and the Whale” by Pieter Lastman [Public domain]
The Minor Prophets are basically chronological except for Joel and Obadiah (although some scholars think they are, too). Here’s the background to them that every Christian needs to know.
The Background to the Minor Prophets
The Old Testament is the story of God calling the Israelites to be his people so they could show all nations how to come to him. When Moses rescued the Israelites from Egyptian enslavement and brought them to the promised land, he warned them that if they ever forsook God, God would drive them out of the land into exile.
The kingdom was at its greatest under the reigns of David and his son, Solomon. But after Solomon died, the united kingdom of Israel split into two kingdoms: Israel to the north and Judah to the south. Israel abandoned God right away, descending into violence, injustice, oppression of the poor, sexual promiscuity, idolatry, and child sacrifice (horrific, but true). Judah had times of faithfulness but eventually turned to the same corruption.
“Prophet Hosea” by Duccio di Buoninsegna [Public domain]
When the nations abandoned him, God sent prophets to warn the people to return to him lest he drive them out. When they refused to repent, the prophecies changed to judgments. Yet the prophets also promised restoration.
The 3 Time Periods of the Minor Prophets
Chronologically, the Minor Prophets come after the reforms of Elijah and Elisha (which ended about 800 BC). They’re clustered around three time periods:
Israel’s end (722 BC): The first six books (except perhaps Joel and Obadiah) are from the time leading up to and surrounding Israel’s exile. Isaiah also prophesied in this time period.
Judah’s end (586 BC): Books seven to nine are from the time around Judah’s fall. Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Daniel also prophesied in this time period.
The restoration (538-430 BC): The last three books are from the building of the second temple to the end of Ezra’s and Nehemiah’s reforms.
5. The Minor Prophets call Israel and Judah by many names.
Most of the prophecies in the Minor Prophets are poems that use figures of speech, including large doses of synecdoche. Synecdoche is using a part of something to represent the whole or vice versa (for example, newscasters saying “Moscow” may be referring to all of Russia). Here are names the Minor Prophets use for Israel and Judah:
Names that refer to Israel
Samaria (capital city)
Ephraim (major tribe)
Bethel (temple site)
Jacob, Joseph (prominent people)
House of Jeroboam, Omri, Ahab, Jehu (prominent kings)
Names that refer to Judah
“Micah Exhorts the Israelites to Repent” engraving by Gustave Doré [Public domain]
Jerusalem (capital city)
Judah (major tribe)
Zion (temple site)
House of David (prominent king)
After the northern kingdom fell in 722 BC, the prophets sometimes used the names “Israel” and “Jacob” to refer to both kingdoms. After Judah fell, neither kingdom existed—only provinces under various foreign emperors—and the names “Israel” and “Jacob” often referred to all Jews.
6. Here are interesting facts about the Minor Prophets.
Every Christian should know at least one interesting fact about the Minor Prophets! Here are 12 from which to choose.
The Time of Israel’s End
In Hosea, God commands the prophet to marry a prostitute and likens their relationship to his relationship with Israel.
Joel’s prophecy about the outpouring of the Holy Spirit (2:28-32) was fulfilled on Pentecost when the Holy Spirit came on Jesus’ followers (Acts 2:17-21).
Martin Luther King, Jr., quoted Amos 5:24 in his “I Have a Dream” speech: “No, no, we are not satisfied, and we will not be satisfied until ‘justice rolls down like waters, and righteousness like a mighty stream.’”
Obadiah is the shortest Old Testament book (292 Hebrew words).
“Zechariah” watercolor by James Tissot [Public domain]
Jesus likens his temporary burial in the earth to Jonah’s temporary burial in the belly of a huge fish (Matthew 12:40). Bonus fact: the huge fish that swallowed Jonah is never identified as a whale.
The U.S. Library of Congress uses Micah 6:8 over its religion alcove: “What doth the Lord require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?”
The Time of Judah’s End
In Jonah’s day, the Ninevites (Assyrians) repent, but by Nahum’s time they’ve returned to cruelty. So, God tells them through Nahum that their destruction is certain and imminent.
Habakkuk asks why God allows evil and God tells him punishment is on the way. But Habakkuk initially protests the means. Later he understands God’s plan to eradicate evil and responds by rejoicing in the Lord.
Zephaniah was probably written by a black Jew (his dad’s name is Cushi, suggesting dad’s mom was from Cush—modern day Sudan).
The Time of the Restoration
Haggai encouraged rebuilding the temple, which ushered in the time period known as Second Temple Judaism. (That era ended when Rome destroyed the temple in AD 70.)
The Gospel accounts of Jesus’ suffering and death quote Zechariah six times (that’s second only to Psalms). Here are the stories: Jerusalem’s king riding on a donkey; 30 pieces of silver; looking at him whom they pierced; strike the shepherd and the sheep scatter.
Malachi reads like a courtroom trial about broken contracts. The people are restored to the land, but are still breaking their contracts with God. Therefore, they shouldn’t expect God’s blessings till they hold up their part of the agreement.
A prayer to learn from the Minor Prophets:
Lord, may we learn from your Word the importance of following you closely and embracing your ways. May we comprehend how you are ending evil and bringing your people into your Kingdom, where evil cannot exist. Thank you for the Minor Prophets that teach us these things. May we learn to respond to your plans as Habakkuk did:
“Though the fig tree does not bud And there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stall, yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will be joyful in God my Savior.” (Habukkuk 3:17-18)
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In my last post, I offered seven free tools to help you understand the Old Testament. Here I’ll review Bibles, books, and study guides that help with that, too. Some are for those who are new to reading the Bible, and some are for seasoned Bible readers.
I end each review with an excerpt that shows how each explains Isaiah’s promise to King Ahaz to trust God to deliver him, and Ahaz’s refusal (Isaiah 7). That should let you know if the depth is what you’re looking for.
Bibles
If you’ve read the New Testament before and are ready to dive into the Old Testament, these two Bibles will help you understand it.
Audience: Thoughtful Christians wanting historical, archaeological, and theological insights
Reading level: college
If you want a Bible with articles, charts, timelines, color photos, book introductions, and notes, this five-pound beauty is the way to go. This is the third edition of the NIV Study Bible that I own, and it’s the best of the three. It includes two dozen articles covering overarching topics such as “The Story of the Bible: How the Good News About Jesus Is Central” and “Prophets and Prophecy.” The introductions to each book are fabulous. (The link above is for leather, but there are less expensive options. I don’t recommend the Kindle version–I purchased that for version 2 and regret it. The pictures are too small and the hyperlinks overlap, making some unworkable.)
This Bible would overwhelm a new Christian. But for the thoughtful Christian wanting depth, this is the Bible to invest in. Here’s an excerpt from the Introduction to Isaiah (1308):
In ch. 7 Isaiah issues King Ahaz a challenge to trust Yahweh, not Assyria’s power. Ahaz refuses the challenge, and much of Judah’s history between that point (734 BC) and the destruction of Sennacherib’s army in 701 BC revolves around the results of Ahaz’s refusal. A burning question unites chs. 7-39: Will Israel trust Yahweh or the surrounding nations? Chs. 7-12 not only give the answer (no) but also give the answer’s implications.
Audience: Anyone wanting to read the Old Testament and New Testament chronologically
Reading level: high school
The One Year Chronological Bible: New International Version
I read the Bible in chronological chunks fairly often, so I made things easier by buying a chronological Bible. In the table of contents, I color coded the prophets so I could see at a glance how they relate (see figure). I seldom read from this Bible, but I use its table of contents to guide my reading in other Bibles. The editors provide short italicized segues when switching between texts, but not a lot of historical notes. Here’s the transition from histories (2 Kings and 2 Chronicles) to Isaiah 7 (799):
Isaiah encouraged King Ahaz to trust in the Lord when Rezin and Pekah marched against Jerusalem. Through these prophecies of Isaiah, the Lord also gave Ahaz a sign of coming salvation—the coming of the Messiah.
Audience: Thoughtful Christians wanting to understand Old Testament history
Reading level: graduate
This superb book is my number one recommendation for thoughtful Christians who have read and studied the entire Bible and aren’t put off by academic works. Merrill divides Old Testament history into 15 parts and examines each thoroughly, weaving in historical documents from surrounding nations and archaeological finds. He keeps the overarching purpose of God establishing a kingdom of priests clearly in mind. His analysis of the ministry of the prophets is illuminating.
This is an academic work that carefully examines dating problems and apparent contradictions. His goal for this second edition was “to take on the task of bringing the narrative up to date so that the message of the Old Testament as not only a theological but also a historical work can resonate more clearly and relevantly with a new generation of readers” (11).
The book contains numerous chronological tables and maps, as well as both Scripture and subject indexes. Here’s an excerpt (420):
Ahaz had paid a staggering price for survival not only in monetary terms but especially in the moral and spiritual compromises his bargaining had required. As the Chronicler notes, in the final analysis, Tiglath-pileser gave Ahaz trouble and not help (2 Chron. 28:21). Ahaz had had to loot the temple to pay the heavy protection fees that Tiglath demanded, and as an act of thanksgiving, Ahaz offered sacrifices to the gods of Assyria, whom he credited for his salvation. He also installed their shrines throughout the land. It is little wonder that Isaiah the prophet chastised Ahaz in the bitterest terms and predicted the day when Judah also would come to know the awful Assyrian scourge (Isa. 7:17).
Audience: Churches desiring to teach the entire congregation the main story of the Bible and willing to use supplemental supporting material
Reading level: youth and adult versions are available
The Story divides selections of text from the NIV Bible into 31 chapters arranged mostly chronologically. Short italicized segues summarize skipped material and add a few historical notes. Simple timelines begin the book; some use increments of thousands of years, others decades. The back material includes discussion questions and a character list.
Zondervan intended for churches to use The Story as part of Sunday sermons, adult small group studies, youth studies, and children’s materials. They provide DVDs, curriculum to go with the DVDs, and other support materials, including a church resource library. I offer a companion study guide (see below).
The Story highlights a dozen or so kings and includes only five excerpts from Isaiah. It skips King Ahaz and Isaiah 7, so here’s the first transition between histories and Isaiah (224):
The greatest of the writing prophets, Isaiah, began his work in Jerusalem (capital of Judah, the southern kingdom) in 740 BC, shortly before King Uzziah died. Isaiah achieved prominence during Hezekiah’s reign, helping the king to stand-down the Assyrian threat by relying on God alone. Such a strategy must be founded on rock solid faith, and this kind of faith Isaiah clearly practiced and developed. His call to service came in a powerful vision—an apt start to a prophetic vocation that would span nearly 60 years.
Study Guides
The first of these is ideal for new Christians; the second is good for those who have read a bit of the Bible already and are willing to put in 31 weeks of daily study.
Audience: Women’s Bible study groups with a mix of new and mature Christians wanting to understand how the Old Testament and New Testament relate
Reading level: high school
The women at my church just finished going through Seamless: Understanding the Bible as One Complete Story, by Angie Smith. It’s terrific, funny, and touching. Those who had never read the Old Testament before felt it made sense of the Bible. Those who have read the Bible many times loved the clarifying way Smith laid out the stories. I had a brand new Christian in my group who had never gone to church until a few months ago, and she kept up fine.
Icons that represent major events adorn the footer and make the story easy to follow and review. The back cover folds out with the icons in order and linked by a thread. My group loved turning to the back cover to review the icons together. In the margins, Smith provides a dozen-word summary of every book of the Bible.
The women loved the book and videos, and they had tons of questions every week (which shows how engaging they found the material, but also shows the need to have someone around to answer questions). Some had trouble following the chronology of Week 4: The Kingdoms & the Prophets, so I recommend supplying a few timelines (feel free to use the ones I provide in 7 Free Tools for Understanding the Old Testament).
Covering the entire Bible in six chapters, Smith broadly summarizes Israel’s history. In this excerpt, she introduces some of the prophets, including Isaiah (104):
Several prophets preached in Judah before and during its destruction: Isaiah, Micah, Nahum, Jeremiah, Habakkuk, and Zephaniah. Isaiah and Micah overlapped our division of times. They lived and preached in Judah both during the Divided Kingdom—the same time as Hosea and Amos—and after the Northern Kingdom was destroyed. See how this all fits together?
I wrote this companion to The Story for my church and later updated it for Zondervan’s church resource library. It explains historical details and has ten timelines to keep the events in perspective. Practical application questions apply the Bible’s message to the reader’s life. It’s written so that people can read a chapter in The Story, and then answer questions from their Bible. Headings summarize what’s happening, and there are plenty of footnotes with additional details for those who want them. You can get it free from my website (see the link above) or Zondervan’s church resource library.
This excerpt is on Isaiah approaching King Ahaz:
God sent the prophet Isaiah to encourage Ahaz king of Judah not to be afraid, for he wouldn’t let [the kings of Israel and Aram] overthrow him. He told Ahaz to ask for any sign as proof. But Ahaz refused and instead sought Assyria’s help. He voluntarily became a vassal to Assyria’s king, paid him a large tribute, and set up shrines to Assyria’s gods in Jerusalem.
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Psalm 2 addresses the reality that those who want to live according to God’s word dwell among those who don’t. Some people rebel against the laws God gives to protect and bless us, and their rebellion causes suffering.
Our newspapers display the evidence daily. Terrorists murder and maim. Con artists bilk the elderly. The rich exploit the poor. Abusers scar children. Liars lock the innocent behind bars. Each of us has our own stories of wrongs perpetrated against us and our loved ones. And we know in our hearts we’ve hurt others.
When discouragement starts settling in my heart over all the icky things of this world, I turn to Psalm 2. There I find the hope of King Jesus’ return to bring all who trust in him into his kingdom forever. Sin, temptation, and anyone who rejects Jesus’ rule cannot pass its gates.
But Psalm 2 presents a few challenges on a first read-through. So here are seven tips for interpreting Psalm 2.
Tip 1: Read the Entire Psalm
Figure 1: Psalm 2
First we need to get the big picture by reading the whole psalm at least once through. Figure 1 shows Psalm 2 with the background color changing at stanza breaks. (Click Figure 1 to open in a new tab.)
If you’re familiar with the Old Testament historical books, you’ll recognize that it’s about kings descended from King David. If you’re familiar with the New Testament’s teachings about Jesus, you’ll realize it’s also about one particular King: Jesus.
Tip 2: Identify Psalm 2’s Type
We call psalms about kings descended from David royal psalms. This one declares that God gave David’s descendants authority to rule. That makes it perfect for coronations, which was its main use for four centuries.
The New Testament applies Psalm 2 to Jesus, a descendant of David through Mary (Revelation 19:13-16). Since the psalm foretells the crowning of Jesus the Anointed One (“Messiah”), it is also a messianic psalm.
Tip 3: Look Up Unfamiliar Terms
If there are any unfamiliar words or historical references, check those out next. A study Bible with cross-references helps. My book, Discovering Hope in the Psalms, covers Psalm 2’s background in detail, showing how it applied to Solomon and his rebellious brother, to Jesus and the plotting Jewish and Gentile leaders, and to Jesus in the kingdom of heaven. So here, I’ll just briefly explain a few terms.
Decree: Psalm 2:7 begins, “I will tell of the decree,” and the stanza following summarizes the decree poetically. What it’s talking about is God’s promise to David in 2 Samuel 7:5-16. God decreed that King David would have a dynasty in which his “throne shall be established forever,” beginning with his son Solomon (2 Samuel 7:16; 1 Chronicles 28:6).
Anointed: As part of the coronation ceremony, a priest and/or prophet anointed the new king with oil, so he was called the “Lord’s anointed.” Messiah comes from the Hebrew for “anointed one” and Christ comes from the Greek for it. God anointed Jesus with the Holy Spirit (Luke 4:18; Acts 10:38).
Zion: The Davidic kings ruled from Jerusalem on Mount Zion. When applied to Jesus, Zion refers to the “heavenly Jerusalem” (Hebrews 12:22).
Son: In 2 Samuel 7:14, God decreed that he would be a father to all the kings descended from David, and they would be his sons. Some translations don’t capitalize “son” so readers catch this reference. Others capitalize “Son” to make sure readers see it also applies to Jesus, who descended from David through Mary and was also the only begotten Son of God.
Kiss: “Kiss the Son” in verse 12 means submit to him as ruler. Think of the way people might bow and kiss Queen Elizabeth’s hand.
The first two verses name all the participants: the psalmist, the Lord, the Lord’s anointed king, and the people who rebel against the Lord and his king.
Tip 5: Identify the Arrangement of Psalm 2
This is something I didn’t have room to include in the chapter on Psalm 2 in Discovering Hope in the Psalms.
It helps to identify a psalm’s arrangement by looking for related elements. Psalm 2’s arrangement is straightforward. We can divide it into five stanzas by main speaker. The psalmist is the main speaker in the first stanza. God is the main speaker in the second stanza. The king being crowned speaks in the middle. The king quotes God in the fourth stanza, making God the main speaker there, too. The psalmist is again the main speaker in the last stanza. So this is the order of the main speakers:
Psalmist / God / New King / God / Psalmist
We call this layout (A B C B’ A’) a chiasm (pronounced “KEY-azm”). If we put each speaker on a separate line and indent related stanzas equally, we get this:
Psalmist
God
New King
God
Psalmist
See how that makes it easy to compare related parts? Figure 2 summarizes Psalm 2’s stanzas in this kind of layout. I added the addressees and summarized each speech for you. Notice how easy it is to see the message flow now.
Figure 2: Psalm 2 Arrangement
Tip 6: Identify Links in Psalm 2
Figure 3: How the 4 participants view God, his King & rebels
Once we discover that a psalmist arranged a psalm in a chiasm, finding links becomes easy. In a chiastic psalm, the theme is in the center. Often, stanzas equal distance from the center are linked and share elements. That’s clearly the case in Psalm 2. Look back at Figure 2 above and compare stanzas equal distance from the center (I gave them the same background color to make comparison easier).
While Figure 2 shows the main links, this psalm has so many repeated elements that I put them in a chart to make them clearer. Figure 3 compares how each speaker views God, the King, and the rebels. (Since the psalmist quotes the rebels, I list them on a separate line for clarity. Click Figure 3 to open in a new tab.)
Tip 7: Look up How the New Testament Uses the Psalm
The New Testament quotes Psalm 2 quite a bit. For example, Acts 4:24-25 says the Lord spoke this psalm through the mouth of David by the Holy Spirit. Acts 4:25-27 and 13:33 say Jesus’ crucifixion was a plot to reject Jesus’ rule, but it was in vain because God raised Jesus from the dead. Revelation 12 symbolically describes Satan initiating this plot. Revelation 19 depicts Jesus as King of kings and Lord of lords in the same words as Psalm 2, and the next three chapters describe how he ends all rebellion and takes his throne in the new heavens and earth.
So how does this psalm bring me hope when I see the world has run amok? It reminds me that Jesus denies entrance into his kingdom to the unrepentant terrorists, con artists, oppressors, abusers, and liars. Their place is the lake of fire, and they can’t harm God’s children ever again. He’s resurrecting the repentant sinners into bodies that have never sinned and have never been sinned against. He’s rewarding us for all that we did of eternal worth, for no one can take from us anything of eternal value from us. He’s bringing us into his kingdom, where there will be no more mourning or sin or death. We’ll live with him forever.
This world is but a stepping stone to eternity. The kingdom of God awaits. Come quickly, Lord Jesus.
If you’d like to learn more about Psalm 2, including how its message worked out in Solomon’s coronation, Jesus’ life on this earth, and in the end times, see Discovering Hope in the Psalmsor click the Amazon affiliate link below (Harvest House, 2017).
https://i0.wp.com/www.jeanejones.net/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/Psalm2Arrange.jpg?fit=1280%2C720&ssl=17201280Jean E. Joneshttps://www.jeanejones.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Logo-340x340-1.gifJean E. Jones2017-09-19 10:24:202021-02-08 18:52:397 Tips for Interpreting Psalm 2 (and Uncovering its Hope)
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