The Silence of God

The Gospels

Between Malachi & Matthew

Introduction reason for that is because there has been neither

prophet nor inspired writer during this time. For four
We are leaving a study of the Old Testament and hundred years, the main question in the hearts of the
beginning a study of the New Testament. To do so in Jewish nation is, “Where is God?” And, for four
one quick move would be difficult because there is hundred years, it seems that God does not care
too much to understand between the book of Malachi enough to answer.
and the book of Matthew. In fact, if you were
One of the main things I want for us to gain
reading through the Old Testament and finished
today, is a greater sense and a greater confidence that
Malachi, chapter 4, verse 6, and then, continued to
even though God may be silent in our lives, He is still
the first verse of the first chapter of Matthew, you
sovereign.
would read of strange things and strange people. The
truth is that between those two verses, there has been The Silent Years
four hundred years. The world has literally changed
between the last part of Malachi and the beginning of Turn in your Bible to Galatians, chapter 4, verses
Matthew. 4 through 5a. These are the only verses we will look
at today. Paul writes these words,
Today, I want to introduce the world of Jesus
Christ and especially, how it was brought about with But when the fullness of the time came, God
such brilliant, divine strategy. It will seem like a sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born
history class at first, but it will all fit as we continue. under the Law, so that He might redeem
These facts will make the New Testament so much those who were under the Law . . .
more meaningful as we read about people like the Underline the phrase “when the fullness of time
Pharisees, the scribes, the Herodians, the Sanhedrin, came”. One commentator wrote that God had
the high priests, and others. It will help us prepared the world for the coming of Jesus Christ, so
understand the synagogue, which is the institution that the phrase “when the fullness of time came,”
that was created in the Babylonian exile when the could be translated, “when the time was just right” or
Israelites would read and interpret the scripture. It “when the time was perfect”.
will help us understand many things that were in Do not forget, ladies and gentlemen, that we are
evidence during the life and ministry of Jesus Christ. going to look at a period of time today, that meant,
These things will impact His life with great force, so for four hundred years, God was silent. The Jewish
it will help us to know who and what they are and nation grew during that time. People were born into
why they existed. that nation and died, without ever hearing the voice
Today then, we are going to take a look at all that of God; without ever reading a new writer; without
God had done during this four hundred years of time. ever hearing the voice of a new prophet. God’s voice
In fact, it is called “four hundred silent years”. The was quiet.

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 Jewish historians refer to this period of time as, walked out of Jerusalem to meet this young
“the dark period”. This was because they were conquering hero, and to ask for clemency.
without, it seemed, God’s revelation. Alexander, and no one is sure why, gave them
Most importantly, I want for us to understand clemency. In fact, he sacrificed to Jehovah and asked
that even though God has been silent, He has been that the prophecies that he had heard about from the
moving; He has been manipulating; He has been book of Daniel, be read to him. He did this because
working; He has been overshadowing the nation. He the book of Daniel prophesied that a Greek ruler
has done this so that, when Jesus Christ came, the would conquer the Persian world – Alexander
time was perfect and the stage was set for all things himself. He gave the Jews citizenship in his Greek
to fit together for the coming of the Messiah. cities and did much for the people, as he unified them
under Greek culture.
As kind as the first ruler of the Greek world was,
Three Political Powers During the Silent Years however, so angry and bitter was the last ruler. His
Now, let me set the stage for you historically. name was Antiochus Epiphanes. He was a man who
There are three periods of political power that are conquered Jerusalem and walked in and sacrificed a
dominant during the four hundred year period. pig on the altar. He massacred the priests. He sold
Jewish women and children into slavery. He took
every manuscript he could find and burned it and
The Power of Greece then, executed the owner. He was determined to
1. The first political power that is dominant stamp out Judaism and make these Jews think Greek,
during the four hundred years of silence is and it seemed that he was succeeding.
the nation of Greece.
The leader of this first political power of Greece
The Power of the Maccabees
was catapulted into such a powerful position because
his father, Philip, was assassinated. This man, in less 2. Like a flash of brilliant light, however, the
than a decade, would transform the face of the known second period of political power comes into
world. By the time he was thirty-two, he would have play. It was started by an old high priest,
earned, and rightly so, the name, Alexander the named Mattathias, and his son, Judas
Great. He had, however, much more of a purpose in Maccabeus.
mind than just conquering the world for Greece. He Maccabeus means, “the hammer,” and was a
wanted to begin, and he did, a cultural revolution – Hebrew title given to this son. The high priest and
the Greek Revolution. He wanted to unite the world his sons would eventually, conquer the Gentile Greek
under Greek culture. forces in Jerusalem and begin what would be a
Alexander the Great made one lasting hundred year period of independence.
contribution, even though he, prematurely it seemed, This was the independence of Israel and what a
at thirty-two years of age, died. Yet, God had used wonderful time it was. The Israelites re-instituted the
that kingdom to not only overthrow the Persian rule, orthodox sacrifices. They rebuilt the wall that
but to institute one major contribution that would Antiochus Epiphanes had destroyed. They once
speed the gospel on its way. Do you know what that again, reveled in the scriptures that they had
contribution was? The Greek language. somehow been able to preserve.
Now, prior to the tower Babel, everyone During this time, Palestine was divided into the
understood each other. After that point in time, five sections that we read about in scripture: Galilee,
however, until Alexander the Great came to power, it Samaria, Judea, Trachonitis, and Perea. When Jesus
was difficult to communicate from city to city and Christ comes to planet Earth, Palestine is divided into
nation to nation. Then, Alexander the Great these areas, and I am sure there was strategy in God’s
conquered the world and taught everyone the mind for that.
language that the scriptures would be written in; the
language that the gospel of the Messiah would be
delivered through – the Greek language. The Power of Rome
History records that Alexander the Great 3. For one hundred years then, the people of
marched on Jerusalem to conquer it and Jaddua, the Israel experienced wonderful independence.
high priest, with a procession of white robed priests, However, sixty-three years prior to the birth

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 of Jesus Christ, another world ruler comes to • Another group that was pro-Rome were the
power, by the name of Pompey. He publicans.
represented the Roman government and It is no surprise that this faction was pro-Rome
conquered Jerusalem. because, if you were a publican living in that day,
Now, let us back up for a moment because you you went to the nearest political office and
are looking at me like I used to look in history class purchased, with money you had saved, the right to
when I had just had my fill. We, first, have the Greek turn around and tax your fellow Jew. That made you
power that instituted one major contribution to the a very popular person! The problem is, not only
coming of Christ; that is, the Greek language, would they tax the Jewish nation and turn the money
through which the gospel would be spread and over to Rome, they would also over-charge and pad
nations would be able to understand the early their own pockets. Zaccheus was a publican and
apostles and missionaries. Then, secondly, we have Matthew, one of Jesus’ disciples, was one of these
the independence of Israel as they grabbed it back turn-coats as well. They were pro-Rome; they were
from the Gentile forces for a hundred years. The happy that Rome ruled.
major contribution was a renewed sense of hope.
The people once again believed, “Maybe, Israel can
reign. Maybe, we can have a nation, a state where Herodians – pro-Rome
the Messiah can rule.” • Finally, also pro-Rome, there were the
The hopes of the Israelites were then dashed by a Herodians.
man named Pompey, who came and destroyed their Obviously, this faction took their name from
Citadel and instituted what was then, the Roman Herod the Great. They felt that Israel should hold
world; the conquering nation; the government that hands with the state of Rome and they did not want
would sweep through the land like no other power anything or anyone to upset the delicate balance of
prior to that time. power. Rome would certainly leave Israel alone, up
to a point; they would not bother Israel or make any
waves. So, they were called the Herodians.
Factions under Roman rule
It is during this time, under the Roman rule, that
a number of factions emerge. Some of them were Scribes – anti-Rome
pro-Rome; that is, they were all for Rome leading • Now, there were anti-Rome factions as well,
Judaism, and some were anti-Rome; that is, they and the first were the scribes.
desired and craved for the independence of Israel,
The reason the scribes were anti-Rome was
just as the people of Israel do today.
because they craved the independence of Israel and
they treasured the scriptures that they had. When
Sadducees – pro-Rome Antiochus Epiphanes was destroying people for
owning manuscripts, the scribes were hiding them
• First, there were the Sadducees that were pro-
and facing a martyr’s death. They were known as the
Rome.
doctors of the Law. The scribes were the copyists;
These were the liberal Jews that did not believe the translators; the interpreters; the teachers. These
in miracles; did not believe in the resurrection; did people loved the Law and dedicated their lives to
not believe in angels. These were the religious interpreting the Law. Unfortunately, they went too
liberals of that day. The unfortunate thing is, the far and added to it. Gamaliel, one of the well-known
Sanhedrin, also pro-Rome, was filled with scribes, was the teacher of young Saul, who would
Sadducees. You can understand now, why Jesus one day be the apostle Paul.
would not have a whole lot of impact with the
Sanhedrin or the Sadducees, since they did not
believe in miracles and thought there had to be a Pharisees – anti-Rome
logical explanation for everything. So, if you wrest • Then, there were the Pharisees, who were
miracles away from the Old Testament scriptures, also anti-Rome.
you have taken half of it away.
The Pharisees were a rather unusual lot. They
were the separatists. In fact, “Pharisee” means,
Publicans – pro-Rome “separatists”. They were the descendants of the early
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Maccabeans and wanted to separate from Rome. The Now, Rome made one lasting contribution, and
problem was that, in their separation, they separated that is, their systems of travel that allowed the known
themselves from their fellow Jews. civilized world to be inter-connected. This allowed
Now, you often see the scribe and the Pharisee the early disciples to speed on their way to the
together because of their adherence to the Law; their furthest corners of the Roman Empire with the
love for the Law; their love for separation from gospel. Also, Rome contributed their system of law.
Rome; their craving for the independence of Israel. The apostle Paul, against the backdrop of Roman
Unfortunately, both the Pharisee and the scribe went law, will teach major doctrines of scripture. He uses
too far. So, by the time of Jesus Christ, they were not Roman law to explain the doctrine of adoption. He
interested in anyone who did not adhere to all of their uses the Roman law system, or Bema seat, to explain
additions to the Law. the doctrine of justification. He uses Roman
citizenship to illustrate the doctrine of citizenship.
Let me give you some examples of their Contributions were great from Rome, so the gospel
additions. There is one Law, among the ten in the came.
Old Testament, that says you have to rest on the
Sabbath day, and every Jew knew that. By the time The Silence Is Shattered
of Jesus Christ, however, the scribes and the
Finally, after four hundred years, three political
Pharisees had added thirty-nine categories to that one
periods of time, each contributing a certain thing, the
simple Law. A few illustrations include:
time was perfect and the silence of God was shattered
• One category was “no burden bearing”. by the birth of a little boy. Finally, after years of
They delineated that to such a point that, by silence, the scripture tells us, in John, chapter 1, “. . .
the time of Christ, a tailor could not pick up the Word was with God, . . . and the Word became
his needle and a scribe could not pick up his flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory,
pen, as that would be bearing a burden. glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of
• Another category was “no unnecessary labor grace and truth.”
on the Sabbath”. By the time they delineated God’s lips had been silent and now, after four
that one, they wrote, and we have the hundred years, the silence had been shattered by the
manuscripts to read, women were birth of Jesus Christ. And the scripture says that
encouraged, on the Sabbath day, not to look when He came, the time was just right.
in a mirror, lest they be tempted to pluck an Now, we are going to be going through the
eyebrow. I read that and thought that was gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke. This will make
interesting. Women have been plucking their a significant difference in our understanding as we
eyebrows for two thousand years! It is read about these people, and we will illustrate further
amazing what Eve did in the garden without as we go.
a pair of tweezers!
• “No plowing” was also a category. They
delineated that to the point that you could not Three Truths From the Silent Years
drag a chair across the floor of your living Before we finish, however, I want to conclude
room because the leg of that chair might with three thoughts. There is much more than a
make a rut and you would be guilty of history lesson in this. Even in the silent years, there
plowing. is so much to learn. God has given us a wealth of
Is it any wonder that Jesus Christ “rattled the truth between Malachi, chapter 4, verse 6, and
cages” of the scribes and the Pharisees when He said, Matthew, chapter 1, verse 1.
“The chief aim of man is to love God and love your There is one issue, ladies and gentlemen, that I
neighbor”? find myself, as a pastor, answering more than any
I find it fascinating that the Pharisees, anti-Rome, other issue. There is a question that I hear believers
and the Herodians, pro-Rome, and the Sadducees, ask more than any other question. If there is a
pro-Rome, would all get together. These snakes and primary issue that all of us, as believers, deal with, it
skunks would somehow find themselves compatible is this issue – the silence of God. We ask, “Where is
for one purpose – to destroy the voice and the life of God? Why don’t I hear from God?”
Jesus Christ. Perhaps you are listening today and the main
issue on your heart is, “Why doesn’t God speak?”
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 I want to give three thoughts that I have learned This would be hard to believe. He promises:
from the silent years of the Jewish nation that are • in Hebrews 13:5b – “. . . I will never desert
directly applicable to where we are today. you, nor will I ever forsake you.” Do you
believe that?
During the silence of God, His presence remains • in Philippians 4:19 – “. . . God will supply all
unaltered your needs according to His riches in glory in
1. The first thought is that during the silence of Christ Jesus.” Can you believe that?
God, His presence remains unaltered. • in Romans 8:39 – “. . . [nothing] will be able
You cannot see God. The nation could not see to separate us from the love of God . . .” Do
Him. They wondered where He had gone and why you believe that?
He did not speak. And yet today, we can look back • in Romans 8:28, paraphrased – “Everything
on four hundred years when God was there. His according to His design works together for
presence had never been altered. your spiritual benefit.” Everything! Can you
John Paton and his wife left Scotland in the last believe that?
century. They landed on the New Hebrides Islands, Someone wrote, “We do not live on answers
which were inhabited by cannibals. They were not from God, we live on promises from God.”
there but for a few weeks when Paton’s wife and
child died. Paton writes in his journals that he lay on It may help you to know that His promise to
their freshly dug graves for three or four nights, so Israel that they would have the land and that they
that the cannibals would not steal into the night, dig would be protected, ultimately, as a nation, had never
up their bodies, and eat them. He wrote that as he been abrogated. The promise was still theirs.
was lying on the grave, he had one question, “Where
in the world is God?” During the silence of God, His power remains
I imagine as Antiochus Epiphanes took the unhindered
priests, took women and children and sold them into 3. Thirdly, and finally, during the silence of
slavery, and executed thousands of the Jews, that the God, His power remains unhindered.
nation was crying out, “Where is God?”
When God is silent, it is easy to question, “Has
God was there. His presence had never changed. God’s hand been shortened? Is He without power?
I think of Paul and Silas serving God, as recorded Could He not have stopped that?”
in Acts, chapter 16. What does it get them? A good When we say that God is sovereign, ladies and
beating and a free night in jail. About midnight, what gentlemen, that is a ten cent theological word. What
were they doing? Praising and singing. You may do we mean? Let us bring sovereignty down to
have heard that story since you were in kindergarten where we are. Sovereignty means that God never
Sunday school, but have you really heard it? There says, “Oops!” or “Uh-oh!” or “If I had that to do over
they were at midnight, having served God, and they again, I would do it differently.”
received a beating and a jail sentence. Then what
God is sovereign. He knows all the variables; He
happens? What would you do? I know what I would
has all the designs mapped out; He knows everything.
do. I would kick those stocks as hard as I could and
say, “Thanks a lot, God!” A couple of weeks ago, I was getting the kids
ready for bed. One of my delights in the evenings,
Now admit it, when you serve God and difficulty
and I will admit, one of my chores too, is to get the
comes, the first thing you wonder about is the
kids ready for bed. Candace, who is now three, has
presence of God. If you learn anything today, learn
decided that she is old enough to pick out her
from four hundred years that God never abandoned
pajamas. I found that out in a rather embarrassing
Israel. Never!
way in that, when I picked her pajamas out, she
looked at me like I was crazy. You can tell by the
During the silence of God, His promises remain look in her eyes that she would not be caught dead in
unchanged that nightgown. So, I let her pick her pajamas now.
2. Secondly, during the silence of God, His One evening, I said, “Candace, go pick out your
promises remain unchanged. pajamas.”

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 She said, “No, Daddy,” and then, mumbled heel and ran down the hallway, with me right behind
something. her, angry. Then, there she stood, pointing to the
Around our house, you do not get away with that. light switch that she could not reach. She had been
So, I said, “Candace, I’m not sure what you are trying to tell me, not “I don’t want to,” but, “The
saying, but Daddy has spoken, so you go pick out light is not on,” and she was afraid of the dark.
your pajamas.” You do not have to look at me like that! That
Then, tears came to her eyes and she said, “No, was not one of my high points as a father. I did what
Daddy,” and it sounded like she was saying, “I don’t you would have done, I got down on my knees and
want to.” took her into my arms and said, “Candace, Daddy is
so sorry. I’m impatient and instead of trying to
So, I got out of my chair and administered a understand you, I spanked you. I am sorry. I was
direct swat. She broke out in tears and I could tell wrong. Will you forgive me?”
there was more hurt than anything else, but I was
impatient and she was not obeying and it was late. I She said, “Yes, Daddy.”
said, “Now young lady, you have heard me and if Your Father, your heavenly Father, never, never,
you don’t want more of the same, you go pick out never will come to you and say, “I made a mistake. I
your pajamas.” didn’t know all the facts. I really blew that one.”
She still hesitated. She only does that to her That is because He is sovereign. Even when He
mother; she always obeys me! She continued to is silent, He is sovereign. Believe it! Believe it to
hesitate until I started after her. She turned on her the glory of God.

This manuscript is from a sermon preached on 10/14/1990 by Stephen Davey.

© Copyright 1990 Stephen Davey
All rights reserved.