Does intertestamental history matter? - 27 July 2011 |
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Some thoughts prompted by chapter 1 of Peter Leithart’s The Four.
- The New Covenant prophesied in Jer 31 was in one important sense (the most important sense, in most respects) inaugurated in Christ (Heb 8). Yet at the same time “Centuries before Jesus comes, Israel is already living in Jeremiah’s “new covenant’.” It was all about returning from Babylon, rebuilding the temple, and so on.
- “Intertestamental” is not a particularly apt description for the era between Daniel/Malachi/Haggai/etc and Christ.
- “Though often ignored in studies of both the Old and New Testaments, the period between the return from exile and the coming of Jesus is a unique period of redemptive history. It has its own unique features as much as the Mosaic or Davidic periods do. This period begins with a new exodus, the restoration from Babylon. It continues with the re-building of the temple, which repeats both the conquest of the land under Joshua and the building of the temple under Solomon. It involves a new relationship between Israel and the Gentile nations. When she comes from Egypt, Israel is formed as a priestly nation. Yahweh exalts David’s house and makes Israel a monarchy, a nation of kings. With the restoration from Babylon, Israel enters a third phase of history. Nestled among the nations, Israel becomes a prophetic people, called to witness to the world.”
- After the exile, Israel “is subject to Gentile powers” for the seventy-week (490-year) period prophesied by Daniel, until the stone not cut out with hands (representing the Kingdom of God) smashes the (Roman) feet of the statue in Nebuchadnezzar’s dream and grows to fill the whole earth.
- If the “intertestamental” history is really as redemptive-historically significant as Leithart reckons, then the implications may be weighty indeed: “By the time of Jesus’ birth, Israel’s history has come full circle. Herod the Great is a new Saul. That is tragic for Israel. But it also gives them hope: If Saul is on the throne, can a new David be far behind? “
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Posted by Steve Jeffery · Topics: Minister's Blog