Table of Contents
\nIntroduction
\nThe Law
\nGenesis 3:15 The Seed of the Woman
\nGenesis 2:18 The Seed of Abraham
\nGenesis 49:10 The Seed of Judah
\nNumbers 23 & 24 The Predictions of Balaam
\nDeuteronomy 18:15\u201319 A Prophet Like Moses
\nSummary of The Law
\nThe Prophets
\nIsaiah 7:1\u201317 Born of a Virgin
\nIsaiah 8:9\u201310 The Promise of Immanuel
\nIsaiah 9:6\u20137 Unto Us a Son Is Given
\nIsaiah 11:1\u20132 The Stump of Jesse
\nIsaiah 40:3\u20135 The Herald of the King
\nIsaiah 42:1\u20136 The Servant of Jehovah
\nIsaiah 49:1\u201313 The Discouragement of the Servant
\nIsaiah 50:4\u20139 The Training of the Servant
\nIsaiah 52:13\u201353:12 The Suffering of the Servant
\nIsaiah 61:1\u20133 The Mission of the Servant
\nJeremiah 23:5\u20136 Messiah the King
\nMicah 5:2 Bethlehem Ephrathah
\nZechariah 9:9\u201310 Riding on a Donkey
\nZechariah 11:1\u201317 The Two Shepherds
\nZechariah 12:10 The Final Recognition of Messiah
\nZechariah 13:7 The Good Shepherd
\nMalachi 3:1 The Messenger of the King
\nThe Writings
\n1 Chronicles 17:10b\u201314 The Davidic Covenant
\nPsalm 2:7\u201312 The Son of God
\nPsalm 16:1\u201311 The Death of Messiah
\nPsalm 22:1\u201331 The Suffering & Exaltation of Messiah
\nPsalm 80:17 The Man of Thy Right Hand
\nPsalm 110:1\u20137 A Priest After the Order of Melchizedek
\nProverbs 30:4 The Name of God\u2019s Son
\nDaniel 9:1\u201327 The Messianic Timetable
\nOther Lines of Evidence
\nIntroduction
\nThe Plurality of the Godhead
\nThe Unity of the Godhead
\nThe Triunity of the Godhead
\nConclusions
\nAppendices
\n1 The Sons of God
\n2 Rabbinic Views of Messiah and Isaiah 53
\n3 Why Did Messiah Have to Die?
\n4 Christ\u2019s Right to David\u2019s Throne
\n5 The Starting Point of the Seventy Sevens
\n6 How Did the Wise Men Know?
\n7 How the New Testament Quotes the Old Testament
\n8 The Death of Judas Iscariot
\n9 Jewish Objections to Jesus
\n10 Table of Messianic Prophecies
\nIntroduction
\nTHIS study is concerned with what is known theologically as Messianic Christology. More simply, it is a survey of all the messianic prophecies in the Hebrew Scriptures which were fulfilled at the First Coming of Messiah. The Orthodox Jewish interpretation does not, of course, expect Messiah to come twice, but rather\u2014as will be seen later\u2014expects two Messiahs each coming once. This study is presented from a Messianic Jewish perspective, and it will be shown that these Hebrew prophecies were fulfilled in the life of Yeshua (Jesus) and cannot be fulfilled in any other way. First, however, by way of introduction, we shall look at the New Testament and see how Jesus and His disciples dealt with this subject.
\nNew Testament Usage
\nThe Gospels make it very clear that Jesus\u2019 death took the apostles by surprise. Their confusion arose largely because of their lack of knowledge concerning the full program of the Messiah. They had fully expected Jesus to overthrow their enemies and establish His Kingdom on earth. They were very familiar with the prophecies concerning this aspect of the messianic program. What they had failed to grasp was that Messiah had to come twice: first to suffer, and, then, later to come in victory. The purpose of His First Coming was quite different from the purpose of His Second Coming.
\nIn order to substantiate the purpose of His First Coming, Jesus does not ask His disciples to simply believe, but refers them back to the authority of their own Hebrew Scriptures\u2014what is now called the Old Testament. One example of this is Luke 24:25\u201327, 44\u201348.
\n24:25 And He said to them, \u201cO foolish men and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken! 26 \u201cWas it not necessary for the Christ to suffer these things and to enter into His glory?\u201d 27 And beginning with Moses and with all the prophets, He explained to them the things concerning Himself in all the Scriptures.ss;
\n\u2026 44 Now He said to them, \u201cThese are My words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things which are written about Me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.\u201d 45 Then He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, 46 and He said to them, \u201cThus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and rise again from the dead the third day; 47 and that repentance for forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in His name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem. 48 \u201cYou are witnesses of these things.\u2026\u201d
\n(nasb)
\nHere, on the Emmaus Road, in one of His resurrection appearances, Jesus reproaches His disciples for not knowing all that the Prophets spoke\u2014including the prophecies concerning His suffering and death. They had no difficulty believing the prophecies which presented Messiah as a reigning King who would restore Israel to her former glory. They had great difficulty in accepting those prophecies which foretold of Messiah\u2019s suffering and death. The fact that the disciples were so distraught by Jesus\u2019 arrest and execution shows that they were really in a state of unbelief. We are told that Jesus began with the Law of Moses, moved on to the Prophets and went through all of the Hebrew Scriptures, showing the disciples all of the things concerning Messiah. He was, then, able to prove that His death and resurrection were perfectly in accordance with Scripture and essential to His work\u2014proving His Messiahship.
\nFrom the most ancient sources to modern rabbis, Jewish teachers have always divided the Scriptures into three sections: The Law, The Prophets and The Writings. We see here (particularly in verse 44) that Jesus does the same. The Writings are sometimes referred to only as \u201cthe Psalms,\u201d Psalms being the first book in the Writings. Jesus systematically covers all Scripture, revealing to His disciples all things concerning Himself. \u201cAll things\u201d include prophecies of the Second Coming (which are still to be fulfilled), as well as prophecies concerning the First Coming (which were being fulfilled at the time that Jesus was speaking). By bringing together prophecies from all three sections of Jewish Scripture, Jesus is able to prove that it was necessary for Him to be killed, buried and raised again on the third day.
\nJesus\u2019 followers learned their lesson well. Later on in the New Testament, after Yeshua\u2019s ascension, we see that the disciples repeatedly justified and authenticated Jesus\u2019 Messiahship to Gentiles as well as Jews using only the Hebrew Scriptures. The first example is Acts 8:26\u201339:
\n8:26 But an angel of the Lord spoke to Philip saying, \u201cArise and go south to the road that descends from Jerusalem to Gaza.\u201d (This is a desert road.) 27 And he arose and went; and behold, there was an Ethiopian eunuch, a court official of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, who was in charge of all her treasure; and he had come to Jerusalem to worship. 28 And he was returning and sitting in his chariot, and was reading the prophet Isaiah. 29 And the Spirit said to Philip, \u201cGo up and join this chariot.\u201d 30 And when Philip had run up, he heard him reading Isaiah the prophet, and said, \u201cDo you understand what you are reading?\u201d 31 And he said, \u201cWell, how could I, unless someone guides me?\u201d And he invited Philip to come up and sit with him. 32 Now the passage of Scripture which he was reading was this:
\n\u201cHe was led as a sheep to slaughter; and as a lamb before its shearer is silent, so He does not open His mouth. 33 \u201cIn humiliation His judgment was taken away; who shall relate His generation? For His life is removed from the earth.\u201d
\n34 And the eunuch answered Philip and said, \u201cPlease tell me, of whom does the prophet say this? Of himself, or of someone else?\u201d 35 And Philip opened his mouth, and beginning from this Scripture he preached Jesus to him. 36 And as they went along the road they came to some water; and the eunuch said, \u201cLook! Water! What prevents me from being baptized?\u201d 37 [And Philip said, \u201cIf you believe with all your heart, you may.\u201d And he answered and said, \u201cI believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.\u201d] 38 And he ordered the chariot to stop; and they both went down into the water, Philip as well as the eunuch; and he baptized him. 39 And when they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord snatched Philip away; and the eunuch saw him no more, but went on his way rejoicing.
\n(nasb)
\nThis is the famous story of the Ethiopian eunuch who is reading the prophecy of Isaiah 53. Philip is sent to him to explain the meaning of the prophecy. We read in verse 35 that \u201cbeginning from this Scripture\u201d Philip \u201cpreached Jesus to him.\u201d Beginning with Isaiah 53, a passage which will be examined later in this study, Philip is able to present the Messiahship of Jesus. The Ethiopian eunuch is so impressed by the way in which Jesus\u2019 suffering and death fits Isaiah\u2019s description of the Messianic Person, that he is convinced and immediately becomes a believer.
\nThe second example is Acts 17:1\u20134:
\n17:1 Now when they had traveled through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where there was a synagogue of the Jews. 2 And according to Paul\u2019s custom, he went to them, and for three Sabbaths reasoned with them from the Scriptures, 3 explaining and giving evidence that the Christ had to suffer and rise again from the dead, and saying, \u201cThis Jesus whom I am proclaiming to you is the Christ.\u201d 4 And some of them were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, along with a great multitude of the God\u2014fearing Greeks and a number of the leading women.
\n(nasb)
\nHere, we see that Paul\u2019s procedure in the synagogue was to expound on the Scriptures, meaning the Scriptures of the Old Testament, and specifically the messianic prophecies which we shall be studying later. Having portrayed the kind of Messiah that the Scriptures demanded, he was then able to show how Jesus perfectly fits the messianic mold of the Old Testament.
\nThe third example is Acts 18:27\u201328:
\n18:27 And when he wanted to go across to Achaia, the brethren encouraged him and wrote to the disciples to welcome him; and when he had arrived, he helped greatly those who had believed through grace; 28 for he powerfully refuted the Jews in public, demonstrating by the Scriptures that Jesus was the Christ.
\n(nasb)
\nHere, again, we see that Apollos\u2019 method of debating with the Jewish leaders was to go back to the Scriptures and prove how Jesus satisfied the requirements of Hebrew prophecy.
\nOne final example of this can be seen in Acts 28:23:
\n28:23 And when they had set a day for him, they came to him at his lodging in large numbers; and he was explaining to them by solemnly testifying about the kingdom of God, and trying to persuade them concerning Jesus, from both the Law of Moses and from the Prophets, from morning until evening.
\n(nasb)
\nAs Paul debated here with the Jewish leaders in Rome, his evidence once again does not rest on Matthew, Mark, Luke or John but rather the Scriptures of the Old Testament. There is, in fact, no mention of the Gospels as they had not yet been written. In this particular situation, Paul rests his case exclusively on the Law and the Prophets. He excludes the Writings probably because of Jewish beliefs concerning the inspiration of Scripture: Judaism teaches that all of Scripture is inspired by God, but that there are three levels of inspiration. The Law is said to be of greatest authority, as it is the very words of God dictated directly to a human scribe. The Prophets are of lesser authority, being God\u2019s messages spoken through the mouths of men. The Writings are considered to be of least authority, as they are reckoned to be the words of men whose thinking was guided by God. Judaism holds a very high view of the Law and the Prophets, but does not have a very high view of inspiration for the Writings. Paul, therefore, restricts himself to using the words of God given in the Law and the Prophets. Jesus used all three sections of the Old Testament because, as far as He and the apostles were concerned, all of the Hebrew Scriptures were of equal validity.
\nSadly, there are very few people today who can do what the apostles did and present the entire messianic program exclusively from the Old Testament. The ability to do this is important for several reasons but is absolutely essential for ministry among Jewish people. It is necessary to show the kind of Messiah that the Old Testament demands before moving on to the New Testament and showing how Jesus perfectly fulfills all of the scriptural requirements.
\nThe Four Types of Messianic Prophecy
\nWhen dealing with messianic prophecy it is very important to understand that there are four categories of messianic prophecy, and these distinctions are essential. The four categories are:
\n1. First Coming Only (e.g., Micah 5:2)
\n2. Second Coming Only (e.g., Isaiah 63:1\u20136)
\n3. Both First and Second Coming (e.g., Zechariah 9:9\u201310)
\n4. The Entire Redemptive Career (e.g., Psalm 110)
\nSome prophecies are very straightforward and deal exclusively with either the First Coming (category 1) or the Second Coming (category 2). Other prophecies are more complicated.
\nThe third category of prophecies includes verses that blend the First and Second Comings together in such a way as to negate or conceal the period of time in between. It becomes necessary to study other parallel Scriptures in order to see the distinction. Zechariah 9:9\u201310 is a good example of this: Verse nine deals with the First Coming, and verse 10 deals with the Second. These verses alone do not distinguish between the two, but this is clarified by other passages as we will see later in this study.
\nThe fourth category refers to passages which cover the entire messianic program and include four elements: First Coming, Interval of Time, Second Coming and the Messianic Kingdom.
\nIn this study, we will cover the first category in its entirety. The second category is a subject in its own right (and, so, is fully covered elsewhere in the author\u2019s The Footsteps Of The Messiah: A Study of the Sequence of Prophetic Events). The third and fourth categories of prophecy will be touched on only in so far as they relate to the First Coming of Messiah.
\nImportance
\nA study of this kind has three main benefits:
\nAvoiding Over-Simplifications
\nThe relationship between the Old and New Testaments, and the nature of Old Testament faith, are often over-simplified. For example, a frequently-used clich\u00e9 is that \u201cOld Testament saints looked forward to the death of Christ while New Testament saints look back to the death of Christ.\u201d If that were true, then why were the disciples so astounded at Jesus\u2019 death? We have a tendency to read back into the Old Testament a level of New Testament understanding which did not exist in those days. As we follow the progressive revelation of Scripture, we become more aware of the limitations on understanding at various stages of Israel\u2019s history. In particular, there would be no way of knowing from the five books of the Law alone that Messiah was to die. This was not revealed until circa 700 b.c. by the Prophet Isaiah. The Law presents Messiah mainly in terms of a King and Redeemer but not as a dying Savior. It is not true that \u201cOld Testament saints looked forward to the death of Messiah\u201d; for most of Old Testament history, they did not know that such an event was to happen. We should be careful not to over-simplify the content of faith for Old Testament believers.
\nAnother example is the common saying that \u201cJesus fulfilled more than 300 prophecies at His First Coming.\u201d Those who make this claim never produce a list of such 300 prophecies. This study will cover every First Coming prophecy, and these will number well below 300. However, there will be more than enough prophecies fulfilled to fully authenticate the Messiahship of Yeshua.
\nInterpreting Second Coming Prophecies
\nUnderstanding the First Coming prophecies and the ways in which they were fulfilled helps us to understand and correctly interpret the Second Coming prophecies. Because all First Coming prophecies were fulfilled in a literal way and not \u201callegorically\u201d or \u201cspiritually,\u201d we should expect the Second Coming prophecies to be fulfilled in the same way.
\nJewish Evangelism
\nAs has already been seen, the messianic prophecies of the Hebrew Scriptures formed the basis for evangelism in the New Testament. First, Jesus with His disciples, and, then, the disciples themselves used the Old Testament to substantiate His claim to be the Messiah. When the messianic expectations of Hebrew prophecy are understood, it becomes clear that Jesus and only Jesus can fulfill these requirements.
\nThese, then, are the Scriptures that we will now study, examining them in the same context and categories that Jesus and the apostles did: The Law, The Prophets and The Writings.
\nThe Law
\nGenesis 3:15
\nThe Seed of the Woman
\n3:15 And I will put enmity Between you and the woman, And between your seed and her seed; He shall bruise you on the head, And you shall bruise him on the heel. (nasb)
\n3:15 \u05d5\u05b0\u05d0\u05b5\u05d9\u05d1\u05b8\u05d4 \u05d0\u05b8\u05e9\u05b4\u05c1\u05d9\u05ea \u05d1\u05b5\u05bc\u05d9\u05e0\u05b0\u05da\u05b8 \u05d5\u05bc\u05d1\u05b5\u05d9\u05df \u05d4\u05b8\u05d0\u05b4\u05e9\u05b8\u05bc\u05c1\u05d4 \u05d5\u05bc\u05d1\u05b5\u05d9\u05df \u05d6\u05b7\u05e8\u05b0\u05e2\u05b2\u05da\u05b8 \u05d5\u05bc\u05d1\u05b5\u05d9\u05df \u05d6\u05b7\u05e8\u05b0\u05e2\u05b8\u05d4\u05bc \u05d4\u05d5\u05bc\u05d0 \u05d9\u05b0\u05e9\u05c1\u05d5\u05bc\u05e4\u05b0\u05da\u05b8 \u05e8\u05b9\u05d0\u05e9\u05c1 \u05d5\u05b0\u05d0\u05b7\u05ea\u05b8\u05bc\u05d4 \u05ea\u05b0\u05bc\u05e9\u05c1\u05d5\u05bc\u05e4\u05b6\u05e0\u05bc\u05d5\u05bc \u05e2\u05b8\u05e7\u05b5\u05d1\u05c3 \u05e1
\nMESSIANIC prophecy begins as early as the third chapter of the Book of Genesis. It is no surprise that the very first messianic prophecy should occur within the context of the Fall. If sin had not entered the world, there would never have been a need for a redeeming Messiah. After the Fall, God curses the serpent who had caused the Fall, and declares enmity between the serpent and womanhood. This enmity is to extend to the Seed of the Woman and the seed of the serpent. The Seed of the Woman refers to Christ, the Messiah, and the seed of the serpent will be the Antichrist. (A discussion of the Antichrist lies beyond the scope of this study, but see The Footsteps Of The Messiah, pages 135\u2013146, for further details.)
\nThe Prophecy
\nThis, the first messianic prophecy, declares that the Messiah\u2019s descent or genealogy will be reckoned after a woman, not a man. This immediately runs contrary to the biblical norm. There are many genealogies in Scripture: Beginning with the earliest in Genesis five and 10, through the first nine chapters of 1 Chronicles, to Matthew one and Luke three (among many others), virtually all of them are lists of men\u2019s names. Legal descent, national and tribal identity, were always taken from the father, never from the mother (The sole exception to this is found in Ezra 2:61 and Nehemiah 7:63). It is very rare that a woman\u2019s name would be included at all unless she figured very prominently in Jewish history, and even then she would warrant only a passing reference.
\nThe fact that Moses traced this genealogy through the woman tells us that there will be something very different about the Messiah, something that necessitates tracing His ancestry through His mother, not His Father. Moses gives no explanation here, and none will be given for several centuries until the time of the Prophet Isaiah\u2014when he will prophesy (in chapter 7) that Messiah is to be born of a virgin and have no human father.
\nGenesis 3:15 states that Messiah will crush the head of the serpent, that is, Satan (Revelation 12:9, 15; 20:2). In the process Satan will manage to wound the heel of Messiah, but will be unable to prevent his own destruction. The bruising of Messiah\u2019s heel took place at Jesus\u2019 crucifixion\u2014painful but, in the eternal sense, not fatal. The crushing of the serpent\u2019s head began with Jesus\u2019 death and resurrection, a point made in Hebrews 2:14\u201318. Romans 16:20 sees the crushing of Satan\u2019s head as still future and, so, his final destruction will not come until he is thrown into the Lake of Fire, as described in Revelation 20:10.
\nAs well as hinting at the virgin birth, this verse also emphasizes the humanity of the Messiah. Messiah, the Redeemer, will not be angelic nor simply divine, but will be a man. It also lays the groundwork for the Messiah to be the God-Man.
\nThese ideas are further developed in subsequent prophecies.
\nGenesis Four, Five and Six: Early Echoes of the Promise
\nThese understandings about Genesis 3:15 come from our own historical perspective with the light of full revelation we have from the Scriptures. But how was this verse understood by those who first heard it? There are three passages in the following chapters which offer some clues as to the thinking of three significant individuals concerning the meaning of Genesis 3:15. A study of these passages shows that though the virgin birth would not be understood until Isaiah, the expectation of a God-Man Redeemer was understood.
\nGenesis 4:1
\nA literal translation of the Hebrew text for Genesis 4:1 would read:
\nAnd the man knew Eve his wife, she conceived and bare Cain and said \u201cI have gotten a man: Jehovah.\u201d
\n\u05d5\u05b0\u05d4\u05b8\u05d0\u05b8\u05d3\u05b8\u05dd \u05d9\u05b8\u05d3\u05b7\u05e2 \u05d0\u05b6\u05ea\u05be\u05d7\u05b7\u05d5\u05b8\u05bc\u05d4 \u05d0\u05bc\u05e9\u05b0\u05c1\u05ea\u05bc\u05d5\u05b9 \u05d5\u05b7\u05ea\u05b7\u05bc\u05d4\u05b7\u05e8 \u05d5\u05b7\u05ea\u05b5\u05bc\u05dc\u05b6\u05d3 \u05d0\u05b6\u05ea\u05be\u05e7\u05b7\u05d9\u05b4\u05df \u05d5\u05b7\u05ea\u05b9\u05bc\u05d0\u05de\u05b6\u05e8 \u05e7\u05b8\u05e0\u05b4\u05d9\u05ea\u05b4\u05d9 \u05d0\u05b4\u05d9\u05e9\u05c1 \u05d0\u05b6\u05ea\u05be\u05d9\u05b0\u05d4\u05d5\u05b8\u05d4\u05c3
\nThis is exactly the same sentence construction as in the next verse:
\nAgain she bare his brother: Abel.
\n\u05d5\u05b7\u05ea\u05b9\u05bc\u05e1\u05b6\u05e3 \u05dc\u05b8\u05dc\u05b6\u05d3\u05b6\u05ea \u05d0\u05b6\u05ea\u05be\u05d0\u05b8\u05d7\u05b4\u05d9\u05d5 \u05d0\u05b6\u05ea\u05be\u05d4\u05b8\u05d1\u05b6\u05dc
\nFew Bible translators really understand what Eve is saying here, which is why our English translations do not read as given above. Eve has clearly understood from God\u2019s words in Genesis 3:15 that the serpent will be defeated by a God-Man. She obviously thinks that Cain is Jehovah. Her basic theology is correct: Messiah would be both man and God. Her mistake is in her application of that theology. She has assumed that Cain, her first child, was the promised God-Man. That she quickly realized her mistake is evident at the birth of Cain\u2019s brother whom she names Abel, meaning \u201cvanity.\u201d
\nIt is interesting to see how different scholars have dealt with this verse at different times. Most English translations read, \u201cI have gotten a man with the help of Jehovah.\u201d The words \u201cwith the help of\u201d were added by the translators to avoid giving a reading which was unacceptable to them. But the Hebrew does literally read, \u201cI have gotten a man: Jehovah.\u201d This is actually the same construction as the Hebrew for the immediately preceding words, \u201cand she bare: Cain.\u201d The common English translation is not based on the Hebrew text but on the Greek Septuagint which reads \u201cthrough God.\u201d This was followed by the Latin Vulgate which also reads \u201cthrough God.\u201d
\nThe Jerusalem Targum, an Aramaic translation, reads, \u201cI have gotten a man: the angel of Jehovah.\u201d The rabbis gave a reading here which is much closer to the original Hebrew text. The Targum Pseudo\u2014Jonathan reads, \u201cI have gotten for a man the angel of the Lord.\u201d Another Aramaic translation is the Targum Onqelos which says \u201cfrom before the Lord.\u201d These Aramaic translations and paraphrases are seeing what the Hebrew is saying and the supernatural implications of it. In Christian theology the Angel of Jehovah is seen as the second person of the triune God (something which is discussed later under \u201cOther Lines Of Evidence\u201d) but, of course, that was not the view of the Jewish translators of the Targumim.
\nThe Midrash Rabbah (on Genesis, 22:2), the rabbinic commentary, says of Genesis 4:1 \u201cwith the help of the Lord.\u201d \u2018Rabbi Ishmael asked Rabbi Akiba, \u201cSince you have served Nahum of Gimzo for 22 years and he taught that every ach and rach is a limitation but every et and gam is an extension, tell me what is the purpose of the et here.\u201d He replied, \u201cif it is said \u2018I have gotten a man: the Lord\u2019 it would have been difficult to interpret, hence et \u2018with the help of the Lord\u2019 is required.\u201d \u2019 The footnote on page 181 of this Midrash says \u201cit might imply that she had begotten the Lord.\u201d The rabbis clearly understood the implications of the construction and so had to make the necessary adjustments in their translation.
\nThe Peshitta says, \u201cI have gotten a man to the Lord.\u201d A leading rabbi known as Saadia Gaon read it \u201cfrom with the Lord.\u201d Rashi translates it as \u201cwith the Lord\u201d and Nachmanides translates it as \u201cunto the Lord for the service of the Lord.\u201d Here again attempts are made to get around the obvious.
\nGenesis 5:21\u201329
\n5:21 And Enoch lived sixty-five years, and became the father of Methuselah. 22 Then Enoch walked with God three hundred years after he became the father of Methuselah, and he had other sons and daughters. 23 So all the days of Enoch were three hundred and sixty-five years. 24 And Enoch walked with God; and he was not, for God took him. 25 And Methuselah lived one hundred and eighty\u2014seven years, and became the father of Lamech. 26 Then Methuselah lived seven hundred and eighty-two years after he became the father of Lamech, and he had other sons and daughters. 27 So all the days of Methuselah were nine hundred and sixty-nine years, and he died. 28 And Lamech lived one hundred and eighty-two years, and became the father of a son. 29 Now he called his name Noah, saying, \u201cThis one shall give us rest from our work and from the toil of our hands arising from the ground which the Lord cursed.\u201d
\n(nasb)
\nIn Genesis 5:21\u201324, we read of righteous Enoch who \u201cwas not, for God took him.\u201d The New Testament, in Jude 14\u201315, tells us that Enoch was a preacher of righteousness and a prophet. The name which he gave to his son was indeed rich with prophetic significance. Methuselah is a Hebrew name which literally means \u201cWhen he dies it will come.\u201d Since there is no neuter in Hebrew, it actually reads \u201cWhen he dies he will come.\u201d This prophecy refers to the coming of the flood. Simple arithmetic with the years given in Genesis shows that the flood came in the year 1656 a.h.\u2014the same year that Methuselah died (see chart on next page). Lamech has understood the name of his father to be prophetic but has mistakenly seen the name as referring to the birth of his son, Noah. Noah will indeed be a man of tremendous significance in human history, but not in the way that Lamech thinks.
\nLamech clearly hopes that Noah, meaning \u201ccomfort,\u201d will be the longed-for Messiah. It is clear from the ages and years given in Genesis 5 that Lamech was 56 years old when Adam died. Lamech would therefore have been given a clear firsthand account of all that happened in the Garden of Eden and all the words that God had spoken. It is very interesting, therefore, to see in verse 5:29 how Lamech expresses his own messianic hope; he sees Messiah as a redeemer who will remove the curse of Adam\u2019s fall, and all of its results. As with Eve, his basic theology is correct but he has misapplied it. Lamech is right: such a man will one day come, in fulfillment of the promise of Genesis 3:15\u2014but Noah was not to be that man.
\nGenesis 6:1\u20134
\nHuman creatures were not the only ones to understand the meaning and significance of God\u2019s words in Genesis 3:15. Satan, to whom those words were addressed, also understood them. In Genesis 6:1\u20134 we see Satan\u2019s first attempt to thwart God\u2019s messianic program. Since Messiah is to be the Seed of the Woman, Satan\u2019s objective must be to corrupt this line of descent.
\n6:1 Now it came about, when men began to multiply on the face of the land, and daughters were born to them, 2 that the sons of God saw that the daughters of men were beautiful; and they took wives for themselves, whomever they chose. 3 Then the Lord said, \u201cMy Spirit shall not strive with man forever, because he also is flesh; nevertheless his days shall be one hundred and twenty years.\u201d 4 The Nephilim were on the earth in those days, and also afterward, when the sons of God came in to the daughters of men, and they bore children to them. Those were the mighty men who were of old, men of renown.
\n(nasb)
\nIn order to try to corrupt the Seed of the Woman, at Satan\u2019s command, fallen evil angels, \u201cthe sons of God,\u201d intermarry with human women, foreshadowing the supernatural conception of the Antichrist also indicated in Genesis 3:15. The results of these marriages were grotesque creatures\u2014the Nephilim. It was the appearance of these diabolic creatures which brought the judgment of the Flood upon the earth. By means of this flood God destroyed all the Nephilim and preserved a line through which Messiah would be born. Since this interpretation of the passage is disputed by some, a full explanation of it is given in Appendix 1.
\nGenesis 3:15
\nteaches that:
\nY Messiah is to come from humanity.
\nGenesis 22:18
\nThe Seed of Abraham
\n22:18 \u201cAnd in your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice.\u201d (nasb)
\n22:18 \u05d5\u05b0\u05d4\u05b4\u05ea\u05b0\u05d1\u05b8\u05bc\u05e8\u05b2\u05db\u05d5\u05bc \u05d1\u05b0\u05d6\u05b7\u05e8\u05b0\u05e2\u05b2\u05da\u05b8 \u05db\u05b9\u05bc\u05dc \u05d2\u05bc\u05d5\u05b9\u05d9\u05b5\u05d9 \u05d4\u05b8\u05d0\u05b8\u05e8\u05b6\u05e5 \u05e2\u05b5\u05e7\u05b6\u05d1 \u05d0\u05b2\u05e9\u05b6\u05c1\u05e8 \u05e9\u05b8\u05c1\u05de\u05b7\u05e2\u05b0\u05ea\u05b8\u05bc \u05d1\u05b0\u05bc\u05e7\u05b9\u05dc\u05b4\u05d9\u05c3
\nGENESIS 22, along with many other passages, deals with the Abrahamic Covenant, which is one of the eight covenants in Scripture. The term \u201cseed\u201d in the Hebrew text is always used in the singular, but used in two different ways. It can be used as an absolute singular, meaning one individual person, or as a collective singular, meaning one group. Within the context of the Abrahamic Covenant, when \u201cseed\u201d is used in its collective sense, it always refers to the nation of Israel (e.g. \u201cyour seed shall be as the stars and the sand\u201d). When used as an absolute singular it refers to one specific individual\u2014Messiah.
\nThis is highlighted in the New Testament by the Apostle Paul:
\nNow the promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. He does not say, \u201cAnd to seeds,\u201d as referring to many, but rather to one, \u201cAnd to your seed,\u201d that is, Christ.
\nGalatians 3:16 (nasb)
\nHere Paul quotes Genesis 22:18, highlighting the absolute singular nature of \u201cseed\u201d and applying it to Jesus.
\nIn Genesis 3:15 we learned that Messiah would be \u201cthe Seed of the Woman\u201d; Messiah would be human. Within the Abrahamic Covenant this is narrowed to Messiah being a descendant of one particular branch of humanity, a descendant of Abraham.
\nA second point made in this prophecy is that Gentiles\u2014the nations\u2014will be blessed through the Seed of Abraham. This is not explained here but is developed in later prophecies (Isaiah 42:1\u20136 and 49:5\u20136).
\nAltogether there are six different passages of Scripture that pertain to the Abrahamic Covenant: Genesis 12:1\u20133, 7; 13:14\u201317; 15:1\u201321; 17:1\u201321; and 22:15\u201318. A study of these passages shows that there is a total of fourteen specific provisions within this covenant. These cannot be discussed here, but if the covenant is reduced to its very basics then it can be said to contain three main aspects: The Land, The Seed and The Blessing. The Land aspect is developed further in Scripture by the Palestinian Covenant. The Seed aspect is developed further by the Davidic Covenant, and since the Seed is of importance in our present study, the Davidic Covenant will be discussed later under 1 Chronicles 17:10b\u201314. The Blessing aspect is further developed by the New Covenant.
\nA detailed study of these covenants goes beyond the purpose of this study. It is detailed in the author\u2019s other work, Israelology: The Missing Link in Systematic Theology, pages 570\u2013587, 628\u2013639, 791\u2013805.
\nGenesis 22:18
\nteaches that:
\nY The Seed of the Woman is limited to being a descendant of Abraham; Messiah is to be a Jew.
\nGenesis 49:10
\nThe Seed of Judah
\n49:10 The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the ruler\u2019s staff from between his feet, until he comes to whom it belongs and the obedience of the nations is his. (niv)
\n49:10 \u05dc\u05b9\u05d0\u05be\u05d9\u05b8\u05e1\u05d5\u05bc\u05e8 \u05e9\u05b5\u05c1\u05d1\u05b6\u05d8 \u05de\u05b4\u05d9\u05d4\u05d5\u05bc\u05d3\u05b8\u05d4 \u05d5\u05bc\u05de\u05b0\u05d7\u05b9\u05e7\u05b5\u05e7 \u05de\u05b4\u05d1\u05b5\u05bc\u05d9\u05df \u05e8\u05b7\u05d2\u05b0\u05dc\u05b8\u05d9\u05d5 \u05e2\u05b7\u05d3 \u05db\u05b4\u05bc\u05d9\u05be\u05d9\u05b8\u05d1\u05b9\u05d0 (\u05e9\u05b4\u05c1\u05d9\u05dc\u05b9\u05d4) [\u05e9\u05b4\u05c1\u05d9\u05dc\u05d5\u05b9] \u05d5\u05b0\u05dc\u05d5\u05b9 \u05d9\u05b4\u05e7\u05b0\u05bc\u05d4\u05b7\u05ea \u05e2\u05b7\u05de\u05b4\u05bc\u05d9\u05dd\u05c3
\nGENESIS chapter 49 describes the prophecies proclaimed by Jacob concerning his sons. In verse 10 he makes a prophetic statement concerning Judah. The basic meaning of this statement is that Judah will not lose its tribal identity or its right to rule over the other tribes until someone comes. The exact wording of the statement varies between translations. Most versions obscure the real meaning by using the word \u201cShiloh,\u201d as if it were a proper name for Messiah. This word should, in fact, be taken as a possessive pronoun. The best translation is probably the NIV given above: \u201cuntil he comes to whom it belongs.\u201d A more literal translation of the verse would read:
\n\u201cThe scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the ruler\u2019s staff from between his feet, until he comes whose right it is and unto him shall the obedience of the peoples be.\u201d
\nJudah\u2019s identity and right to rule cannot be lost until one comes who has full rights to the scepter, full rights to rule. This is how the Septuagint translates the verse, as does the Syriac. This reading of the verse is further supported by comparison with a passage in Ezekiel 21:25\u201327:
\n21:25 \u2018And you, O slain, wicked one, the prince of Israel, whose day has come, in the time of the punishment of the end,\u2019 26 thus says the Lord God, \u2018Remove the turban, and take off the crown; this will be no more the same. Exalt that which is low, and abase that which is high. 27 \u2018A ruin, a ruin, a ruin, I shall make it. This also will be no more, until He comes whose right it is; and I shall give it to Him.\u2019
\n(nasb)
\nEzekiel 21:25\u201327 is primarily concerned with the Second Coming of Messiah. Verse 25 refers to the Antichrist, the last Gentile to rule over Israel. In verse 26 the turban, or mitre, is the mitre of the priest (Exodus 28:4, 37, 39; 29:6; 39:28, 31; Leviticus 8:9, 16:4) and the crown is the royal crown. Just as Genesis 49:10 uses the royal scepter to represent the authority to rule, Ezekiel uses the royal crown to represent the same thing. Then the exact same phrase is used: \u201cuntil he comes whose right it is.\u201d Both priesthood and kingship will be overthrown \u201cuntil he comes whose right it is.\u201d It should be noted in passing that Ezekiel\u2019s reference to the priestly mitre indicates that Messiah will be a priest as well as a king\u2014something that will be discussed further in Psalm 110. Both priesthood and kingship are to be removed from Israel until Messiah comes the second time, when both priesthood and kingship will be given to Him.
\nReturning to Genesis 49:10 and Messiah\u2019s First Coming, we can see that this verse makes three points. Messiah has previously been declared to be a man, descended from Abraham. His descent is now limited to being a son of Judah. A second point is that Messiah is going to be a King. The scepter and the ruler\u2019s staff indicate royalty and authority. Third, it should be seen that Messiah will have to come before the Tribe of Judah loses its identity. This establishes a clear time period for the prophecy. The records by which tribal identities were maintained were kept in the Jewish Temple. All of these records were lost with the destruction of the Temple in 70 a.d. Within a few generations all the tribes of Israel, with the exception of Levi, had lost their identity. Immediately after 70 a.d. the rabbis passed laws which would preserve the identity of the priestly Tribe of Levi, but Jews from the other tribes quickly lost their identity. Since the Tribe of Judah lost its pre-eminence and identity in 70 a.d., it can be clearly seen that Messiah must have come some time before 70 a.d. It is not possible for Messiah to come after 70 a.d.
\nThis verse has been consistently regarded by the rabbis as being a messianic verse. For example, the Targum of Onqelos, which is an Aramaic translation, translates it as, \u201cthe transmission of dominion shall not cease from the house of Judah nor the scribe from his children\u2019s children for ever until the Messiah comes to whom the kingdom belongs and whom nations shall obey.\u201d Onqelos clearly saw this verse as messianic.
\nThe rabbis have also interpreted this verse as being the source for one of the rabbinic names for Messiah: Shiloh. One passage says, \u201cthe Messiah shall be called Shiloh to indicate that he was born of a woman and would therefore not be a divine being.\u201d The amniotic sac in which a fetus is formed in the womb is called the shilyah in Hebrew. This is similar to sheloh, the Hebrew word for Shiloh. This is one of the rabbinic arguments against the divinity of Messiah. By calling him Shiloh, this was meant to be an indication that he was born from a shilyah, and therefore, in their thinking, merely human.
\nRashi said, \u201cuntil King Messiah will come, whose will be the kingdom, unto him [meaning the Messiah] shall the nations seek.\u201d
\nThe Midrash Rabbah 97 on this passage reads as follows:
\n\u201cFurthermore the royal Messiah will be descended from the tribe of Judah as it says [quoting Isaiah 11:10]. Thus from the tribe of Judah were descended Solomon who built the first Temple and Zerubbabel who built the second Temple and from him will be descended the royal Messiah who will rebuild the Temple. Now of the Messiah it is written [quoting Psalm 89:37] \u2026\u201d
\n\u201c\u2026 Judah is a lion\u2019s whelp. Rabbi Hummah ben Rabbi Hannina said, \u2018This alludes to the Messiah the son of David who was descended from two tribes, his father from Judah and his mother from Dan, in connection with both of which \u201clion\u201d is written [quoting Deuteronomy 33:22]\u2019 \u2026\u201d
\n\u201c\u2026 The scepter alludes to the Messiah the son of David who will chastise the nations with a staff as it is written [quoting Psalm 2:9] \u2026\u201d
\n\u201c\u2026 \u2018until Shiloh comes\u2019 this indicates that all nations will bring a gift to Messiah the son of David as it says [quoting Isaiah 18:7] \u2026\u201d
\nThe Midrash Rabbah 98 says as follows:
\n\u201cThis alludes to the royal Messiah. \u2018Obedience of the people,\u2019 the Messiah will come and set on edge the teeth of the nations of the world.\u201d
\nThe Midrash Rabbah 99, on Genesis 49:10, says \u201cto whom kingship belongs,\u201d again taking \u201cShiloh\u201d to be a possessive pronoun.
\nIt is therefore very clear that the consistent rabbinic view of Genesis 49:10 was that it related to the Messiah.
\nGenesis 49:10
\nteaches that:
\nY The Seed of the Woman and the Seed of Abraham is now limited to being of the specific Tribe of Judah.
\nY Messiah will be a king.
\nY Messiah had to come before 70 a.d.
\nNumbers 23 & 24
\nThe Predictions of Balaam
\n23:7 And he took up his discourse and said, \u201cFrom Aram Balak has brought me, Moab\u2019s king from the mountains of the East, \u2018Come curse Jacob for me, And come, denounce Israel!\u2019 8 \u201cHow shall I curse, whom God has not cursed? And how can I denounce, whom the Lord has not denounced? 9 \u201cAs I see him from the top of the rocks, And I look at him from the hills; Behold, a people who dwells apart, And shall not be reckoned among the nations. 10 \u201cWho can count the dust of Jacob, Or number the fourth part of Israel? Let me die the death of the upright, And let my end be like his!\u201d
\n23:7 \u05d5\u05b7\u05d9\u05b4\u05bc\u05e9\u05b8\u05bc\u05c2\u05d5\u05b9 \u05de\u05b0\u05e9\u05b8\u05c1\u05dc\u05d5\u05b9 \u05d5\u05b7\u05d9\u05b9\u05bc\u05d0\u05de\u05b7\u05e8 \u05de\u05b4\u05df\u05be\u05d0\u05b2\u05e8\u05b8\u05dd \u05d9\u05b7\u05e0\u05b0\u05d7\u05b5\u05e0\u05b4\u05d9 \u05d1\u05b8\u05dc\u05b8\u05e7 \u05de\u05b6\u05dc\u05b6\u05da\u05b0\u05be\u05de\u05d5\u05b9\u05d0\u05b8\u05d1 \u05de\u05b5\u05d4\u05b7\u05e8\u05b0\u05e8\u05b5\u05d9\u05be\u05e7\u05b6\u05d3\u05b6\u05dd \u05dc\u05b0\u05db\u05b8\u05d4 \u05d0\u05b8\u05e8\u05b8\u05d4\u05be\u05dc\u05b4\u05bc\u05d9 \u05d9\u05b7\u05e2\u05b2\u05e7\u05b9\u05d1 \u05d5\u05bc\u05dc\u05b0\u05db\u05b8\u05d4 \u05d6\u05b9\u05e2\u05b2\u05de\u05b8\u05d4 \u05d9\u05b4\u05e9\u05b0\u05c2\u05e8\u05b8\u05d0\u05b5\u05dc\u05c3 8 \u05de\u05b8\u05d4 \u05d0\u05b6\u05e7\u05b9\u05bc\u05d1 \u05dc\u05b9\u05d0 \u05e7\u05b7\u05d1\u05b9\u05bc\u05d4 \u05d0\u05b5\u05dc \u05d5\u05bc\u05de\u05b8\u05d4 \u05d0\u05b6\u05d6\u05b0\u05e2\u05b9\u05dd \u05dc\u05b9\u05d0 \u05d6\u05b8\u05e2\u05b7\u05dd \u05d9\u05b0\u05d4\u05d5\u05b8\u05d4\u05c3 9 \u05db\u05b4\u05bc\u05d9\u05be\u05de\u05b5\u05e8\u05b9\u05d0\u05e9\u05c1 \u05e6\u05bb\u05e8\u05b4\u05d9\u05dd \u05d0\u05b6\u05e8\u05b0\u05d0\u05b6\u05e0\u05bc\u05d5\u05bc \u05d5\u05bc\u05de\u05b4\u05d2\u05b0\u05bc\u05d1\u05b8\u05e2\u05d5\u05b9\u05ea \u05d0\u05b2\u05e9\u05c1\u05d5\u05bc\u05e8\u05b6\u05e0\u05bc\u05d5\u05bc \u05d4\u05b6\u05df\u05be\u05e2\u05b8\u05dd \u05dc\u05b0\u05d1\u05b8\u05d3\u05b8\u05d3 \u05d9\u05b4\u05e9\u05b0\u05c1\u05db\u05b9\u05bc\u05df \u05d5\u05bc\u05d1\u05b7\u05d2\u05bc\u05d5\u05b9\u05d9\u05b4\u05dd \u05dc\u05b9\u05d0 \u05d9\u05b4\u05ea\u05b0\u05d7\u05b7\u05e9\u05b8\u05bc\u05c1\u05d1\u05c3 10 \u05de\u05b4\u05d9 \u05de\u05b8\u05e0\u05b8\u05d4 \u05e2\u05b2\u05e4\u05b7\u05e8 \u05d9\u05b7\u05e2\u05b2\u05e7\u05b9\u05d1 \u05d5\u05bc\u05de\u05b4\u05e1\u05b0\u05e4\u05b8\u05bc\u05e8 \u05d0\u05b6\u05ea\u05be\u05e8\u05b9\u05d1\u05b7\u05e2 \u05d9\u05b4\u05e9\u05b0\u05c2\u05e8\u05b8\u05d0\u05b5\u05dc \u05ea\u05b8\u05bc\u05de\u05b9\u05ea \u05e0\u05b7\u05e4\u05b0\u05e9\u05b4\u05c1\u05d9 \u05de\u05d5\u05b9\u05ea \u05d9\u05b0\u05e9\u05b8\u05c1\u05e8\u05b4\u05d9\u05dd \u05d5\u05bc\u05ea\u05b0\u05d4\u05b4\u05d9 \u05d0\u05b7\u05d7\u05b2\u05e8\u05b4\u05d9\u05ea\u05b4\u05d9 \u05db\u05b8\u05bc\u05de\u05b9\u05d4\u05d5\u05bc\u05c3
\n23:18 Then he took up his discourse and said, \u201cArise, O Balak, and hear; Give ear to me, O son of Zippor! 19 \u201cGod is not a man, that He should lie, Nor a son of man, that He should repent; Has He said, and will He not do it? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good? 20 \u201cBehold, I have received a command to bless; When He has blessed, then I cannot revoke it. 21 \u201cHe has not observed misfortune in Jacob; Nor has He seen trouble in Israel; The Lord his God is with him, And the shout of a king is among them. 22 \u201cGod brings them out of Egypt, He is for them like the horns of the wild ox. 23 \u201cFor there is no omen against Jacob, Nor is there any divination against Israel; At the proper time it shall be said to Jacob And to Israel, what God has done. 24 \u201cBehold, a people rises like a lioness, And as a lion it lifts itself; It shall not lie down until it devours the prey, And drinks the blood of the slain.\u201d
\n23:18 \u05d5\u05b7\u05d9\u05b4\u05bc\u05e9\u05b8\u05bc\u05c2\u05d0 \u05de\u05b0\u05e9\u05b8\u05c1\u05dc\u05d5\u05b9 \u05d5\u05b7\u05d9\u05b9\u05bc\u05d0\u05de\u05b7\u05e8 \u05e7\u05d5\u05bc\u05dd \u05d1\u05b8\u05bc\u05dc\u05b8\u05e7 \u05d5\u05bc\u05e9\u05b2\u05c1\u05de\u05b8\u05e2 \u05d4\u05b7\u05d0\u05b2\u05d6\u05b4\u05d9\u05e0\u05b8\u05d4 \u05e2\u05b8\u05d3\u05b7\u05d9 \u05d1\u05b0\u05bc\u05e0\u05d5\u05b9 \u05e6\u05b4\u05e4\u05b9\u05bc\u05e8\u05c3 19 \u05dc\u05b9\u05d0 \u05d0\u05b4\u05d9\u05e9\u05c1 \u05d0\u05b5\u05dc \u05d5\u05b4\u05d9\u05db\u05b7\u05d6\u05b5\u05bc\u05d1 \u05d5\u05bc\u05d1\u05b6\u05df\u05be\u05d0\u05b8\u05d3\u05b8\u05dd \u05d5\u05b0\u05d9\u05b4\u05ea\u05b0\u05e0\u05b6\u05d7\u05b8\u05dd \u05d4\u05b7\u05d4\u05d5\u05bc\u05d0 \u05d0\u05b8\u05de\u05b7\u05e8 \u05d5\u05b0\u05dc\u05b9\u05d0 \u05d9\u05b7\u05e2\u05b2\u05e9\u05b6\u05c2\u05d4 \u05d5\u05b0\u05d3\u05b4\u05d1\u05b6\u05bc\u05e8 \u05d5\u05b0\u05dc\u05b9\u05d0 \u05d9\u05b0\u05e7\u05b4\u05d9\u05de\u05b6\u05e0\u05b8\u05bc\u05d4\u05c3 20 \u05d4\u05b4\u05e0\u05b5\u05bc\u05d4 \u05d1\u05b8\u05e8\u05b5\u05da\u05b0 \u05dc\u05b8\u05e7\u05b8\u05d7\u05b0\u05ea\u05b4\u05bc\u05d9 \u05d5\u05bc\u05d1\u05b5\u05e8\u05b5\u05da\u05b0 \u05d5\u05b0\u05dc\u05b9\u05d0 \u05d0\u05b2\u05e9\u05b4\u05c1\u05d9\u05d1\u05b6\u05e0\u05b8\u05bc\u05d4\u05c3 21 \u05dc\u05b9\u05d0\u05be\u05d4\u05b4\u05d1\u05b4\u05bc\u05d9\u05d8 \u05d0\u05b8\u05d5\u05b6\u05df \u05d1\u05b0\u05bc\u05d9\u05b7\u05e2\u05b2\u05e7\u05b9\u05d1 \u05d5\u05b0\u05dc\u05b9\u05d0\u05be \u05e8\u05b8\u05d0\u05b8\u05d4 \u05e2\u05b8\u05de\u05b8\u05dc \u05d1\u05b0\u05bc\u05d9\u05b4\u05e9\u05b0\u05c2\u05e8\u05b8\u05d0\u05b5\u05dc \u05d9\u05b0\u05d4\u05d5\u05b8\u05d4 \u05d0\u05b1\u05dc\u05b9\u05d4\u05b8\u05d9\u05d5 \u05e2\u05b4\u05de\u05bc\u05d5\u05b9 \u05d5\u05bc\u05ea\u05b0\u05e8\u05d5\u05bc\u05e2\u05b7\u05ea \u05de\u05b6\u05dc\u05b6\u05da\u05b0 \u05d1\u05bc\u05d5\u05b9\u05c3 22 \u05d0\u05b5\u05dc \u05de\u05d5\u05b9\u05e6\u05b4\u05d9\u05d0\u05b8\u05dd \u05de\u05b4\u05de\u05b4\u05bc\u05e6\u05b0\u05e8\u05b8\u05d9\u05b4\u05dd \u05db\u05b0\u05bc\u05ea\u05d5\u05b9\u05e2\u05b2\u05e4\u05b9\u05ea \u05e8\u05b0\u05d0\u05b5\u05dd \u05dc\u05d5\u05b9\u05c3 23 \u05db\u05b4\u05bc\u05d9 \u05dc\u05b9\u05d0\u05be\u05e0\u05b7\u05d7\u05b7\u05e9\u05c1 \u05d1\u05b0\u05bc\u05d9\u05b7\u05e2\u05b2\u05e7\u05b9\u05d1 \u05d5\u05b0\u05dc\u05b9\u05d0\u05be\u05e7\u05b6\u05e1\u05b6\u05dd \u05d1\u05b0\u05bc\u05d9\u05b4\u05e9\u05b0\u05c2\u05e8\u05b8\u05d0\u05b5\u05dc \u05db\u05b8\u05bc\u05e2\u05b5\u05ea \u05d9\u05b5\u05d0\u05b8\u05de\u05b5\u05e8 \u05dc\u05b0\u05d9\u05b7\u05e2\u05b2\u05e7\u05b9\u05d1 \u05d5\u05bc\u05dc\u05b0\u05d9\u05b4\u05e9\u05b0\u05c2\u05e8\u05b8\u05d0\u05b5\u05dc \u05de\u05b7\u05d4\u05be \u05e4\u05b8\u05bc\u05e2\u05b7\u05dc \u05d0\u05b5\u05dc\u05c3 24 \u05d4\u05b6\u05df\u05be\u05e2\u05b8\u05dd \u05db\u05b0\u05bc\u05dc\u05b8\u05d1\u05b4\u05d9\u05d0 \u05d9\u05b8\u05e7\u05d5\u05bc\u05dd \u05d5\u05b0\u05db\u05b7\u05d0\u05b2\u05e8\u05b4\u05d9 \u05d9\u05b4\u05ea\u05b0\u05e0\u05b7\u05e9\u05b8\u05bc\u05c2\u05d0 \u05dc\u05b9\u05d0 \u05d9\u05b4\u05e9\u05b0\u05c1\u05db\u05b7\u05bc\u05d1 \u05e2\u05b7\u05d3\u05be\u05d9\u05b9\u05d0\u05db\u05b7\u05dc \u05d8\u05b6\u05e8\u05b6\u05e3 \u05d5\u05b0\u05d3\u05b7\u05e1\u05be\u05d7\u05b2\u05dc\u05b8\u05dc\u05b4\u05d9\u05dd \u05d9\u05b4\u05e9\u05b0\u05c1\u05ea\u05b6\u05bc\u05d4\u05c3
\n24:3 And he took up his discourse and said, \u201cThe oracle of Balaam the son of Beor, And the oracle of the man whose eye is opened; 4 The oracle of him who hears the words of God, Who sees the vision of the Almighty, Falling down, yet having his eyes uncovered, 5 How fair are your tents, O Jacob, Your dwellings, O Israel! 6 \u201cLike valleys that stretch out, Like gardens beside the river, Like aloes planted by the Lord, like cedars beside the waters. 7 \u201cWater shall flow from his buckets, And his seed shall be by many waters, And his king shall be higher than Agag, And his kingdom shall be exalted. 8 \u201cGod brings him out of Egypt, He is for him like the horns of the wild ox. He shall devour the nations who are his adversaries, And shall crush their bones in pieces, And shatter them with his arrows. 9 \u201cHe couches, he lies down as a lion, And as a lion, who dares rouse him? Blessed is everyone who blesses you, And cursed is everyone who curses you.\u201d
\n24:3 \u05d5\u05b7\u05d9\u05b4\u05bc\u05e9\u05b8\u05bc\u05c2\u05d0 \u05de\u05b0\u05e9\u05b8\u05c1\u05dc\u05d5\u05b9 \u05d5\u05b7\u05d9\u05b9\u05bc\u05d0\u05de\u05b7\u05e8 \u05e0\u05b0\u05d0\u05bb\u05dd \u05d1\u05b4\u05bc\u05dc\u05b0\u05e2\u05b8\u05dd \u05d1\u05b0\u05bc\u05e0\u05d5\u05b9 \u05d1\u05b0\u05e2\u05b9\u05e8 \u05d5\u05bc\u05e0\u05b0\u05d0\u05bb\u05dd \u05d4\u05b7\u05d2\u05b6\u05bc\u05d1\u05b6\u05e8 \u05e9\u05b0\u05c1\u05ea\u05bb\u05dd \u05d4\u05b8\u05e2\u05b8\u05d9\u05b4\u05df\u05c3 4 \u05e0\u05b0\u05d0\u05bb\u05dd \u05e9\u05b9\u05c1\u05de\u05b5\u05e2\u05b7 \u05d0\u05b4\u05de\u05b0\u05e8\u05b5\u05d9\u05be\u05d0\u05b5\u05dc \u05d0\u05b2\u05e9\u05b6\u05c1\u05e8 \u05de\u05b7\u05d7\u05b2\u05d5\u05b5\u05d4 \u05e9\u05b7\u05c1\u05d3\u05b7\u05bc\u05d9 \u05d9\u05b6\u05d7\u05b1\u05d6\u05b6\u05d4 \u05e0\u05b9\u05e4\u05b5\u05dc \u05d5\u05bc\u05d2\u05b0\u05dc\u05d5\u05bc\u05d9 \u05e2\u05b5\u05d9\u05e0\u05b8\u05d9\u05b4\u05dd\u05c3 5 \u05de\u05b7\u05d4\u05be \u05d8\u05b9\u05bc\u05d1\u05d5\u05bc \u05d0\u05b9\u05d4\u05b8\u05dc\u05b6\u05d9\u05da\u05b8 \u05d9\u05b7\u05e2\u05b2\u05e7\u05b9\u05d1 \u05de\u05b4\u05e9\u05b0\u05c1\u05db\u05b0\u05bc\u05e0\u05b9\u05ea\u05b6\u05d9\u05da\u05b8 \u05d9\u05b4\u05e9\u05b0\u05c2\u05e8\u05b8\u05d0\u05b5\u05dc\u05c3 6 \u05db\u05b4\u05bc\u05e0\u05b0\u05d7\u05b8\u05dc\u05b4\u05d9\u05dd \u05e0\u05b4\u05d8\u05b8\u05bc\u05d9\u05d5\u05bc \u05db\u05b0\u05bc\u05d2\u05b7\u05e0\u05b9\u05bc\u05ea \u05e2\u05b2\u05dc\u05b5\u05d9 \u05e0\u05b8\u05d4\u05b8\u05e8 \u05db\u05b7\u05bc\u05d0\u05b2\u05d4\u05b8\u05dc\u05b4\u05d9\u05dd \u05e0\u05b8\u05d8\u05b7\u05e2 \u05d9\u05b0\u05d4\u05d5\u05b8\u05d4 \u05db\u05b7\u05bc\u05d0\u05b2\u05e8\u05b8\u05d6\u05b4\u05d9\u05dd \u05e2\u05b2\u05dc\u05b5\u05d9\u05be\u05de\u05b8\u05d9\u05b4\u05dd\u05c3 7 \u05d9\u05b4\u05d6\u05b7\u05bc\u05dc\u05be\u05de\u05b7\u05d9\u05b4\u05dd \u05de\u05b4\u05d3\u05b8\u05bc\u05dc\u05b0\u05d9\u05b8\u05d5 \u05d5\u05b0\u05d6\u05b7\u05e8\u05b0\u05e2\u05d5\u05b9 \u05d1\u05b0\u05bc\u05de\u05b7\u05d9\u05b4\u05dd \u05e8\u05b7\u05d1\u05b4\u05bc\u05d9\u05dd \u05d5\u05b0\u05d9\u05b8\u05e8\u05b9\u05dd \u05de\u05b5\u05d0\u05b2\u05d2\u05b7\u05d2 \u05de\u05b7\u05dc\u05b0\u05db\u05bc\u05d5\u05b9 \u05d5\u05b0\u05ea\u05b4\u05e0\u05b7\u05bc\u05e9\u05b5\u05bc\u05c2\u05d0 \u05de\u05b7\u05dc\u05b0\u05db\u05bb\u05ea\u05d5\u05b9\u05c3 8 \u05d0\u05b5\u05dc \u05de\u05d5\u05b9\u05e6\u05b4\u05d9\u05d0\u05d5\u05b9 \u05de\u05b4\u05de\u05b4\u05bc\u05e6\u05b0\u05e8\u05b7\u05d9\u05b4\u05dd \u05db\u05b0\u05bc\u05ea\u05d5\u05b9\u05e2\u05b2\u05e4\u05b9\u05ea \u05e8\u05b0\u05d0\u05b5\u05dd \u05dc\u05d5\u05b9 \u05d9\u05b9\u05d0\u05db\u05b7\u05dc \u05d2\u05bc\u05d5\u05b9\u05d9\u05b4\u05dd \u05e6\u05b8\u05e8\u05b8\u05d9\u05d5 \u05d5\u05b0\u05e2\u05b7\u05e6\u05b0\u05de\u05b9\u05ea\u05b5\u05d9\u05d4\u05b6\u05dd \u05d9\u05b0\u05d2\u05b8\u05e8\u05b5\u05dd \u05d5\u05b0\u05d7\u05b4\u05e6\u05b8\u05bc\u05d9\u05d5 \u05d9\u05b4\u05de\u05b0\u05d7\u05b8\u05e5\u05c3 9 \u05db\u05b8\u05bc\u05e8\u05b7\u05e2 \u05e9\u05b8\u05c1\u05db\u05b7\u05d1 \u05db\u05b7\u05bc\u05d0\u05b2\u05e8\u05b4\u05d9 \u05d5\u05bc\u05db\u05b0\u05dc\u05b8\u05d1\u05b4\u05d9\u05d0 \u05de\u05b4\u05d9 \u05d9\u05b0\u05e7\u05b4\u05d9\u05de\u05b6\u05e0\u05bc\u05d5\u05bc \u05de\u05b0\u05d1\u05b8\u05e8\u05b2\u05db\u05b6\u05d9\u05da\u05b8 \u05d1\u05b8\u05e8\u05d5\u05bc\u05da\u05b0 \u05d5\u05b0\u05d0\u05b9\u05e8\u05b0\u05e8\u05b6\u05d9\u05da\u05b8 \u05d0\u05b8\u05e8\u05d5\u05bc\u05e8\u05c3
\n24:15 And he took up his discourse and said, \u201cThe oracle of Balaam the son of Beor, And the oracle of the man whose eye is opened, 16 The oracle of him who hears the words of God, And knows the knowledge of the Most High, Who sees the vision of the Almighty, Falling down, yet having his eyes uncovered. 17 \u201cI see him, but not now; I behold him, but not near; A star shall come forth from Jacob, And a scepter shall rise from Israel, And shall crush through the forehead of Moab, And tear down all the sons of Sheth. 18 \u201cAnd Edom shall be a possession, Seir, its enemies, also shall be a possession, While Israel performs valiantly. 19 \u201cOne from Jacob shall have dominion, And shall destroy the remnant from the city.\u201d
\n20 And he looked at Amalek, and took up his discourse and said, \u201cAmalek was the first of the nations, But his end shall be destruction.\u201d
\n21 And he looked at the Kenite, and took up his discourse and said,
\n\u201cYour dwelling place is enduring, And your nest is set in the cliff. 22 \u201cNevertheless Kain shall be consumed; How long shall Asshur keep you captive?\u201d
\n23 And he took up his discourse and said, \u201cAlas, who can live except God has ordained it? 24 \u201cBut ships shall come from the coast of Kittim, And they shall afflict Asshur and shall afflict Eber; So they also shall come to destruction.\u201d
\n24:15 \u05d5\u05b7\u05d9\u05b4\u05bc\u05e9\u05b8\u05bc\u05c2\u05d0 \u05de\u05b0\u05e9\u05b8\u05c1\u05dc\u05d5\u05b9 \u05d5\u05b7\u05d9\u05b9\u05bc\u05d0\u05de\u05b7\u05e8 \u05e0\u05b0\u05d0\u05bb\u05dd \u05d1\u05b4\u05bc\u05dc\u05b0\u05e2\u05b8\u05dd \u05d1\u05b0\u05bc\u05e0\u05d5\u05b9 \u05d1\u05b0\u05e2\u05b9\u05e8 \u05d5\u05bc\u05e0\u05b0\u05d0\u05bb\u05dd \u05d4\u05b7\u05d2\u05b6\u05bc\u05d1\u05b6\u05e8 \u05e9\u05b0\u05c1\u05ea\u05bb\u05dd \u05d4\u05b8\u05e2\u05b8\u05d9\u05b4\u05df\u05c3 16 \u05e0\u05b0\u05d0\u05bb\u05dd \u05e9\u05b9\u05c1\u05de\u05b5\u05e2\u05b7 \u05d0\u05b4\u05de\u05b0\u05e8\u05b5\u05d9\u05be\u05d0\u05b5\u05dc \u05d5\u05b0\u05d9\u05b9\u05d3\u05b5\u05e2\u05b7 \u05d3\u05b7\u05bc\u05e2\u05b7\u05ea \u05e2\u05b6\u05dc\u05b0\u05d9\u05d5\u05b9\u05df \u05de\u05b7\u05d7\u05b2\u05d6\u05b5\u05d4 \u05e9\u05b7\u05c1\u05d3\u05b7\u05bc\u05d9 \u05d9\u05b6\u05d7\u05b1\u05d6\u05b6\u05d4 \u05e0\u05b9\u05e4\u05b5\u05dc \u05d5\u05bc\u05d2\u05b0\u05dc\u05d5\u05bc\u05d9 \u05e2\u05b5\u05d9\u05e0\u05b8\u05d9\u05b4\u05dd\u05c3 17 \u05d0\u05b6\u05e8\u05b0\u05d0\u05b6\u05e0\u05bc\u05d5\u05bc \u05d5\u05b0\u05dc\u05b9\u05d0 \u05e2\u05b7\u05ea\u05b8\u05bc\u05d4 \u05d0\u05b2\u05e9\u05c1\u05d5\u05bc\u05e8\u05b6\u05e0\u05bc\u05d5\u05bc \u05d5\u05b0\u05dc\u05b9\u05d0 \u05e7\u05b8\u05e8\u05d5\u05b9\u05d1 \u05d3\u05b8\u05bc\u05e8\u05b7\u05da\u05b0 \u05db\u05bc\u05d5\u05b9\u05db\u05b8\u05d1 \u05de\u05b4\u05d9\u05b7\u05bc\u05e2\u05b2\u05e7\u05b9\u05d1 \u05d5\u05b0\u05e7\u05b8\u05dd \u05e9\u05b5\u05c1\u05d1\u05b6\u05d8 \u05de\u05b4\u05d9\u05b4\u05bc\u05e9\u05b0\u05c2\u05e8\u05b8\u05d0\u05b5\u05dc \u05d5\u05bc\u05de\u05b8\u05d7\u05b7\u05e5 \u05e4\u05b7\u05bc\u05d0\u05b2\u05ea\u05b5\u05d9 \u05de\u05d5\u05b9\u05d0\u05b8\u05d1 \u05d5\u05b0\u05e7\u05b7\u05e8\u05b0\u05e7\u05b7\u05e8 \u05db\u05b8\u05bc\u05dc\u05be\u05d1\u05b0\u05bc\u05e0\u05b5\u05d9\u05be\u05e9\u05b5\u05c1\u05ea\u05c3 18 \u05d5\u05b0\u05d4\u05b8\u05d9\u05b8\u05d4 \u05d0\u05b1\u05d3\u05d5\u05b9\u05dd \u05d9\u05b0\u05e8\u05b5\u05e9\u05b8\u05c1\u05d4 \u05d5\u05b0\u05d4\u05b8\u05d9\u05b8\u05d4 \u05d9\u05b0\u05e8\u05b5\u05e9\u05b8\u05c1\u05d4 \u05e9\u05b5\u05c2\u05e2\u05b4\u05d9\u05e8 \u05d0\u05b9\u05d9\u05b0\u05d1\u05b8\u05d9\u05d5 \u05d5\u05b0\u05d9\u05b4\u05e9\u05b0\u05c2\u05e8\u05b8\u05d0\u05b5\u05dc \u05e2\u05b9\u05e9\u05b6\u05c2\u05d4 \u05d7\u05b8\u05d9\u05b4\u05dc\u05c3 19 \u05d5\u05b0\u05d9\u05b5\u05e8\u05b0\u05d3\u05b0\u05bc \u05de\u05b4\u05d9\u05b7\u05bc\u05e2\u05b2\u05e7\u05b9\u05d1 \u05d5\u05b0\u05d4\u05b6\u05d0\u05b1\u05d1\u05b4\u05d9\u05d3 \u05e9\u05b8\u05c2\u05e8\u05b4\u05d9\u05d3 \u05de\u05b5\u05e2\u05b4\u05d9\u05e8\u05c3 20 \u05d5\u05b7\u05d9\u05b7\u05bc\u05e8\u05b0\u05d0 \u05d0\u05b6\u05ea\u05be\u05e2\u05b2\u05de\u05b8\u05dc\u05b5\u05e7 \u05d5\u05b7\u05d9\u05b4\u05bc\u05e9\u05b8\u05bc\u05c2\u05d0 \u05de\u05b0\u05e9\u05b8\u05c1\u05dc\u05d5\u05b9 \u05d5\u05b7\u05d9\u05b9\u05bc\u05d0\u05de\u05b7\u05e8 \u05e8\u05b5\u05d0\u05e9\u05b4\u05c1\u05d9\u05ea \u05d2\u05bc\u05d5\u05b9\u05d9\u05b4\u05dd \u05e2\u05b2\u05de\u05b8\u05dc\u05b5\u05e7 \u05d5\u05b0\u05d0\u05b7\u05d7\u05b2\u05e8\u05b4\u05d9\u05ea\u05d5\u05b9 \u05e2\u05b2\u05d3\u05b5\u05d9 \u05d0\u05b9\u05d1\u05b5\u05d3\u05c3 21 \u05d5\u05b7\u05d9\u05b7\u05bc\u05e8\u05b0\u05d0 \u05d0\u05b6\u05ea\u05be\u05d4\u05b7\u05e7\u05b5\u05bc\u05d9\u05e0\u05b4\u05d9 \u05d5\u05b7\u05d9\u05b4\u05bc\u05e9\u05b8\u05bc\u05c2\u05d0 \u05de\u05b0\u05e9\u05b8\u05c1\u05dc\u05d5\u05b9 \u05d5\u05b7\u05d9\u05b9\u05bc\u05d0\u05de\u05b7\u05e8 \u05d0\u05b5\u05d9\u05ea\u05b8\u05df \u05de\u05d5\u05b9\u05e9\u05b8\u05c1\u05d1\u05b6\u05da\u05b8 \u05d5\u05b0\u05e9\u05b4\u05c2\u05d9\u05dd \u05d1\u05b7\u05bc\u05e1\u05b6\u05bc\u05dc\u05b7\u05e2 \u05e7\u05b4\u05e0\u05b6\u05bc\u05da\u05b8\u05c3 22 \u05db\u05b4\u05bc\u05d9 \u05d0\u05b4\u05e1\u05be\u05d9\u05b4\u05d4\u05b0\u05d9\u05b6\u05d4 \u05dc\u05b0\u05d1\u05b8\u05e2\u05b5\u05e8 \u05e7\u05b8\u05d9\u05b4\u05df \u05e2\u05b7\u05d3\u05be\u05de\u05b8\u05d4 \u05d0\u05b7\u05e9\u05bc\u05c1\u05d5\u05bc\u05e8 \u05ea\u05b4\u05bc\u05e9\u05b0\u05c1\u05d1\u05b6\u05bc\u05da\u05b8\u05bc\u05c3 23 \u05d5\u05b7\u05d9\u05b4\u05bc\u05e9\u05b8\u05bc\u05c2\u05d0 \u05de\u05b0\u05e9\u05b8\u05c1\u05dc\u05d5\u05b9 \u05d5\u05b7\u05d9\u05b9\u05bc\u05d0\u05de\u05b7\u05e8 \u05d0\u05d5\u05b9\u05d9 \u05de\u05b4\u05d9 \u05d9\u05b4\u05d7\u05b0\u05d9\u05b6\u05d4 \u05de\u05b4\u05e9\u05bb\u05bc\u05c2\u05de\u05d5\u05b9 \u05d0\u05b5\u05dc\u05c3 24 \u05d5\u05b0\u05e6\u05b4\u05d9\u05dd \u05de\u05b4\u05d9\u05b7\u05bc\u05d3 \u05db\u05b4\u05bc\u05ea\u05b4\u05bc\u05d9\u05dd \u05d5\u05b0\u05e2\u05b4\u05e0\u05bc\u05d5\u05bc \u05d0\u05b7\u05e9\u05bc\u05c1\u05d5\u05bc\u05e8 \u05d5\u05b0\u05e2\u05b4\u05e0\u05bc\u05d5\u05bc\u05be\u05e2\u05b5\u05d1\u05b6\u05e8 \u05d5\u05b0\u05d2\u05b7\u05e1\u05be\u05d4\u05d5\u05bc\u05d0 \u05e2\u05b2\u05d3\u05b5\u05d9 \u05d0\u05b9\u05d1\u05b5\u05d3\u05c3
\n25 Then Balaam arose and departed and returned to his place, and Balak also went his way. (nasb)
\n25 \u05d5\u05b7\u05d9\u05b8\u05bc\u05e7\u05b8\u05dd \u05d1\u05b4\u05bc\u05dc\u05b0\u05e2\u05b8\u05dd \u05d5\u05b7\u05d9\u05b5\u05bc\u05dc\u05b6\u05da\u05b0 \u05d5\u05b7\u05d9\u05b8\u05bc\u05e9\u05b8\u05c1\u05d1 \u05dc\u05b4\u05de\u05b0\u05e7\u05b9\u05de\u05d5\u05b9 \u05d5\u05b0\u05d2\u05b7\u05e1\u05be\u05d1\u05b8\u05bc\u05dc\u05b8\u05e7 \u05d4\u05b8\u05dc\u05b7\u05da\u05b0 \u05dc\u05b0\u05d3\u05b7\u05e8\u05b0\u05db\u05bc\u05d5\u05b9\u05c3 \u05e3
\nNUMBERS, chapters 22\u201324, present us with the story of Balaam. Balaam was a Gentile astrologer, a seer, who came from the region of Babylonia. He established a considerable reputation for himself throughout the ancient world. It was widely regarded that \u201che whom Balaam cursed was cursed, and he whom Balaam blessed was blessed\u201d (22:1\u20136 especially verse 6, and also 22:12).
\nAt this point in the Exodus from Egypt, Israel have arrived on the border of Moab and are about to enter the Promised Land. The King of Moab, one of the early anti-Semites of history, took objection to the prospect of new neighbors and decided to take action. He called for Balaam and commissioned him for a considerable amount of money to come and curse the Jews. Balaam tries very hard to fulfill his commission, but every time he opens his mouth to pronounce curses God takes control of his tongue and he finds himself blessing the Jews instead. The four oracles which he utters, put in his mouth by God, deal for the most part with the Second Coming of Messiah and His Kingdom. There are, however, several statements which are of interest in our present study.
\nThe First Oracle\u2014Numbers 23:7\u201310
\nThere are a few points worth noting in this first oracle. Balaam points out in verse 8 that he is unable to curse those whom God has not cursed. It is sometimes said that Israel\u2019s enjoyment of divine blessing is dependent on her obedience. At this particular point in her history, Israel is in disobedience, yet despite that, God is still watching over her. Regardless of her obedience or disobedience, Israel will always be God\u2019s chosen and covenant people. God will never permit Gentiles to put curses on Israel such that they would be of eternal effect, which Balaam\u2019s would have been. God therefore intervenes in this situation and overrules the intentions of men.
\nA second point to note is in verse 9. The Jewish nation will not be reckoned to be a nation as such. Throughout much of their history, the Jewish people have been unable to live in a land of their own. While the land of Canaan, or Palestine, or better still, the Land of Israel, belongs to the Jews by divine right, their ability to occupy the land has been largely dependent on their obedience to God. To man, a people without a land cannot be a nation, which is why in verse 9 \u201cthey dwell alone \u2026 not reckoned among the nations.\u201d From the divine viewpoint however, the people of Israel will always be a distinct nation. It makes no difference whether Israel is in the Land or scattered abroad; God sees Israel not as the people of a particular place, but as the nation which is descended from Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. This is why Jewish identity is determined by descent. Jewishness is not determined by place of birth or by religious beliefs, but purely by ancestry. It is irrelevant what an individual Jew may believe or disbelieve; his Jewish identity is determined by his descent. Judaism as a religion is, of course, determined by belief, but atheists and agnostics will still call themselves Jews on the basis of their lineage.
\nIn the Dispersion, the Jews have for centuries been \u201cnot reckoned among the nations\u201d; that is, not given a separate national status. They have been called American Jews, Polish Jews, Russian Jews and so on, which is not entirely wrong\u2014an American Jew is a Jew who lives in America. But biblically speaking this cannot be correct. A Jew can never be American, Polish or Russian\u2014a Jew can only ever be a Jew with a quite distinct national identity. Even after four centuries, the Jews in Egypt were not called \u201cEgyptians\u201d but \u201cIsrael.\u201d As the Passover Haggadah states:
\n\u201cAnd there became a nation.\u201d By which we are informed that the Children of Israel were distinct, even in Egypt, as a peculiar nation.
\nThis may not be recognized by Gentiles, but in God\u2019s eyes, Israel will always be separate, distinct, and unique among the nations of the world.
\nAs Balaam prophetically looks forward to the future of this nation, he sees that God\u2019s final destiny for them is one of supreme blessing, and in verse 10b he expresses his desire to share in that blessing.
\nThe Second Oracle\u2014Numbers 23:18\u201324
\nThere are two key points made in this passage, found mainly in verse 21. First, Balaam sees a time in the future when Israel as a nation will be seen as sinless. Second, Balaam says that during this time of sinlessness, God Himself will be present with Israel as their King. These prophecies relate to the Second Coming of Messiah, but it should still be noted that Israel will one day have God Himself present in the midst of the people, ruling as King.
\nThe Third Oracle\u2014Numbers 24:3\u20139
\nAgain there are two points emphasized here. The first is a description of the future condition of Israel as one of supreme blessing. The second highlights the future condition of Israel\u2019s King (verse 7b).
\nHaving introduced the uniqueness of the nation of Israel in the first oracle, the second and third oracles go on to emphasize the uniqueness of the King who will one day rule over this nation.
\nThe Fourth Oracle\u2014Numbers 24:15\u201324
\nIt is the fourth of the oracles which is of greatest interest in our study of First Coming prophecies. The key prophecy is given in verse 17a and it builds on the prophecy already given in Genesis 49:10.
\nA star shall come forth from Jacob, that is, Israel; coupled with this star is a scepter which, as in Genesis 49:10, represents kingship, since he who has the scepter has the right to rule. The message is, therefore, that when He comes, Messiah will be a king. As we shall see, Messiah has three offices, one of which is king.
\nBalaam began his oracles by emphasizing the unique nature of the nation of Israel. He then went on to say that this nation, though scattered at first, would have a unique and powerful King to rule over it. He finishes here by declaring the awesome power of this King and noting, in verse 17a, that His coming would be heralded by the appearance of a star.
\nThe significance of the closing words of chapter 24 should not be missed. Having completed his work, Balaam the Babylonian astrologer returns to \u201cmy people\u201d (verse 14), and to \u201chis place\u201d (verse 25). With him he takes the prophecy of a star announcing the birth of a unique and powerful King who will rule over Israel. As we shall see further on in our study (in Appendix 6), later generations of Babylonian astrologers recorded these words and kept watch for this star. At its appearing they went and found the new-born King and worshipped Him.
\nNumbers 24:17a
\nteaches that:
\nY Messiah is to be a king.
\nDeuteronomy 18:15\u201319
\nA Prophet Like Moses
\n18:15 \u201cThe Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your countrymen, you shall listen to him. 16 \u201cThis is according to all that you asked of the Lord your God in Horeb on the day of the assembly, saying, \u2018Let me not hear again the voice of the Lord My God, let me not see this great fire anymore, lest I die.\u2019 17 \u201cAnd the Lord said to me, \u2018They have spoken well. 18 \u2018I will raise up a prophet from among their countrymen like you, and I will put My words in his mouth, and he shall speak to them all that I command him. 19 \u2018And it shall come about that whoever will not listen to My words which he shall speak in My name, I Myself will require it of him. (nasb)
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\nDEUTERONOMY 18:18 contains a promise given by God to Moses. God promises Moses that He will raise up a prophet \u201clike you.\u201d Why does God specify a prophet like Moses? What was different about Moses compared with other men called by God to be prophets? The unique status of Moses among the other prophets is explained in Numbers 12:5\u20138:
\n12:5 Then the Lord came down in a pillar of cloud and stood at the doorway of the tent, and He called Aaron and Miriam. When they had both come forward, 6 He said, \u201cHear now My words: If there is a prophet among you, I, the Lord, shall make Myself known to him in a vision. I shall speak with him in a dream. 7 \u201cNot so, with My servant Moses, He is faithful in all My household; 8 With him I speak mouth to mouth, Even openly, and not in dark sayings, And he beholds the form of the Lord. Why then were you not afraid To speak against My servant, against Moses?\u201d
\n(nasb)
\nIn this passage, Aaron and Miriam are railing against their brother Moses because they do not approve of the woman he has married. God himself intervenes on Moses\u2019 behalf, declaring Moses\u2019 unique standing before him.
\nEven with great men like Elijah and Isaiah, God did not reveal Himself directly but used dreams, visions, and other methods. Moses is the only man who received direct revelation from God. It is on this basis that Judaism developed its three-tier view of Scriptural inspiration (see Introduction).
\nPreviously we were told that Messiah would be a king. Now we are told that He will be a prophet too, and not an ordinary prophet, but One who will speak \u201cmouth to mouth\u201d with God and Who will see the very form of Jehovah.
\nMany writers have sought to draw up lists of similarities between Moses and Jesus, the \u201cprophet like unto Moses.\u201d Many of these parallels are rather contrived and somewhat fanciful. We can, however, point out four clear similarities between the ministries of Moses and Messiah:
\n1. A Prophet (Numbers 12:6\u20138)
\nAs explained above.
\n2. A Redeemer (Exodus 3:10)
\nIn Exodus 3:1\u201310, God sees the suffering of the people of Israel and declares His intention to redeem them out of the land of Egypt. Moses is the man chosen by God to lead the people out of their captivity. (Note that the Angel of Jehovah mentioned in verse 2 is further discussed in the fourth part of this study, \u201cOther Lines of Evidence.\u201d) As has already been seen, Messiah too will be a redeemer.
\n3. A Mediator (Exodus 20:18\u201321)
\nTo begin with God spoke directly to the people of Israel (Exodus 19:16\u201325). The sound of God\u2019s voice was so overwhelming that the people asked Moses to mediate for them so that they would not hear God\u2019s voice, but only God\u2019s words repeated to them by Moses.
\n4. An Intercessor (Exodus 32:7\u201335)
\nOften, during their long exodus from Egypt, it was only because of Moses\u2019 intercession on their behalf that Israel escaped the judgment of God and survived. This is particularly clear in Exodus 32:30\u201332.
\nMessiah will fit the Mosaic mold in each of these four areas: He will be a prophet, a redeemer, a mediator and an intercessor.
\nDeuteronomy 18:15\u201319
\nteaches that:
\nY Messiah is to be a prophet.<\/p>\n
Summary of the Law
\nThe Messianic prophecies in the Law which relate to the First Coming of Messiah can be summarized in six key points. These relate either to His Person or His work or both.
\nThe Seed
\nThe subject of the Seed was encountered three times:
\n1. The Seed of the Woman
\nMessiah would be human, not an angel, nor purely God as God.
\n2. The Seed of Abraham
\nMessiah would come from one specific part of humanity; He would be a Jew, not a Gentile.
\n3. The Seed of Judah
\nAlthough there were twelve Jewish tribes, Messiah would come from one specific tribe, the Tribe of Judah. This requires that Messiah come prior to the destruction of Jewish genealogical records in 70 a.d.
\nBoth God and Man
\nAlthough Eve wrongly identified Cain as Messiah, she clearly understood that Messiah was to be a God-Man.
\nA King
\nMore than once the symbol of the scepter was used to indicate that Messiah would be a King.
\nA Prophet Like Mosess
\nMessiah would be a prophet and specifically He would be a prophet like Moses.
\nRemoval of the Curse
\nAlthough Lamech wrongly identified his son Noah as Messiah, he clearly understood that Messiah, when He came, would remove the curse brought upon the earth by Adam\u2019s sin.
\nA Hint of the Virgin Birth
\nAlthough not as clearly stated as the five points above, there is a hint in Genesis 3:15 that Messiah would be born of a virgin. Messiah would be reckoned as the Seed of the Woman and not of a man.<\/p>\n
The<\/p>\n
Isaiah 7:1\u201317
\nBorn of a Virgin
\n7:1 When Ahaz son of Jotham, the son of Uzziah, was king of Judah, King Rezin of Aram and Pekah son of Remaliah king of Israel marched up to fight against Jerusalem, but they could not overpower it. 2 Now the house of David was told, \u201cAram has allied itself with Ephraim\u201d; so the hearts of Ahaz and his people were shaken, as the trees of the forest are shaken by the wind. 3 Then the Lord said to Isaiah, \u201cGo out, you and your son Shear-Jashub, to meet Ahaz at the end of the aqueduct of the Upper Pool, on the road to the Washerman\u2019s Field. 4 Say to him, \u2018Be careful, keep calm and don\u2019t be afraid. Do not lose heart because of these two smoldering stubs of firewood\u2014because of the fierce anger of Rezin and Aram and of the son of Remaliah. 5 Aram, Ephraim and Remaliah\u2019s son have plotted your ruin, saying, 6 \u201cLet us invade Judah; let us tear it apart and divide it among ourselves, and make the son of Tabeel king over it.\u201d 7 Yet this is what the Sovereign Lord says: \u201c \u2018It will not take place, it will not happen, 8 for the head of Aram is Damascus, and the head of Damascus is only Rezin. Within sixty-five years Ephraim will be too shattered to be a people. 9 The head of Ephraim is Samaria, and the head of Samaria is only Remaliah\u2019s son. If you do not stand firm in your faith, you will not stand at all.\u2019 \u201d 10 Again the Lord spoke to Ahaz, 11 \u201cAsk the Lord your God for a sign, whether in the deepest depths or in the highest heights.\u201d 12 But Ahaz said, \u201cI will not ask; I will not put the Lord to the test.\u201d 13 Then Isaiah said, \u201cHear now, you house of David! Is it not enough to try the patience of men? Will you try the patience of my God also? 14 Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel. 15 He will eat curds and honey when he knows enough to reject the wrong and choose the right. 16 But before the boy knows enough to reject the wrong and choose the right, the land of the two kings you dread will be laid waste. 17 The Lord will bring on you and on your people and on the house of your father a time unlike any since Ephraim broke away from Judah\u2014he will bring the king of Assyria.\u201d (niv)
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\nCHAPTERS 7\u201312 of Isaiah constitute a single unit, sometimes referred to as \u201cThe Book of Immanuel\u201d because the name \u201cImmanuel\u201d appears three times in the Hebrew text (7:14; 8:8, 10). The first prophecy which we will look at within this section of Scripture deals with the birth of Immanuel. In the Bible, when parents name a child, the meaning of the name shows the thinking of the parents. When God names the child, as here, the name shows the very nature of the child. Immanuel means \u201cwith us, God.\u201d The character of the child will be \u201cGod among us.\u201d
\nThe Controversy
\nAs mentioned in our discussion of Genesis 3:15, Isaiah 7:13\u201314 is a prophecy concerning the virgin conception and birth of the Messiah. This is perhaps the most controversial of the messianic prophecies and therefore requires a closer textual analysis than others. The exact meaning of this passage is disputed by rabbis, liberal theologians and even by some evangelical theologians.
\nThe passage talks of \u201ca sign: The virgin will be with child \u2026\u201d There are two areas of controversy here:
\n1. The sign
\nSince the context of the chapter requires a short range prophecy\u2014giving a sign to King Ahaz\u2014how can this be applied to the birth of a child some 700 years later, as claimed in Matthew 1:22\u201323?
\n2. The Hebrew word \u201calmah\u201d
\nDoes it really mean a virgin, or simply a young unmarried woman?
\nWe will deal with both of these contentious issues before proceeding to discuss the passage itself.
\nHermeneutics
\nSince Isaiah 7:13\u201314 requires an immediate sign to King Ahaz, many Evangelicals have taken this verse to be an example of \u201cdouble fulfillment.\u201d This principle states that a prophecy may have more than one fulfillment. This verse may, accordingly, be both a sign for King Ahaz and the sign in Matthew 1:22\u201323 for the birth of Jesus.
\nThis author does not accept the principle of double fulfillment either here or in any other place in the Bible. If this principle were true, there would be no real need for the virgin birth at all.
\nThere is another, better principle of biblical interpretation which is \u201cdouble reference.\u201d This principle states that one block of Scripture dealing with one person, one event, one time, may be followed by another block of Scripture dealing with a different person, place and time, without making any clear distinction between the two blocks or indicating that there is a gap of time between the two blocks. The fact of a gap of time is known only from other Scriptures. There are, therefore, two separate prophecies side-by-side each having their own fulfillment, but with only one fulfillment per prophecy. \u201cDouble Fulfillment\u201d states that one prophecy can have two fulfillments. \u201cDouble Reference\u201d states that the one piece of Scripture actually contains two prophecies, each having its own fulfillment.
\nAs will be explained later, Isaiah 7:13\u201317 contains two quite separate prophecies with different purposes, and having different fulfillments at different times.
\nThe Hebrew Word Almah
\nThe major debate, of course, is over the exact meaning of the Hebrew word almah, translated here as virgin. In describing a young woman, there are three Hebrew words which Isaiah could have used:
\n1. Na\u02bea\u02berah
\nNa\u02bea\u02berah means \u201cdamsel\u201d and can refer to either a virgin (as in 1 Kings 1:2), or a non-virgin (as in Ruth 2:6).
\n2. Betulah
\nThis is commonly considered to mean a virgin, exclusively. It is argued that if Isaiah had really meant to say a virgin, then he would have used this word. It is true that this word is often used to mean virgin, but not always. For example:
\ni. In Joel 1:8 it is used in reference to a widow.
\nii. In Genesis 24:16, because the word does not exclusively mean \u201cvirgin\u201d the writer adds the phrase \u201chad never known a man\u201d in order to clarify what he means.
\niii. Again in Judges 21:12 the phrase \u201chad not known a man\u201d has to be added to give the precise meaning.
\n3. Almah
\nAlmah means \u201ca virgin,\u201d \u201ca young virgin,\u201d a \u201cvirgin of marriageable age.\u201d This word is used seven times in the Hebrew Scriptures and not once is it used to describe a married woman; this point is not debated.
\ni. Genesis 24:43. In contrast to 24:16 mentioned above, verse 43 requires no additional qualifying remarks since the one word alone is sufficient to mean \u201cvirgin.\u201d Furthermore, it is used of Rebekah who was obviously a virgin at the time of her marriage to Isaac.
\nii. Exodus 2:8. Used in reference to Moses\u2019 sister Miriam, who was a virgin.
\niii. Psalm 68:25. Used in reference to the royal procession of virgins. Since the King in this context is God Himself, absolute virginity is required; it is unthinkable that God would allow unchaste, unmarried women in His procession.
\niv. Song of Songs 1:3. The context here is purity in marriage.
\nv. Song of Songs 6:8. The word is used here in contrast to wives and concubines who would obviously be non-virgins.
\nvi. Proverbs 30:18\u201319. The word is used in verse 19 in contrast to an adulteress in verse 20.
\nvii. Isaiah 7:14. Since all of the above six verses mean \u201ca virgin,\u201d what reason is there for making Isaiah 7:14 the only exception?
\nSince everyone agrees that almah means an unmarried woman, if the woman in Isaiah 7:14 were a non-virgin, then God would be promising a sign involving fornication and illegitimacy. It is unthinkable that God would sanction sin, and in any case, what would be so unusual about an illegitimate baby that could possibly constitute a sign?
\nAs far as ancient Jewish writers were concerned, there was no argument about Isaiah 7:14 predicting a virgin birth. The Septuagint is a Greek translation of the Hebrew Scriptures made about 200 b.c., 200 years before the issue of Jesus\u2019 Messiahship ever arose. The Jews who made this translation, living much closer to the times of Isaiah than we do today, translated Isaiah 7:14 using the Greek word parthenos which very clearly and exclusively means a virgin.
\nThere can therefore be no doubt that the unique event which God is promising as a sign, is the miraculous conception of a son by a girl who is still a virgin.
\nThe Threat to the House of David\u20147:1\u20132
\nAt this point in history there was an empire arising which was threatening the smaller kingdoms of the Middle East\u2014the Assyrian Empire.
\nAmong these smaller Kingdoms was Syria (or Aram), the northern Kingdom of Israel (or Ephraim), and the southern Kingdom of Judah. The kings of Israel and Syria joined forces against their common enemy (verses 1\u20132), but still did not have enough military might to withstand an Assyrian attack. They invited Judah to join forces with them, but Ahaz, King of Judah, refused.
\nIsrael and Syria then conspired, not only to dethrone Ahaz, when they might have succeeded, but to depose the entire House of David. This is the emphasis in verse 2. They would then establish a new dynasty in Judah more favorable to an alliance against Assyria.
\nThis, then, is a direct attack upon God\u2019s eternal covenant with David. It is therefore doomed to failure. (The Davidic Covenant is discussed under 1 Chronicles 17:10b\u201314 in the section on The Writings.)
\nThe Message to Ahaz\u20147:3\u20139
\nAhaz is not a worshipper of the one true God, but has fallen into idolatry and is very much afraid of the approaching attack (verse 2). In verses 3\u20139 God gives a message to Ahaz. In verse 3, Isaiah is commissioned to meet with Ahaz, who is inspecting water supplies in preparation for a siege. Isaiah is also to take his son with him. His son is called Shear-Jashub, meaning \u201ca remnant will return.\u201d The reason for taking his son is not explained until verses 15\u201316.
\nIn verses 4\u20136 the message is given, describing the plot and telling Ahaz not to be afraid. The plot consists of overthrowing Ahaz and replacing him with the son of Tabeel. Isaiah was a master of the Hebrew language and loved playing word games. He does so here in verse 6. Tabeel means \u201cGod is good.\u201d By altering the vowel pattern very slightly, Isaiah changes this to mean \u201cgood for nothing.\u201d The one that means \u201cGod is good\u201d will prove to be \u201cgood for nothing.\u201d Because of the Davidic Covenant, no conspiracy against the House of David can ever succeed. God clearly states this in verse 7, and in verses 8\u20139 God will judge the two kings involved in the conspiracy.
\nThe Signs of Deliverance\u20147:10\u201317
\nThe Offer of a Sign\u20147:10\u201311
\nAhaz, however, is an idolater who does not trust in God and has made his own arrangements. He has sent letters and gifts to the Assyrian Emperor, asking for assistance in his defense against these two kings. He has greater faith in the Assyrian Empire than in the God of Israel. So, in verse 10, God speaks a second time. He offers Ahaz a sign\u2014whatever it takes to convince Ahaz not to fear, not to trust the Assyrians, but to trust in God. Whatever it takes, let him ask for it and God will do it for him. The word for \u201csign\u201d does not of itself mean a miracle; it could be a miraculous or a natural sign. Within this context, however, it is clear that it will take a miracle to convince Ahaz. God offers him a sign anywhere he wants\u2014in heaven, on earth, under the earth\u2014whatever it takes to convince him.
\nThe Rejection of the Offer\u20147:12
\nIn response, the idolatrous Ahaz suddenly becomes very spiritual. In verse 12 he refuses to \u201ctest\u201d God or \u201ctempt\u201d Him. This is a reference to Deuteronomy 6:16, but he misapplies it. Nevertheless, it is evident that even in idolatry, Ahaz was not ignorant of the true God! Deuteronomy 6:16 warns against asking for a sign, but here God is offering a sign and Ahaz is invited to respond. Ahaz does not want a sign, lest it come to pass, and he be forced to abandon his alliance with Assyria.
\nThen come the crucial verses, 13 and 14.
\nThe Sign to the House of David\u20147:13\u201314
\nIn verse 13, Isaiah turns from addressing Ahaz as an individual and addresses the entire House of David. The English language does not distinguish between \u201cyou\u201d addressed to one person and \u201cyou\u201d addressed to many people. In Hebrew there is a difference, and there is a clear change between the singular \u201cyou\u201d of verses 9, 11, 16, 17 and the plural \u201cyou\u201d of verses 13\u201314. The sign therefore is not just for Ahaz, but for the whole House of David. This becomes clearer if we state the passage again with the singular [s] and plural [pl] words indicated:
\n7:9 \u2026 and the head of Ephraim is Samaria and the head of Samaria is the son of Remaliah. If you [s] will not believe, you [s] surely shall not last.\u201d \u2019 \u201d 10 Then the Lord spoke again to Ahaz, saying, 11 \u201cAsk a sign for yourself [s] from the Lord your God; make it deep as Sheol or high as heaven.\u201d 12 But Ahaz said, \u201cI will not ask, nor will I test the Lord!\u201d 13 Then he said, \u201cListen now, O house of David! Is it too slight a thing for you [pl] to try the patience of men, that you [pl] will try the patience of my God as well? 14 \u201cTherefore the Lord Himself will give you [pl] a sign: Behold, a virgin will be with child and bear a son, and she will call His name Immanuel. 15 \u201cHe will eat curds and honey at the time He knows enough to refuse evil and choose good. 16 \u201cFor before the boy will know enough to refuse evil and choose good, the land whose two kings you [s] dread will be forsaken. 17 \u201cThe Lord will bring on you [s], on your people, and on your father\u2019s house such days as have never come since the day that Ephraim separated from Judah, the king of Assyria.\u201d
\n(nasb, with comments added)
\nIn verse 14, the Hebrew word for \u201cbehold\u201d is a word which draws attention to an event which could be past, present or future. However, grammatically, whenever \u201cbehold\u201d is used with the Hebrew present participle, it always refers to a future event. That is the case here. Not only is the birth future, but the very conception is future. This is not referring to a pregnant woman about to give birth.
\nThe text specifically says \u201cthe virgin\u201d (the NIV and NKJV are correct at this point; the NASB like most translations says \u201ca virgin,\u201d which is quite wrong). According to the rules of Hebrew grammar, when finding the use of a definite article (the), the reader should look for a reference in the immediate previous context. Having followed the passage from chapter 7:1, there has been no mention of any woman. Having failed with the immediate context, the second rule is the \u201cprinciple of previous reference,\u201d something which has been dealt with much earlier and is common knowledge among the people. Where in Jewish Scripture or tradition is there any concept of \u201cthe virgin giving birth to a son\u201d? The only possible reference is to Genesis 3:15. Contrary to the biblical norm, the Messiah would be reckoned after the Seed of the Woman. Why? Because He would have no human father; His would be a virgin conception and birth.
\nThe key point of this should not be missed. God is promising that the House of David cannot be deposed or lose its identity until the birth of a virgin-born son. Again, this requires that Messiah be born prior to the destruction of the Temple and its genealogical records in 70 a.d.
\nThe Sign to Ahaz\u20147:15\u201317
\nHaving concluded that Isaiah 7:12\u201314 is a long range prophecy concerning the birth of Messiah, that still leaves a problem. What about Ahaz? An event 700 years in the future is of little significance to him. There is however a second sign in verses 15\u201317, and this time it is specifically for Ahaz. The \u201cyou\u201d in verse 16 is again singular, meaning Ahaz. Before Isaiah\u2019s son is old enough to make moral distinctions between right and wrong, the kings of Israel and Syria will be deposed and their threat removed. This was fulfilled within three years. Isaiah again uses the definite article before the term \u201cboy.\u201d This time there is another boy mentioned in the context: Isaiah\u2019s son. The boy of verse 16 cannot be the son of verse 14 but refers back to Isaiah\u2019s son in verse 3. Why else was Isaiah commanded to take him?
\nSummary of Isaiah 7:1\u201317
\nIn Isaiah chapter 7, King Ahaz, the King of Judah, is under threat of attack. This threat is not only to him personally but to the whole House of David. Through the Prophet Isaiah, God tells King Ahaz to be at peace and to be unafraid. Two reasons are given, two signs which guarantee God\u2019s promise of security. The first sign, in verses 13 and 14, is that no attempt to destroy the House of David will succeed until the birth of a virgin-born son. The term \u201cvirgin\u201d is required both by the Hebrew vocabulary and the context. The second sign, in verses 15 and 16, is given to Ahaz personally. God promises that the attack upon him by Israel and Syria will not succeed, and before Isaiah\u2019s son, Shear-Jashub, reaches an age of moral maturity, the two enemy kings will cease to exist.
\nIsaiah 7:14
\nteaches that:
\nY Messiah would be born of a girl who is still a virgin; the explanation of Genesis 3:15.
\nY Messiah will be the God-Man.
\nY Messiah will be a king.
\nY Messiah must be born prior to the destruction of the Temple in 70 a.d.
\nIsaiah 8:9\u201310
\nThe Promise of Immanuel
\n8:9 \u201cBe broken, O peoples, and be shattered; And give ear, all remote places of the earth. Gird yourselves, yet be shattered; Gird yourselves, yet be shattered. 10 \u201cDevise a plan but it will be thwarted; State a proposal, but it will not stand, For God is with us.\u201d (nasb)
\n8:9 \u05e8\u05b9\u05e2\u05d5\u05bc \u05e2\u05b7\u05de\u05b4\u05bc\u05d9\u05dd \u05d5\u05b8\u05d7\u05b9\u05ea\u05bc\u05d5\u05bc \u05d5\u05b0\u05d4\u05b7\u05d0\u05b2\u05d6\u05b4\u05d9\u05e0\u05d5\u05bc \u05db\u05b9\u05bc\u05dc \u05de\u05b6\u05e8\u05b0\u05d7\u05b7\u05e7\u05b5\u05bc\u05d9\u05be\u05d0\u05b8\u05e8\u05b6\u05e5 \u05d4\u05b4\u05ea\u05b0\u05d0\u05b7\u05d6\u05b0\u05bc\u05e8\u05d5\u05bc \u05d5\u05b8\u05d7\u05b9\u05ea\u05bc\u05d5\u05bc \u05d4\u05b4\u05ea\u05b0\u05d0\u05b7\u05d6\u05b0\u05bc\u05e8\u05d5\u05bc \u05d5\u05b8\u05d7\u05b9\u05ea\u05bc\u05d5\u05bc\u05c3 10 \u05e2\u05bb\u05e6\u05d5\u05bc \u05e2\u05b5\u05e6\u05b8\u05d4 \u05d5\u05b0\u05ea\u05bb\u05e4\u05b8\u05e8 \u05d3\u05b7\u05bc\u05d1\u05b0\u05bc\u05e8\u05d5\u05bc \u05d3\u05b8\u05d1\u05b8\u05e8 \u05d5\u05b0\u05dc\u05b9\u05d0 \u05d9\u05b8\u05e7\u05d5\u05bc\u05dd \u05db\u05b4\u05bc\u05d9 \u05e2\u05b4\u05de\u05b8\u05bc\u05e0\u05d5\u05bc \u05d0\u05b5\u05dc\u05c3 \u05e1
\nVerse 10 reads more literally \u201c\u2026 but it will not stand, because of Immanuel.\u201d<\/p>\n
CHAPTER 7 of Isaiah described how King Ahaz was under threat of attack. This threat was primarily against King Ahaz himself, but also against the House of King David. When God made His covenant with David, He promised him an eternal dynasty. (See discussion of 1 Chronicles 17:10b\u201314 in the section on the Writings.) This covenant assured the House of David of God\u2019s protection. God\u2019s response in Isaiah 7 was to offer a sign to King Ahaz assuring him of his security, and to offer another sign which assured the preservation of the House of David. This meant that God was committed to preserving the line of David until \u201cthe virgin shall conceive and bear a son and call his name Immanuel.\u201d Clearly therefore, until this birth takes place, all conspiracies and uprisings against the House of David are doomed to failure.
\nIt is this point which is reaffirmed in Isaiah 8:9\u201310. The real impact of these two verses is lost in English translations because of the failure to use the proper name Immanuel. Immanuel means \u201cGod with us,\u201d but it is quite wrong to translate it as such in verse 10. It is the same word as in 7:14 and 8:8 and should be translated the same way here: Immanuel. What is being said here is \u201cattack if you want, but you will be defeated because of Immanuel.\u201d Until the virgin birth of Immanuel the Messiah, God promises to preserve the security and identity of the House of David.
\nIn 70 a.d. the Temple in Jerusalem was destroyed, and along with it were lost all of the genealogical records of Israel. Since 70 a.d. it has not been possible to identify the descendants of David. If the promise given in Isaiah 8:10 is true, it follows that Messiah must have been born before 70 a.d.
\nIsaiah 8:10
\nteaches that:
\nY Messiah must be born prior to the destruction of the Temple in 70 a.d.
\nIsaiah 9:6\u20137
\nUnto Us a Son Is Given
\n9:6 For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; And the government will rest on His shoulders; And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. 7 There will be no end to the increase of His government or of peace, On the throne of David and over his kingdom, To establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness From then on and forevermore. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will accomplish this. (nasb)
\n9:5 \u05db\u05b4\u05bc\u05d9\u05be\u05d9\u05b6\u05dc\u05b6\u05d3 \u05d9\u05bb\u05dc\u05b7\u05bc\u05d3\u05be\u05dc\u05b8\u05e0\u05d5\u05bc \u05d1\u05b5\u05bc\u05df \u05e0\u05b4\u05ea\u05b7\u05bc\u05df\u05be\u05dc\u05b8\u05e0\u05d5\u05bc \u05d5\u05b7\u05ea\u05b0\u05bc\u05d4\u05b4\u05d9 \u05d4\u05b7\u05de\u05b4\u05bc\u05e9\u05b0\u05c2\u05e8\u05b8\u05d4 \u05e2\u05b7\u05dc\u05be\u05e9\u05b4\u05c1\u05db\u05b0\u05de\u05d5\u05b9 \u05d5\u05b7\u05d9\u05b4\u05bc\u05e7\u05b0\u05e8\u05b8\u05d0 \u05e9\u05b0\u05c1\u05de\u05d5\u05b9 \u05e4\u05b6\u05bc\u05dc\u05b6\u05d0 \u05d9\u05d5\u05b9\u05e2\u05b5\u05e5 \u05d0\u05b5\u05dc \u05d2\u05b4\u05bc\u05d1\u05bc\u05d5\u05b9\u05e8 \u05d0\u05b2\u05d1\u05b4\u05d9\u05e2\u05b7\u05d3 \u05e9\u05b7\u05c2\u05e8\u05be\u05e9\u05b8\u05c1\u05dc\u05d5\u05b9\u05dd\u05c3 6 (\u05dc\u05b8\u05de\u05b9\u05e8\u05b7\u05d1\u05b8\u05bc\u05d4) [\u05dc\u05b0\u05de\u05b7\u05e8\u05b0\u05d1\u05b5\u05bc\u05d4] \u05d4\u05b7\u05de\u05b4\u05bc\u05e9\u05b0\u05c2\u05e8\u05b8\u05d4 \u05d5\u05bc\u05dc\u05b0\u05e9\u05b8\u05c1\u05dc\u05d5\u05b9\u05dd \u05d0\u05b5\u05d9\u05df\u05be\u05e7\u05b5\u05e5 \u05e2\u05b7\u05dc\u05be\u05db\u05b4\u05bc\u05e1\u05b5\u05bc\u05d0 \u05d3\u05b8\u05d5\u05b4\u05d3 \u05d5\u05b0\u05e2\u05b7\u05dc\u05be \u05de\u05b7\u05de\u05b0\u05dc\u05b7\u05db\u05b0\u05ea\u05bc\u05d5\u05b9 \u05dc\u05b0\u05d4\u05b8\u05db\u05b4\u05d9\u05df \u05d0\u05b9\u05ea\u05b8\u05d4\u05bc \u05d5\u05bc\u05dc\u05b0\u05e1\u05b7\u05e2\u05b2\u05d3\u05b8\u05d4\u05bc \u05d1\u05b0\u05bc\u05de\u05b4\u05e9\u05b0\u05c1\u05e4\u05b8\u05bc\u05d8 \u05d5\u05bc\u05d1\u05b4\u05e6\u05b0\u05d3\u05b8\u05e7\u05b8\u05d4 \u05de\u05b5\u05e2\u05b7\u05ea\u05b8\u05bc\u05d4 \u05d5\u05b0\u05e2\u05b7\u05d3\u05be\u05e2\u05d5\u05b9\u05dc\u05b8\u05dd \u05e7\u05b4\u05e0\u05b0\u05d0\u05b7\u05ea \u05d9\u05b0\u05d4\u05d5\u05b8\u05d4 \u05e6\u05b0\u05d1\u05b8\u05d0\u05d5\u05b9\u05ea \u05ea\u05b7\u05bc\u05e2\u05b2\u05e9\u05b6\u05c2\u05d4\u05be\u05d6\u05b9\u05bc\u05d0\u05ea\u05c3 \u05e1
\nNote that the Hebrew verse numbering differs from the English numbering for this passage.
\nCHAPTERS 7\u201312 of Isaiah comprise the fifth major section of the book and constitute a single unit sometimes referred to as \u201cThe Book of Immanuel.\u201d The name Immanuel appears three times in this section, in verses 7:14, 8:8 and 8:10, but the unit as a whole deals with various facets of the Messiah. The two verses discussed here deal specifically with Messiah\u2019s origin, both human and divine.
\nHuman Origin\u20149:6a
\nIsaiah 9:6a emphasizes the humanity of Messiah (His Messiahship is shown in verse 7). Isaiah sees a Son, given by God and being born into the human world; specifically, the Jewish world. The phrase \u201cunto us a son is given\u201d in the Old Testament emphasizes a unique gift of God. This is the same Son as in Psalm 2, which will be dealt with later.
\nDivine Origin\u20149:6b
\nIn 9:6b, this son is given four names, each one having two parts. Each of these names is applicable to God; three of them exclusively so.
\n1. Wonderful Counselor (Pele-Yoeitz)
\nIn some translations a comma is placed between these two words making them two separate names. The word \u201cwonderful\u201d is in the construct state and should be taken together with \u201ccounselor.\u201d There are some words in Hebrew which are used only of God and never of men. One example is barah meaning \u201cto create.\u201d This is used only of God and what God does; it is never used of what man does. Another word like this is pele, rendered here in English as \u201cwonderful.\u201d In English, \u201cwonderful\u201d may be freely used of many things, but in Hebrew it is reserved exclusively for that which is divine.
\n2. Mighty God (El-Gibbor)
\nObviously never used of a mere man.
\n3. Eternal Father (Avi-Ad)
\nLiterally: Father of Eternity. The Son who is to be born will be the Father of Eternity, meaning that He is the source of eternal life. Clearly this is to be no mere man.
\n4. Prince of Peace (Sar-Shalom)
\nThis is the only one of the four names which can be used of man and God.
\nFurthermore, these four names are all used elsewhere in the Book of Isaiah and in each case they are used of God, never of man.
\n1. Wonderful Counselor
\nThis can be found in Isaiah 25:1, \u201c\u2026 I will praise thy name; for thou hast done wonderful things, [even] counsels of old \u2026\u201d and in Isaiah 28:29, \u201cThis also cometh forth from Jehovah of hosts, who is wonderful in counsel \u2026\u201d (both in the asv). In both cases it clearly refers to God.
\n2. Mighty God
\nThis is found in the very next chapter in Isaiah 10:21 \u201c\u2026 to the mighty God.\u201d There are many liberal theologians who object to the concept of Messiah as a God-Man. When they translate verses such as Isaiah 9:6 they are forced to interfere with the text in order to justify their own presuppositions. In the New English Bible, for example, an entire phrase\u2014completely absent in the Hebrew text\u2014is inserted to make Isaiah 9:6 read, \u201cin battle he will be Godlike.\u201d This is an impossible translation. In the Hebrew there are only two words, El Gibbor, which mean \u201cGod Almighty.\u201d Furthermore, when exactly the same words appear in Isaiah 10:21, the NEB then translates them correctly as \u201c\u2026 the mighty God.\u201d Clearly there is no integrity in such inconsistent translation.
\n3. Eternal Father
\nThis can be compared with Isaiah 63:16b, \u201c\u2026 thou, O Jehovah, art our Father; our Redeemer from everlasting is thy name\u201d (asv). The same words used in Isaiah 9:6 as a proper name are seen within this sentence where they are clearly used of God.
\n4. Prince of Peace
\nIsaiah 26:3 says, \u201cThe steadfast of mind Thou wilt keep in perfect peace \u2026\u201d The object and subject of the sentence is God Himself. Again in Isaiah 26:12, the work of peace is attributed to God: \u201cLord, Thou wilt establish peace for us \u2026\u201d As stated above, the fourth name, \u201cthe Prince of Peace,\u201d is sometimes used of men in the Hebrew text. If we limit our attention to the book of Isaiah, however, then the work of peace is the work of God only.
\nThe Rule of the King\u20149:7
\nIsaiah 9:6 presents us with a Being who is both God and man. Isaiah 9:7 shows us that this person is the Messiah of Israel: He is to sit upon the throne of David. Verse 7 is a reaffirmation of the Davidic Covenant, which is studied under 1 Chronicles 17:10b\u201314 in The Writings section. In the Davidic Covenant, God promised David four things:
\n1. An eternal house or dynasty
\n2. An eternal kingdom
\n3. An eternal throne
\n4. An eternal son
\nIsaiah 9:7 further confirms that David\u2019s house, kingdom and throne will be maintained eternally by the everlasting Son.
\nIsaiah 9:6\u20137
\nteaches that:
\nY Messiah would be a king.
\nY Messiah would be both God and Man.
\nY Messiah must appear prior to 70 a.d. because of the requirements of the Davidic Covenant and the destruction of the Temple.
\nIsaiah 11:1\u20132
\nThe Stump of Jesse
\n11:1 A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit. 2 The Spirit of the Lord will rest on him\u2014the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of power, the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord\u20143 and he will delight in the fear of the Lord. (niv)
\n11:1 \u05d5\u05b0\u05d9\u05b8\u05e6\u05b8\u05d0 \u05d7\u05b9\u05d8\u05b6\u05e8 \u05de\u05b4\u05d2\u05b5\u05bc\u05d6\u05b7\u05e2 \u05d9\u05b4\u05e9\u05b8\u05c1\u05d9 \u05d5\u05b0\u05e0\u05b5\u05e6\u05b6\u05e8 \u05de\u05b4\u05e9\u05b8\u05bc\u05c1\u05e8\u05b8\u05e9\u05b8\u05c1\u05d9\u05d5 \u05d9\u05b4\u05e4\u05b0\u05e8\u05b6\u05d4\u05c3 2 \u05d5\u05b0\u05e0\u05b8\u05d7\u05b8\u05d4 \u05e2\u05b8\u05dc\u05b8\u05d9\u05d5 \u05e8\u05d5\u05bc\u05d7\u05b7 \u05d9\u05b0\u05d4\u05d5\u05b8\u05d4 \u05e8\u05d5\u05bc\u05d7\u05b7 \u05d7\u05b8\u05db\u05b0\u05de\u05b8\u05d4 \u05d5\u05bc\u05d1\u05b4\u05d9\u05e0\u05b8\u05d4 \u05e8\u05d5\u05bc\u05d7\u05b7 \u05e2\u05b5\u05e6\u05b8\u05d4 \u05d5\u05bc\u05d2\u05b0\u05d1\u05d5\u05bc\u05e8\u05b8\u05d4 \u05e8\u05d5\u05bc\u05d7\u05b7 \u05d3\u05b7\u05bc\u05e2\u05b7\u05ea \u05d5\u05b0\u05d9\u05b4\u05e8\u05b0\u05d0\u05b7\u05ea \u05d9\u05b0\u05d4\u05d5\u05b8\u05d4\u05c3
\nTHE emphasis in verse 1 is on Messiah\u2019s lowly origin. The picture given is of a tree which has been cut down, leaving only a dead stump. A single shoot remains growing low, near to the ground, eventually bearing fruit. It is interesting that this particular prophecy does not use the name of David, but uses the name of David\u2019s father, Jesse. David is normally associated with kingship, royalty and wealth. It should not be forgotten, however, that in his youth, living in the house of Jesse, David was a poor shepherd boy. During the lifetime of David, the house of Jesse was raised from poverty in Bethlehem to honor and majesty in Jerusalem. The emphasis of verse 1 is that although Messiah will be a descendant of David, He will not appear until the House of David has been once again reduced to what it was in the days of Jesse. This verse concentrates on the lowly origin of Messiah at the time of His birth, rather than the majesty of His kingdom which will be seen at His Second Coming. From the stump of Jesse, however, grows a shoot, low to the ground, but not without fruit. Eventually this shoot will become a tree in its own right.
\nIn verse 2 we are told that this One will have the sevenfold fullness of the Holy Spirit. The description used here is representative of the Jewish Menorah or seven branched lampstand. The \u201cSpirit of the Lord\u201d is mentioned once, followed by three more references to \u201cthe Spirit of,\u201d each one followed by two attributes (see chart). When looking for the fulfillment of this prophecy in the life of Jesus we find that:
\n1. Jesus was born into the House of David.
\n2. He was born in Bethlehem, the home of Jesse.
\n3. He was born in great poverty.
\nThis is seen at the time of Miriam\u2019s (Mary\u2019s) purification. It was required by the Law, in Leviticus 12:1\u20138, that after the birth of a baby, the mother should go to the Temple and make a sacrifice for her cleansing. This had to be a blood sacrifice and two offerings were acceptable. Normally, the sacrifice would consist of a lamb and a pigeon or dove, but provision was made for exceptionally poor families, from whom two pigeons or doves were acceptable. We are told in Luke\u2019s Gospel that Jesus\u2019 mother could only afford two birds. Both Mary and Joseph were descendants of David, and so the abject poverty of the House of David is made clear.
\n4. In John 3:34, John the Baptist describes Jesus as having the fullness of the Spirit. \u201cFor He whom God has sent speaks the words of God; for He gives the Spirit without measure.\u201d The New Testament teaches that all who believe in Jesus as Messiah are given a measure of the Holy Spirit. Because each believer only has a measure of the Spirit, each one has different gifts and ministries (1 Corinthians 12:13\u201314). No one ever has all of the gifts because God has ordained that the members of the church be mutually dependent. Jesus, however, was given the Spirit \u201cwithout measure.\u201d In Scripture the number seven signifies perfection, completeness or fullness. The sevenfold nature of the Spirit in Isaiah 11:2 is therefore synonymous with the measureless fullness in John 3:34. It also corresponds to the \u201cseven spirits\u201d of Revelation 1:4, 3:1, 4:5, and 5:6.<\/p>\n
Isaiah 11:1\u20132
\nteaches that:
\nY Messiah would be born into the House of David.
\nY Messiah would not be born until the House of David had once again returned to the state of poverty which it was in during the days of David\u2019s father, Jesse. Messiah will be born into a house of lowliness.
\nY Messiah would have the sevenfold fullness of the Holy Spirit and act accordingly.
\nIsaiah 40:3\u20135
\nThe Herald of the King
\n40:3 A voice is calling, \u201cClear the way for the Lord in the wilderness; Make smooth in the desert a highway for our God. 4 \u201cLet every valley be lifted up, And every mountain and hill be made low; And let the rough ground become a plain, And the rugged terrain a broad valley; 5 Then the glory of the Lord will be revealed, And all flesh will see it together; For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.\u201d (nasb)
\n40:3 \u05e7\u05d5\u05b9\u05dc \u05e7\u05d5\u05b9\u05e8\u05b5\u05d0 \u05d1\u05b7\u05bc\u05de\u05b4\u05bc\u05d3\u05b0\u05d1\u05b8\u05bc\u05e8 \u05e4\u05b7\u05bc\u05e0\u05bc\u05d5\u05bc \u05d3\u05b6\u05bc\u05e8\u05b6\u05da\u05b0 \u05d9\u05b0\u05d4\u05d5\u05b8\u05d4 \u05d9\u05b7\u05e9\u05b0\u05bc\u05c1\u05e8\u05d5\u05bc \u05d1\u05b8\u05bc\u05e2\u05b2\u05e8\u05b8\u05d1\u05b8\u05d4 \u05de\u05b0\u05e1\u05b4\u05dc\u05b8\u05bc\u05d4 \u05dc\u05b5\u05d0\u05dc\u05b9\u05d4\u05b5\u05d9\u05e0\u05d5\u05bc\u05c3 4 \u05db\u05b8\u05bc\u05dc\u05be\u05d2\u05b6\u05bc\u05d9\u05d0 \u05d9\u05b4\u05e0\u05b8\u05bc\u05e9\u05b5\u05c2\u05d0 \u05d5\u05b0\u05db\u05b8\u05dc\u05be \u05d4\u05b7\u05e8 \u05d5\u05b0\u05d2\u05b4\u05d1\u05b0\u05e2\u05b8\u05d4 \u05d9\u05b4\u05e9\u05b0\u05c1\u05e4\u05b8\u05bc\u05dc\u05d5\u05bc \u05d5\u05b0\u05d4\u05b8\u05d9\u05b8\u05d4 \u05d4\u05b6\u05e2\u05b8\u05e7\u05b9\u05d1 \u05dc\u05b0\u05de\u05b4\u05d9\u05e9\u05c1\u05d5\u05b9\u05e8 \u05d5\u05b0\u05d4\u05b8\u05e8\u05b0\u05db\u05b8\u05e1\u05b4\u05d9\u05dd \u05dc\u05b0\u05d1\u05b4\u05e7\u05b0\u05e2\u05b8\u05d4\u05c3 5 \u05d5\u05b0\u05e0\u05b4\u05d2\u05b0\u05dc\u05b8\u05d4 \u05db\u05b0\u05bc\u05d1\u05d5\u05b9\u05d3 \u05d9\u05b0\u05d4\u05d5\u05b8\u05d4 \u05d5\u05b0\u05e8\u05b8\u05d0\u05d5\u05bc \u05db\u05b8\u05dc\u05be\u05d1\u05b8\u05bc\u05e9\u05b8\u05c2\u05e8 \u05d9\u05b7\u05d7\u05b0\u05d3\u05b8\u05bc\u05d5 \u05db\u05b4\u05bc\u05d9 \u05e4\u05b4\u05bc\u05d9 \u05d9\u05b0\u05d4\u05d5\u05b8\u05d4 \u05d3\u05b4\u05bc\u05d1\u05b5\u05bc\u05e8\u05c3 \u05e1
\nTHESE verses do not deal with Messiah personally, but with His forerunner. In ancient times a herald, or forerunner, would be sent out to clear the road of obstacles or repair any pot-holes in the road prior to a journey by the king. This passage states that a forerunner will precede the arrival of the Messianic King, as with any other ancient king. In the New Testament these words are specifically applied to John the Baptist, whose words were quoted in the previous section.
\n3:1 Now in those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the wilderness of Judea, saying, 2 \u201cRepent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.\u201d 3 For this is the one referred to by Isaiah the prophet, saying, \u201cThe voice of one crying in the wilderness, \u2018Make ready the way of the Lord, make His paths straight!\u2019 \u201d 4 Now John himself had a garment of camel\u2019s hair, and a leather belt about his waist; and his food was locusts and wild honey. 5 Then Jerusalem was going out to him, and all Judea, and all the district around the Jordan; 6 and they were being baptized by him in the Jordan River, as they confessed their sins.
\nMatthew 3:1\u20136 (nasb)
\nSee also Mark 1:2\u20138; Luke 1:5\u201380 (especially verse 76); Luke 3:1\u201320 (especially verses 4\u20136); and, John 1:6\u20138, 15\u201336 (especially verse 23).
\nIsaiah 40:3\u20135
\nteaches that:
\nY Messiah would have a forerunner, or herald, to make preparations for His arrival.
\nIsaiah 42:1\u20136
\nThe Servant of Jehovah
\n42:1 \u201cBehold, My Servant, whom I uphold; My chosen one in whom My soul delights. I have put My Spirit upon Him; He will bring forth justice to the nations. 2 \u201cHe will not cry out or raise His voice, Nor make His voice heard in the street. 3 \u201cA bruised reed He will not break, And a dimly burning wick He will not extinguish; He will faithfully bring forth justice. 4 \u201cHe will not be disheartened or crushed, Until He has established justice in the earth; And the coastlands will wait expectantly for His law.\u201d 5 Thus says God the Lord, Who created the heavens and stretched them out, Who spread out the earth and its offspring, Who gives breath to the people on it, And spirit to those who walk in it, 6 \u201cI am the Lord, I have called you in righteousness, I will also hold you by the hand and watch over you, And I will appoint you as a covenant to the people, As a light to the nations, \u2026\u201d (nasb)
\n42:1 \u05d4\u05b5\u05df \u05e2\u05b7\u05d1\u05b0\u05d3\u05b4\u05bc\u05d9 \u05d0\u05b6\u05ea\u05b0\u05de\u05b8\u05da\u05b0\u05be\u05d1\u05bc\u05d5\u05b9 \u05d1\u05b0\u05bc\u05d7\u05b4\u05d9\u05e8\u05b4\u05d9 \u05e8\u05b8\u05e6\u05b0\u05ea\u05b8\u05d4 \u05e0\u05b7\u05e4\u05b0\u05e9\u05b4\u05c1\u05d9 \u05e0\u05b8\u05ea\u05b7\u05ea\u05b4\u05bc\u05d9 \u05e8\u05d5\u05bc\u05d7\u05b4\u05d9 \u05e2\u05b8\u05dc\u05b8\u05d9\u05d5 \u05de\u05b4\u05e9\u05b0\u05c1\u05e4\u05b8\u05bc\u05d8 \u05dc\u05b7\u05d2\u05bc\u05d5\u05b9\u05d9\u05b4\u05dd \u05d9\u05d5\u05b9\u05e6\u05b4\u05d9\u05d0\u05c3 2 \u05dc\u05b9\u05d0 \u05d9\u05b4\u05e6\u05b0\u05e2\u05b7\u05e7 \u05d5\u05b0\u05dc\u05b9\u05d0 \u05d9\u05b4\u05e9\u05b8\u05bc\u05c2\u05d0 \u05d5\u05b0\u05dc\u05b9\u05d0\u05be\u05d9\u05b7\u05e9\u05b0\u05c1\u05de\u05b4\u05d9\u05e2\u05b7 \u05d1\u05b7\u05bc\u05d7\u05d5\u05bc\u05e5 \u05e7\u05d5\u05b9\u05dc\u05d5\u05b9\u05c3 3 \u05e7\u05b8\u05e0\u05b6\u05d4 \u05e8\u05b8\u05e6\u05d5\u05bc\u05e5 \u05dc\u05b9\u05d0 \u05d9\u05b4\u05e9\u05b0\u05c1\u05d1\u05bc\u05d5\u05b9\u05e8 \u05d5\u05bc\u05e4\u05b4\u05e9\u05b0\u05c1\u05ea\u05b8\u05bc\u05d4 \u05db\u05b5\u05d4\u05b8\u05d4 \u05dc\u05b9\u05d0 \u05d9\u05b0\u05db\u05b7\u05d1\u05b6\u05bc\u05e0\u05b8\u05bc\u05d4 \u05dc\u05b6\u05d0\u05b1\u05de\u05b6\u05ea \u05d9\u05d5\u05b9\u05e6\u05b4\u05d9\u05d0 \u05de\u05b4\u05e9\u05b0\u05c1\u05e4\u05b8\u05bc\u05d8\u05c3 4 \u05dc\u05b9\u05d0 \u05d9\u05b4\u05db\u05b0\u05d4\u05b6\u05d4 \u05d5\u05b0\u05dc\u05b9\u05d0 \u05d9\u05b8\u05e8\u05d5\u05bc\u05e5 \u05e2\u05b7\u05d3\u05be\u05d9\u05b8\u05e9\u05b4\u05c2\u05d9\u05dd \u05d1\u05b8\u05bc\u05d0\u05b8\u05e8\u05b6\u05e5 \u05de\u05b4\u05e9\u05b0\u05c1\u05e4\u05b8\u05bc\u05d8 \u05d5\u05bc\u05dc\u05b0\u05ea\u05d5\u05b9\u05e8\u05b8\u05ea\u05d5\u05b9 \u05d0\u05b4\u05d9\u05b4\u05bc\u05d9\u05dd \u05d9\u05b0\u05d9\u05b7\u05d7\u05b5\u05d9\u05dc\u05d5\u05bc\u05c3 \u05e3 5 \u05db\u05b9\u05bc\u05d4\u05be\u05d0\u05b8\u05de\u05b7\u05e8 \u05d4\u05b8\u05d0\u05b5\u05dc \u05d9\u05b0\u05d4\u05d5\u05b8\u05d4 \u05d1\u05bc\u05d5\u05b9\u05e8\u05b5\u05d0 \u05d4\u05b7\u05e9\u05b8\u05bc\u05c1\u05de\u05b7\u05d9\u05b4\u05dd \u05d5\u05b0\u05e0\u05d5\u05b9\u05d8\u05b5\u05d9\u05d4\u05b6\u05dd \u05e8\u05b9\u05e7\u05b7\u05e2 \u05d4\u05b8\u05d0\u05b8\u05e8\u05b6\u05e5 \u05d5\u05b0\u05e6\u05b6\u05d0\u05b1\u05e6\u05b8\u05d0\u05b6\u05d9\u05d4\u05b8 \u05e0\u05b9\u05ea\u05b5\u05df \u05e0\u05b0\u05e9\u05b8\u05c1\u05de\u05b8\u05d4 \u05dc\u05b8\u05e2\u05b8\u05dd \u05e2\u05b8\u05dc\u05b6\u05d9\u05d4\u05b8 \u05d5\u05b0\u05e8\u05d5\u05bc\u05d7\u05b7 \u05dc\u05b7\u05d4\u05b9\u05dc\u05b0\u05db\u05b4\u05d9\u05dd \u05d1\u05b8\u05bc\u05d4\u05bc\u05c3 6 \u05d0\u05b2\u05e0\u05b4\u05d9 \u05d9\u05b0\u05d4\u05d5\u05b8\u05d4 \u05e7\u05b0\u05e8\u05b8\u05d0\u05ea\u05b4\u05d9\u05da\u05b8 \u05d1\u05b0\u05e6\u05b6\u05d3\u05b6\u05e7 \u05d5\u05b0\u05d0\u05b7\u05d7\u05b0\u05d6\u05b5\u05e7 \u05d1\u05b0\u05bc\u05d9\u05b8\u05d3\u05b6\u05da\u05b8 \u05d5\u05b0\u05d0\u05b6\u05e6\u05b8\u05bc\u05e8\u05b0\u05da\u05b8 \u05d5\u05b0\u05d0\u05b6\u05ea\u05b6\u05bc\u05e0\u05b0\u05da\u05b8 \u05dc\u05b4\u05d1\u05b0\u05e8\u05b4\u05d9\u05ea \u05e2\u05b8\u05dd \u05dc\u05b0\u05d0\u05d5\u05b9\u05e8 \u05d2\u05bc\u05d5\u05b9\u05d9\u05b4\u05dd\u05c3
\nONE of Isaiah\u2019s favorite designations for the Messiah is the term \u201cservant.\u201d This messianic title is found throughout chapters 42 to 66 of Isaiah\u2019s book. This is the first of five \u201cservant\u201d passages which we will study. Isaiah 42:1\u20136 can be broken down into four sections, each of which emphasizes a different aspect of the Messianic Person. The various points made can be detailed as listed below.
\nHis Status\u201442:1
\nVerse 1 makes four points.
\n1. He is the Servant of Jehovah.
\nThis is the theme of the Gospel of Mark. Each of the four Gospel writers wrote for a different audience and highlighted different aspects of the life of Jesus. Matthew emphasizes Messiah\u2019s royalty\u2014Jesus, the King of the Jews. Luke, the doctor, deals with the humanity of Jesus\u2014Jesus, the Messiah the Son of Man. John concentrates on the divinity of Messiah\u2014Jesus, the Son of God. Mark sees Messiah primarily as the Servant of Jehovah. He focuses on those aspects of Jesus\u2019 life which best demonstrate the way in which Jesus perfectly completed the assignments given to Him as described in the Prophets and particularly the servant-passages of Isaiah.
\n2. He is Jehovah\u2019s Chosen One in whom Jehovah will greatly delight.
\n3. He is anointed with the Spirit.
\nThis is a reaffirmation of Isaiah 11:2.
\n4. He will benefit the Gentile nations.
\nAlthough Messiah will come primarily for the Jewish nation, there will be some way by which the Gentiles (the nations) will also benefit. This is not explained here but is developed further in Isaiah 49:6, our next passage.
\nMost rabbis, apart from Rashi, saw this as being messianic.
\n1. Targum Pseudo-Jonathan
\n\u201cBehold My Servant, the Messiah, I will draw Him near, My Chosen One in whom My Memra is well pleased.\u201d
\n2. Rabbi David Kimchi
\n\u201cBehold My Servant \u2026 This is King Messiah.\u201d
\nHis Manner\u201442:2
\nVerse 2 describes the manner in which He will conduct Himself. Messiah will not be a street preacher. The Gospels describe Jesus as teaching primarily in the synagogues. He also taught large groups of people on the hillsides, but these were people who came to Him, who sought Him out. At no time did Jesus deliberately seek attention on the streets of the cities, but rather His reputation went ahead of Him and it was the crowds who went looking for Him. This is not to say that there is anything wrong with street preaching. On the contrary, the New Testament encourages it and describes the apostles as doing so, but that was not Messiah\u2019s mode of operation.
\nHis Way\u201442:3
\nVerse 3 emphasizes His characteristics. He will be characterized by mercy, truth and justice. Those who come to Him for help will be accepted and treated with great tenderness.
\nHis Success\u201442:4
\nVerse 4 teaches that, ultimately, Messiah will not fail, nor be discouraged. There will be discouragements along the way, as will be seen in the next passage, but these will be temporary. All of the objectives laid down for His First Coming will be accomplished.
\nHis Mission\u201442:5\u20136
\nVerses 5\u20136 teach that the coming of the Messiah will benefit two groups of people. First, the Messiah will be \u201cthe Covenant of the People,\u201d meaning He will be the One to fulfill God\u2019s covenant-promises to Israel. Second, He will be \u201cthe Light to the nations,\u201d the One to bring salvation-light to the Gentiles.
\nIsaiah 42:1\u20136
\nteaches that:
\nY The Messiah would be anointed by the Holy Spirit.
\nY The Messiah would conduct Himself in meekness and gentleness.
\nY Although Messiah\u2019s mission would appear to end in failure it would in fact be a complete success. The success of His mission actually required his death.
\nY Messiah\u2019s mission includes Gentile salvation.
\nIsaiah 49:1\u201313
\nThe Discouragement of the Servant
\n49:1 Listen to Me, O islands, And pay attention, you peoples from afar. The Lord called Me from the womb; From the body of My mother He named Me. 2 And He has made My mouth like a sharp sword; In the shadow of His hand He has concealed Me, And He has also made Me a select arrow; He has hidden Me in His quiver. 3 And He said to Me, \u201cYou are My Servant, Israel, In Whom I will show My glory.\u201d 4 But I said, \u201cI have toiled in vain, I have spent My strength for nothing and vanity; Yet surely the justice due to Me is with the Lord, And My reward with My God.\u201d 5 And now says the Lord, who formed Me from the womb to be His Servant, To bring Jacob back to Him, in order that Israel might be gathered to Him (For I am honored in the sight of the Lord, And My God is My strength), 6 He says, \u201cIt is too small a thing that You should be My Servant To raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to restore the preserved ones of Israel; I will also make You a light of the nations So that My salvation may reach to the end of the earth.\u201d 7 Thus says the Lord, the Redeemer of Israel, and its Holy One, To the despised One, To the One abhorred by the nation, To the Servant of rulers, \u201cKings shall see and arise, Princes shall also bow down; Because of the Lord who is faithful, the Holy One of Israel who has chosen You.\u201d 8 Thus says the Lord, \u201cIn a favorable time I have answered You, And in a day of salvation I have helped You; And I will keep You and give You for a covenant of the people, To restore the land, to make them inherit the desolate heritages; 9 Saying to those who are bound, \u2018Go forth,\u2019 To those who are in darkness, \u2018Show yourselves.\u2019 Along the roads they will feed, And their pasture will be on all bare heights. 10 \u201cThey will not hunger or thirst, Neither will the scorching heat or sun strike them down; For He who has compassion on them will lead them, And will guide them to springs of water. 11 \u201cAnd I will make all My mountains a road, And My highways will be raised up. 12 \u201cBehold, these shall come from afar; And lo, these will come from the north and from the west, And these from the land of Sinim.\u201d 13 Shout for joy, O heavens! And rejoice, O earth! Break forth into joyful shouting, O mountains! For the Lord has comforted His people, And will have compassion on His afflicted. (nasb)
\n49:1 \u05e9\u05b4\u05c1\u05de\u05b0\u05e2\u05d5\u05bc \u05d0\u05b4\u05d9\u05b4\u05bc\u05d9\u05dd \u05d0\u05b5\u05dc\u05b7\u05d9 \u05d5\u05b0\u05d4\u05b7\u05e7\u05b0\u05e9\u05b4\u05c1\u05d9\u05d1\u05d5\u05bc \u05dc\u05b0\u05d0\u05bb\u05de\u05b4\u05bc\u05d9\u05dd \u05de\u05b5\u05e8\u05b8\u05d7\u05d5\u05b9\u05e7 \u05d9\u05b0\u05d4\u05d5\u05b8\u05d4 \u05de\u05b4\u05d1\u05b6\u05bc\u05d8\u05b6\u05df \u05e7\u05b0\u05e8\u05b8\u05d0\u05b8\u05e0\u05b4\u05d9 \u05de\u05b4\u05de\u05b0\u05bc\u05e2\u05b5\u05d9 \u05d0\u05b4\u05de\u05b4\u05bc\u05d9 \u05d4\u05b4\u05d6\u05b0\u05db\u05b4\u05bc\u05d9\u05e8 \u05e9\u05b0\u05c1\u05de\u05b4\u05d9\u05c3 2 \u05d5\u05b7\u05d9\u05b8\u05bc\u05e9\u05b6\u05c2\u05dd \u05e4\u05b4\u05bc\u05d9 \u05db\u05b0\u05bc\u05d7\u05b6\u05e8\u05b6\u05d1 \u05d7\u05b7\u05d3\u05b8\u05bc\u05d4 \u05d1\u05b0\u05bc\u05e6\u05b5\u05dc \u05d9\u05b8\u05d3\u05d5\u05b9 \u05d4\u05b6\u05d7\u05b0\u05d1\u05b4\u05bc\u05d9\u05d0\u05b8\u05e0\u05b4\u05d9 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\nTHIS is the second of the five \u201cservant\u201d passages in Isaiah. The first passage, 42:1\u20136, introduced the Servant. This passage, 49:1\u201313, now tells us more about the mission of the Servant, and develops the promise in Isaiah 42 that He would bring blessing to the Gentiles. This will result from His initial rejection by the nation of Israel, although assurance is given that He will, finally, be accepted by Israel.
\nThe Servant\u2019s Discouragement\u201449:1\u20134
\nVerses 1\u20134 highlight a temporary discouragement in the life of Messiah. In verse 1 the words of Messiah Himself are being spoken prophetically by Isaiah. He says that from His very conception He has been given a specific mission by God. In Matthew 1:21, we are told that the angel said to Joseph at the time of Mary\u2019s conception, \u201c\u2026 you are to call Him Jesus because He will save His people from their sins.\u201d Here again we have a reference to a mother but not a father, which is consistent with the virgin birth prophesied in Isaiah 7:14.
\nIn verse 2, Messiah has been specifically called and equipped for His task.
\nIn verse 3, Messiah, the Servant of Jehovah, is called \u201cIsrael par excellence\u201d because He will be the only Jew to completely and perfectly fulfill the Mosaic Law.
\nIt is in verse 4 that the note of discouragement comes. As is seen elsewhere, the Servant, despite His perfection, will be rejected, and it is this which causes His sadness. Yet He still has hope: \u201cmy reward is with my God.\u201d From a New Testament point of view, the only place in the life of Jesus where this can find fulfillment is in the Garden of Gethsemane. In the Gospels, one reason for His discouragement is His fear of experiencing spiritual death, and He prays that the cup of God\u2019s wrath might pass from Him (Matthew 26:38\u201339 and Mark 14:34\u201336). Isaiah 49 highlights a second reason for discouragement. He had ministered to the nation of Israel for three and a half years, and although He had come as their Messiah, the Jewish nation is rejecting Him.
\nGod\u2019s Answer\u201449:5\u20136
\nThe Lord replies with words of encouragement in verses 5\u20136. He begins in verse 5 by summarizing the Servant\u2019s original commission:
\n1. To bring Israel to spiritual salvation
\n2. To gather the dispersed Israel to physical restoration
\nGiven Israel\u2019s rejection of the Servant, how can these objectives now be accomplished? The Lord continues in verse 6 by giving the Servant a third objective:
\n3. To be a light to, and bring salvation to, the Gentile nations
\nIsrael\u2019s rejection of Messiah at His First Coming is part of God\u2019s plan. It need not be a source of discouragement. It was always God\u2019s plan that for a period of time, the first two objectives would be set aside in order that salvation may go out to the Gentiles. It was noted in Isaiah 42:1 that the Gentiles would somehow benefit from Messiah\u2019s coming; now we are told exactly how.
\nThe Rejection and Exaltation of the Messiah\u201449:7
\nVerse 7a confirms that Israel will reject Messiah, but verse 7b goes on to say that the rejection will only be for a time and Messiah will one day be accepted.
\nThe Restoration by the Messiah\u201449:8\u201313
\nIn verse 8, when Messiah\u2019s mission to the Gentiles is complete, then will come the final restoration of Israel. The rest of the passage through to verse 13 elaborates on this final restoration. Messiah will become the covenant for the people (singular, meaning Israel), showing that they have at last accepted Him. With Israel\u2019s acceptance of Messiah comes the in-gathering of the dispersed Jews; in verse 12, even from as far away as Sinim. \u201cSinim\u201d is the modern Hebrew word for \u201cChina,\u201d but it is uncertain if that was the meaning in the Old Testament. The word does imply at least somewhere in the Far East. If there are Jews in the Far East, they will be re-gathered, and there are indeed Jews in China today. It is interesting to note that at the time Isaiah wrote this, the Jewish people were not yet dispersed from the land; China, or anywhere in the Far East, would have been the last place to have looked for a Jew.
\nSummary
\nAt the present time, Jesus is still being rejected as Messiah by Israel. It is often said that if Jesus had really been the true Messiah, then He would have been welcomed by the Jewish leaders of His day. This passage makes it very clear, however, that that is the exact opposite of the truth. Every man who has been hailed as Messiah by Jewish leadership has proved to be a false Messiah. Isaiah says quite specifically that Messiah will initially be rejected. Rejection is stated as being one of the credentials of Messiahship. Israel\u2019s national rejection of Jesus actually substantiates His claim to be Messiah.
\nThe purpose of the rejection was so that God could bring salvation to the Gentiles. For a limited time there will be more Gentile believers than Jewish believers. In Acts 15:14, God is said to be \u201ctaking from the Gentiles a people for Himself.\u201d In Romans 11:25\u201326 it says that this will continue \u201c\u2026 until the full number of the Gentiles has come in. And so all Israel shall be saved \u2026\u201d (Note that these things were written by the Jewish leaders of the first Jewish Church in Jerusalem).
\nThis present time will continue until the Church is numerically complete, at which point the Rapture will occur. God will then again deal with Israel and, as Paul says above, \u201call Israel will be saved.\u201d Paul is building on what is written in Isaiah 49:7. In the first half of the verse, Messiah is to be despised and abhorred by Israel, but is later destined for glory and honor, to be worshipped by kings and princes world-wide.
\nIsaiah 49:1\u201313
\nteaches that:
\nY The Messiah\u2019s First Coming would be rejected by Israel.
\nY For a time, the message of salvation through Messiah will go out to the Gentiles.
\nY Eventually, Israel will receive Messiah; He will become their New Covenant.
\nY Israel\u2019s acceptance of Messiah will herald the re-gathering of all Jews to the Land of Israel.
\nIsaiah 50:4\u20139
\nThe Training of the Servant
\n50:4 The Lord God has given Me the tongue of disciples, That I may know how to sustain the weary one with a word. He awakens Me morning by morning, He awakens My ear to listen as a disciple. 5 The Lord God has opened My ear; And I was not disobedient, Nor did I turn back. 6 I gave My back to those who strike Me, And My cheeks to those who pluck out the beard; I did not cover My face from humiliation and spitting. 7 For the Lord God helps Me, Therefore, I am not disgraced; Therefore, I have set My face like flint, And I know that I shall not be ashamed. 8 He who vindicates Me is near; Who will contend with Me? Let us stand up to each other; Who has a case against Me? Let him draw near to Me. 9 Behold, the Lord God helps Me; Who is he who condemns Me? Behold, they will all wear out like a garment; The moth will eat them. (nasb)
\n50:4 \u05d0\u05b2\u05d3\u05b9\u05e0\u05b8\u05d9 \u05d9\u05b0\u05d4\u05b9\u05d5\u05b4\u05d4 \u05e0\u05b8\u05ea\u05b7\u05df \u05dc\u05b4\u05d9 \u05dc\u05b0\u05e9\u05c1\u05d5\u05b9\u05df \u05dc\u05b4\u05de\u05bc\u05d5\u05bc\u05d3\u05b4\u05d9\u05dd \u05dc\u05b8\u05d3\u05b7\u05e2\u05b7\u05ea \u05dc\u05b8\u05e2\u05d5\u05bc\u05ea \u05d0\u05b6\u05ea\u05be\u05d9\u05b8\u05e2\u05b5\u05e3 \u05d3\u05b8\u05bc\u05d1\u05b8\u05e8 \u05d9\u05b8\u05e2\u05b4\u05d9\u05e8 \u05d1\u05b7\u05bc\u05d1\u05b9\u05bc\u05e7\u05b6\u05e8 \u05d1\u05b7\u05bc\u05d1\u05b9\u05bc\u05e7\u05b6\u05e8 \u05d9\u05b8\u05e2\u05b4\u05d9\u05e8 \u05dc\u05b4\u05d9 \u05d0\u05b9\u05d6\u05b6\u05df \u05dc\u05b4\u05e9\u05b0\u05c1\u05de\u05b9\u05e2\u05b7 \u05db\u05b7\u05bc\u05dc\u05b4\u05bc\u05de\u05bc\u05d5\u05bc\u05d3\u05b4\u05dd\u05c3 5 \u05d0\u05b2\u05d3\u05b9\u05e0\u05b8\u05d9 \u05d9\u05b0\u05d4\u05d5\u05b4\u05d4 \u05e4\u05b8\u05bc\u05ea\u05b7\u05d7\u05be \u05dc\u05b4\u05d9 \u05d0\u05b9\u05d6\u05b6\u05df \u05d5\u05b0\u05d0\u05b8\u05e0\u05b9\u05db\u05b4\u05d9 \u05dc\u05b9\u05d0 \u05de\u05b8\u05e8\u05b4\u05d9\u05ea\u05b4\u05d9 \u05d0\u05b8\u05d7\u05d5\u05b9\u05e8 \u05dc\u05b9\u05d0 \u05e0\u05b0\u05e1\u05d5\u05bc\u05d2\u05b9\u05ea\u05b4\u05d9\u05c3 6 \u05d2\u05b5\u05bc\u05d5\u05b4\u05d9 \u05e0\u05b8\u05ea\u05b7\u05ea\u05b4\u05bc\u05d9 \u05dc\u05b0\u05de\u05b7\u05db\u05b4\u05bc\u05d9\u05dd \u05d5\u05bc\u05dc\u05b0\u05d7\u05b8\u05d9\u05b7\u05d9 \u05dc\u05b0\u05de\u05b9\u05e8\u05b0\u05d8\u05b4\u05d9\u05dd \u05e4\u05b8\u05bc\u05e0\u05b7\u05d9 \u05dc\u05b9\u05d0 \u05d4\u05b4\u05e1\u05b0\u05ea\u05b7\u05bc\u05e8\u05b0\u05ea\u05b4\u05bc\u05d9 \u05de\u05b4\u05db\u05b0\u05bc\u05dc\u05b4\u05de\u05bc\u05d5\u05b9\u05ea \u05d5\u05b8\u05e8\u05b9\u05e7\u05c3 7 \u05d5\u05b7\u05d0\u05d3\u05b9\u05e0\u05b8\u05d9 \u05d9\u05b0\u05d4\u05d5\u05b4\u05d4 \u05d9\u05b7\u05e2\u05b2\u05d6\u05b8\u05e8\u05be\u05dc\u05b4\u05d9 \u05e2\u05b7\u05dc\u05be\u05db\u05b5\u05bc\u05df \u05dc\u05b9\u05d0 \u05e0\u05b4\u05db\u05b0\u05dc\u05b8\u05de\u05b0\u05ea\u05b4\u05bc\u05d9 \u05e2\u05b7\u05dc\u05be\u05db\u05b5\u05bc\u05df \u05e9\u05b7\u05c2\u05de\u05b0\u05ea\u05b4\u05bc\u05d9 \u05e4\u05b8\u05e0\u05b7\u05d9 \u05db\u05b7\u05bc\u05d7\u05b7\u05dc\u05b8\u05bc\u05de\u05b4\u05d9\u05e9\u05c1 \u05d5\u05b8\u05d0\u05b5\u05d3\u05b7\u05e2 \u05db\u05b4\u05bc\u05d9\u05be\u05dc\u05b9\u05d0 \u05d0\u05b5\u05d1\u05d5\u05b9\u05e9\u05c1\u05c3 8 \u05e7\u05b8\u05e8\u05d5\u05b9\u05d1 \u05de\u05b7\u05e6\u05b0\u05d3\u05b4\u05bc\u05d9\u05e7\u05b4\u05d9 \u05de\u05b4\u05d9\u05be\u05d9\u05b8\u05e8\u05b4\u05d9\u05d1 \u05d0\u05b4\u05ea\u05b4\u05bc\u05d9 \u05e0\u05b7\u05e2\u05b7\u05de\u05b0\u05d3\u05b8\u05d4 \u05d9\u05b8\u05bc\u05d7\u05b7\u05d3 \u05de\u05b4\u05d9\u05be\u05d1\u05b7\u05e2\u05b7\u05dc \u05de\u05b4\u05e9\u05b0\u05c1\u05e4\u05b8\u05bc\u05d8\u05b4\u05d9 \u05d9\u05b4\u05d2\u05b7\u05bc\u05e9\u05c1 \u05d0\u05b5\u05dc\u05b8\u05d9\u05c3 9 \u05d4\u05b5\u05df \u05d0\u05b2\u05d3\u05b9\u05e0\u05b8\u05d9 \u05d9\u05b0\u05d4\u05d5\u05b4\u05d4 \u05d9\u05b7\u05e2\u05b2\u05d6\u05b8\u05e8\u05be\u05dc\u05b4\u05d9 \u05de\u05b4\u05d9\u05be\u05d4\u05d5\u05bc\u05d0 \u05d9\u05b7\u05e8\u05b0\u05e9\u05b4\u05c1\u05d9\u05e2\u05b5\u05e0\u05b4\u05d9 \u05d4\u05b5\u05df \u05db\u05bb\u05bc\u05dc\u05b8\u05bc\u05dd \u05db\u05b7\u05bc\u05d1\u05b6\u05bc\u05d2\u05b6\u05d3 \u05d9\u05b4\u05d1\u05b0\u05dc\u05d5\u05bc \u05e2\u05b8\u05e9\u05c1 \u05d9\u05b9\u05d0\u05db\u05b0\u05dc\u05b5\u05dd\u05c3
\nTHE New Testament gives us an account of a 12 year old Jesus visiting the Temple in Jerusalem for the first time (Luke 2:41\u201350). By the age of 12 Jesus was fully conversant with the Hebrew Scriptures and able to debate deep spiritual matters with the leading theologians of the day. Furthermore, when Jesus is later rebuked by His mother for remaining in the Temple, He replies, \u201cDid you not know I would be in My Father\u2019s house?\u201d This one statement shows that by the age of 12 Jesus knew that Joseph was not His father, knew that God was His Father, and therefore understood that He was the Messiah of Israel.
\nSince it is clear that in His humanity Jesus was not omniscient, how did He acquire His knowledge and learning? The New Testament does not explain. There are several aspects of Jesus\u2019 life which are revealed only in the Old Testament; this is one of them.
\nIsaiah 50:4\u20139 gives us a picture of the learning process which Jesus went through.
\nThe Messiah Taught\u201450:4
\nVerse 4 describes the learning or disciplining of the Servant. During His boyhood in Nazareth, every morning, Jesus was awakened by His Father in the early hours of the morning to receive instruction. In this way Jesus learned who He was, what His mission was, and how to act and react accordingly.
\nThe Messiah Despised\u201450:5\u20136
\nIn verse 5, we are told that Jesus learned all that was required of Him, that He must suffer and die. By the time Jesus\u2019 ministry became public, He was not rebellious and did not draw back. When the time came (verse 6), He willingly submitted Himself to His tormentors. The abuses described here are all fully described in the Gospels during both His religious and civil trials.
\n18:22And when He had said this, one of the officers standing by gave Jesus a blow, saying, \u201cIs that the way You answer the high priest?\u201d 23 Jesus answered him, \u201cIf I have spoken wrongly, bear witness of the wrong; but if rightly, why do you strike Me?\u201d
\nJohn 18:22, 23 (nasb)
\n22:63 And the men who were holding Jesus in custody were mocking Him, and beating Him, 64 and they blindfolded Him and were asking Him, saying, \u201cProphesy, who is the one who hit You?\u201d 65 And they were saying many other things against Him, blaspheming.
\nLuke 22:63\u201365 (nasb)
\n14:65 And some began to spit at Him, and to blindfold Him, and to beat Him with their fists, and to say to Him, \u201cProphesy!\u201d And the officers received Him with slaps in the face.
\nMark 14:65 (nasb)
\n27:26 Then he released Barabbas for them; but after having Jesus scourged, he delivered Him to be crucified. 27 Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the Praetorium and gathered the whole Roman cohort around Him. 28 And they stripped Him, and put a scarlet robe on Him. 29 And after weaving a crown of thorns, they put it on His head, and a reed in His right hand; and they kneeled down before Him and mocked Him, saying, \u201cHail, King of the Jews!\u201d 30 And they spat on Him, and took the reed and began to beat Him on the head. 31 And after they had mocked Him, they took His robe off and put His garments on Him, and led Him away to crucify Him.
\nMatthew 27:26\u201331 (nasb)
\n15:16 And the soldiers took Him away into the palace (that is, the Praetorium), and they called together the whole Roman cohort. 17 And they dressed Him up in purple, and after weaving a crown of thorns, they put it on Him; 18 and they began to acclaim Him, \u201cHail, King of the Jews!\u201d 19 And they kept beating His head with a reed, and spitting at Him, and kneeling and bowing before Him. 20 And after they had mocked Him, they took the purple off Him, and put His garments on Him. And they led Him out to crucify Him.
\nMark 15:16\u201320 (nasb)
\nThe Messiah Aided by Jehovah\u201450:7\u20139
\nIn verses 7\u20139, Jesus is able to endure the sufferings which led to His death, although His death is not actually mentioned here, because He knows that God is with Him throughout.
\nIsaiah 50:4\u20139
\nteaches that:
\nY Messiah would receive special training from God the Father.
\nY Messiah\u2019s First Coming would be characterized by suffering.
\nY Messiah would be obedient in submitting Himself to physical abuse.
\nIsaiah 52:13\u201353:12
\nThe Suffering of the Servant
\n52:13 Behold, my servant shall deal wisely, he shall be exalted and lifted up, and shall be very high. 14 Like as many were astonished at thee (his visage was so marred more than any man, and his form more than the sons of men), 15 so shall he sprinkle many nations; kings shall shut their mouths at him: for that which had not been told them shall they see; and that which they had not heard shall they understand.
\n52:13 \u05d4\u05b4\u05e0\u05b5\u05bc\u05d4 \u05d9\u05b7\u05e9\u05b0\u05c2\u05db\u05b4\u05bc\u05d9\u05dc \u05e2\u05b7\u05d1\u05b0\u05d3\u05b4\u05bc\u05d9 \u05d9\u05b8\u05e8\u05d5\u05bc\u05dd \u05d5\u05b0\u05e0\u05b4\u05e9\u05b8\u05bc\u05c2\u05d0 \u05d5\u05b0\u05d2\u05b8\u05d1\u05b7\u05d4\u05bc \u05de\u05b0\u05d0\u05b9\u05d3\u05c3 14 \u05db\u05b7\u05bc\u05d0\u05b2\u05e9\u05b6\u05c1\u05e8 \u05e9\u05b8\u05c1\u05de\u05b0\u05de\u05d5\u05bc \u05e2\u05b8\u05dc\u05b6\u05d9\u05da\u05b8 \u05e8\u05b7\u05d1\u05b4\u05bc\u05d9\u05dd \u05db\u05b5\u05bc\u05df\u05be\u05de\u05b4\u05e9\u05b0\u05c1\u05d7\u05b7\u05ea \u05de\u05b5\u05d0\u05b4\u05d9\u05e9\u05c1 \u05de\u05b7\u05e8\u05b0\u05d0\u05b5\u05d4\u05d5\u05bc \u05d5\u05b0\u05ea\u05b9\u05d0\u05b2\u05e8\u05d5\u05b9 \u05de\u05b4\u05d1\u05b0\u05bc\u05e0\u05b5\u05d9 \u05d0\u05b8\u05d3\u05b8\u05dd\u05c3 15 \u05db\u05b5\u05bc\u05df \u05d9\u05b7\u05d6\u05b6\u05bc\u05d4 \u05d2\u05bc\u05d5\u05b9\u05d9\u05b4\u05dd \u05e8\u05b7\u05d1\u05b4\u05bc\u05d9\u05dd \u05e2\u05b8\u05dc\u05b8\u05d9\u05d5 \u05d9\u05b4\u05e7\u05b0\u05e4\u05b0\u05bc\u05e6\u05d5\u05bc \u05de\u05b0\u05dc\u05b8\u05db\u05b4\u05d9\u05dd \u05e4\u05b4\u05bc\u05d9\u05d4\u05b6\u05dd \u05db\u05b4\u05bc\u05d9 \u05d0\u05b2\u05e9\u05b6\u05c1\u05e8 \u05dc\u05b9\u05d0\u05be \u05e1\u05bb\u05e4\u05b7\u05bc\u05e8 \u05dc\u05b8\u05d4\u05b6\u05dd \u05e8\u05b8\u05d0\u05d5\u05bc \u05d5\u05b7\u05d0\u05b2\u05e9\u05b6\u05c1\u05e8 \u05dc\u05b9\u05d0\u05be\u05e9\u05b8\u05c1\u05de\u05b0\u05e2\u05d5\u05bc \u05d4\u05b4\u05ea\u05b0\u05d1\u05bc\u05d5\u05b9\u05e0\u05b8\u05e0\u05d5\u05bc\u05c3
\n53:1 Who hath believed our message? and to whom hath the arm of Jehovah been revealed? 2 For he grew up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him. 3 He was despised, and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and as one from whom men hide their face he was despised; and we esteemed him not.
\n53:1 \u05de\u05b4\u05d9 \u05d4\u05b6\u05d0\u05b1\u05de\u05b4\u05d9\u05df \u05dc\u05b4\u05e9\u05b0\u05c1\u05de\u05bb\u05e2\u05b8\u05ea\u05b5\u05e0\u05d5\u05bc \u05d5\u05bc\u05d6\u05b0\u05e8\u05d5\u05b9\u05e2\u05b7 \u05d9\u05b0\u05d4\u05d5\u05b8\u05d4 \u05e2\u05b7\u05dc\u05be\u05de\u05b4\u05d9 \u05e0\u05b4\u05d2\u05b0\u05dc\u05b8\u05ea\u05b8\u05d4\u05c3 2 \u05d5\u05b7\u05d9\u05b7\u05bc\u05e2\u05b7\u05dc \u05db\u05b7\u05bc\u05d9\u05bc\u05d5\u05b9\u05e0\u05b5\u05e7 \u05dc\u05b0\u05e4\u05b8\u05e0\u05b8\u05d9\u05d5 \u05d5\u05b0\u05db\u05b7\u05e9\u05b9\u05bc\u05c1\u05e8\u05b6\u05e9\u05c1 \u05de\u05b5\u05d0\u05b6\u05e8\u05b6\u05e5 \u05e6\u05b4\u05d9\u05b8\u05bc\u05d4 \u05dc\u05b9\u05d0\u05be\u05ea\u05b9\u05d0\u05b7\u05e8 \u05dc\u05d5\u05b9 \u05d5\u05b0\u05dc\u05b9\u05d0 \u05d4\u05b8\u05d3\u05b8\u05e8 \u05d5\u05b0\u05e0\u05b4\u05e8\u05b0\u05d0\u05b5\u05d4\u05d5\u05bc \u05d5\u05b0\u05dc\u05b9\u05d0\u05be \u05de\u05b7\u05e8\u05b0\u05d0\u05b6\u05d4 \u05d5\u05b0\u05e0\u05b6\u05d7\u05b0\u05de\u05b0\u05d3\u05b5\u05d4\u05d5\u05bc\u05c3 3 \u05e0\u05b4\u05d1\u05b0\u05d6\u05b6\u05d4 \u05d5\u05b7\u05d7\u05b2\u05d3\u05b7\u05dc \u05d0\u05b4\u05d9\u05e9\u05b4\u05c1\u05d9\u05dd \u05d0\u05b4\u05d9\u05e9\u05c1 \u05de\u05b7\u05db\u05b0\u05d0\u05b9\u05d1\u05d5\u05b9\u05ea \u05d5\u05b4\u05d9\u05d3\u05d5\u05bc\u05e2\u05b7 \u05d7\u05b9\u05dc\u05b4\u05d9 \u05d5\u05bc\u05db\u05b0\u05de\u05b7\u05e1\u05b0\u05ea\u05b5\u05bc\u05e8 \u05e4\u05b8\u05bc\u05e0\u05b4\u05d9\u05dd \u05de\u05b4\u05de\u05b6\u05bc\u05e0\u05bc\u05d5\u05bc \u05e0\u05b4\u05d1\u05b0\u05d6\u05b6\u05d4 \u05d5\u05b0\u05dc\u05b9\u05d0 \u05d7\u05b2\u05e9\u05b7\u05c1\u05d1\u05b0\u05e0\u05bb\u05d4\u05d5\u05bc\u05c3
\n4 Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows; yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. 5 But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. 6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and Jehovah hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.
\n4 \u05d0\u05b8\u05db\u05b5\u05df \u05d7\u05dc\u05b8\u05d9\u05b5\u05e0\u05d5\u05bc \u05d4\u05d5\u05bc\u05d0 \u05e0\u05b8\u05e9\u05b8\u05c2\u05d0 \u05d5\u05bc\u05de\u05b7\u05db\u05b0\u05d0\u05b9\u05d1\u05b5\u05d9\u05e0\u05d5\u05bc \u05e1\u05b0\u05d1\u05b8\u05dc\u05b8\u05dd \u05d5\u05b7\u05d0\u05b2\u05e0\u05b7\u05d4\u05b0\u05e0\u05d5\u05bc \u05d7\u05b2\u05e9\u05b7\u05c1\u05d1\u05b0\u05e0\u05bb\u05d4\u05d5\u05bc \u05e0\u05b8\u05d2\u05d5\u05bc\u05e2\u05b7 \u05de\u05bb\u05db\u05b5\u05bc\u05d4 \u05d0\u05b1\u05dc\u05b9\u05d4\u05b4\u05d9\u05dd \u05d5\u05bc\u05de\u05b0\u05e2\u05bb\u05e0\u05b6\u05bc\u05d4\u05c3 5 \u05d5\u05b0\u05d4\u05d5\u05bc\u05d0 \u05de\u05b0\u05d7\u05b9\u05dc\u05b8\u05dc \u05de\u05b4\u05e4\u05b0\u05bc\u05e9\u05b8\u05c1\u05e2\u05b5\u05e0\u05d5\u05bc \u05de\u05b0\u05d3\u05bb\u05db\u05b8\u05bc\u05d0 \u05de\u05b5\u05e2\u05b2\u05d5\u05b9\u05e0\u05b9\u05ea\u05b5\u05d9\u05e0\u05d5\u05bc \u05de\u05d5\u05bc\u05e1\u05b7\u05e8 \u05e9\u05b0\u05c1\u05dc\u05d5\u05b9\u05de\u05b5\u05e0\u05d5\u05bc \u05e2\u05b8\u05dc\u05b8\u05d9\u05d5 \u05d5\u05bc\u05d1\u05b7\u05d7\u05b2\u05d1\u05bb\u05e8\u05b8\u05ea\u05d5\u05b9 \u05e0\u05b4\u05e8\u05b0\u05e4\u05b8\u05bc\u05d0\u05be\u05dc\u05b8\u05e0\u05d5\u05bc\u05c3 6 \u05db\u05bb\u05bc\u05dc\u05b8\u05bc\u05e0\u05d5\u05bc \u05db\u05b7\u05bc\u05e6\u05b9\u05bc\u05d0\u05df \u05ea\u05b8\u05bc\u05e2\u05b4\u05d9\u05e0\u05d5\u05bc \u05d0\u05b4\u05d9\u05e9\u05c1 \u05dc\u05b0\u05d3\u05b7\u05e8\u05b0\u05db\u05bc\u05d5\u05b9 \u05e4\u05b8\u05bc\u05e0\u05b4\u05d9\u05e0\u05d5\u05bc \u05d5\u05b7\u05d9\u05d4\u05d5\u05b8\u05d4 \u05d4\u05b4\u05e4\u05b0\u05d2\u05b4\u05bc\u05d9\u05e2\u05b7 \u05d1\u05bc\u05d5\u05b9 \u05d0\u05b5\u05ea \u05e2\u05b2\u05d5\u05b9\u05df \u05db\u05bb\u05bc\u05dc\u05b8\u05bc\u05e0\u05d5\u05bc\u05c3
\n7 He was oppressed, yet when he was afflicted he opened not his mouth; as a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and as a sheep that before its shearers is dumb, so he opened not his mouth. 8 By oppression and judgment he was taken away; and as for his generation, who (among them) considered that he was cut off out of the land of the living for the transgression of my people to whom the stroke (was due)? 9 And they made his grave with the wicked, and with a rich man in his death; although he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth.
\n7 \u05e0\u05b4\u05d2\u05b7\u05bc\u05e9\u05c2 \u05d5\u05b0\u05d4\u05d5\u05bc\u05d0 \u05e0\u05b7\u05e2\u05b2\u05e0\u05b6\u05d4 \u05d5\u05b0\u05dc\u05b9\u05d0 \u05d9\u05b4\u05e4\u05b0\u05ea\u05b7\u05bc\u05d7\u05be\u05e4\u05b4\u05bc\u05d9\u05d5 \u05db\u05b7\u05bc\u05e9\u05b6\u05bc\u05c2\u05d4 \u05dc\u05b7\u05d8\u05b6\u05bc\u05d1\u05b7\u05d7 \u05d9\u05d5\u05bc\u05d1\u05b8\u05dc \u05d5\u05bc\u05db\u05b0\u05e8\u05b8\u05d7\u05b5\u05dc \u05dc\u05b4\u05e4\u05b0\u05e0\u05b5\u05d9 \u05d2\u05b9\u05d6\u05b0\u05d6\u05b6\u05d9\u05d4\u05b8 \u05e0\u05b6\u05d0\u05b1\u05dc\u05b8\u05de\u05b8\u05d4 \u05d5\u05b0\u05dc\u05b9\u05d0 \u05d9\u05b4\u05e4\u05b0\u05ea\u05b7\u05bc\u05d7 \u05e4\u05b4\u05bc\u05d9\u05d5\u05c3 8 \u05de\u05b5\u05e2\u05b9\u05e6\u05b6\u05e8 \u05d5\u05bc\u05de\u05b4\u05de\u05b4\u05bc\u05e9\u05b0\u05c1\u05e4\u05b8\u05bc\u05d8 \u05dc\u05bb\u05e7\u05b8\u05bc\u05d7 \u05d5\u05b0\u05d0\u05b6\u05ea\u05be\u05d3\u05bc\u05d5\u05b9\u05e8\u05d5\u05b9 \u05de\u05b4\u05d9 \u05d9\u05b0\u05e9\u05c2\u05d5\u05b9\u05d7\u05b5\u05d7\u05b7 \u05db\u05b4\u05bc\u05d9 \u05e0\u05b4\u05d2\u05b0\u05d6\u05b7\u05e8 \u05de\u05b5\u05d0\u05b6\u05e8\u05b6\u05e5 \u05d7\u05b7\u05d9\u05b4\u05bc\u05d9\u05dd \u05de\u05b4\u05e4\u05b6\u05bc\u05e9\u05b7\u05c1\u05e2 \u05e2\u05b7\u05de\u05b4\u05bc\u05d9 \u05e0\u05b6\u05d2\u05b7\u05e2 \u05dc\u05b8\u05de\u05d5\u05b9\u05c3 9 \u05d5\u05b7\u05d9\u05b4\u05bc\u05ea\u05b5\u05bc\u05df \u05d0\u05b6\u05ea\u05be\u05e8\u05b0\u05e9\u05b8\u05c1\u05e2\u05b4\u05d9\u05dd \u05e7\u05b4\u05d1\u05b0\u05e8\u05d5\u05b9 \u05d5\u05b0\u05d0\u05b6\u05ea\u05be\u05e2\u05b8\u05e9\u05b4\u05c1\u05d9\u05e8 \u05d1\u05b0\u05bc\u05de\u05b9\u05ea\u05b8\u05d9\u05d5 \u05e2\u05b7\u05dc \u05dc\u05b9\u05d0\u05be\u05d7\u05b8\u05de\u05b8\u05dd \u05e2\u05b8\u05e9\u05b8\u05c2\u05d4 \u05d5\u05b0\u05dc\u05b9\u05d0 \u05de\u05b4\u05e8\u05b0\u05de\u05b8\u05d4 \u05d1\u05b0\u05bc\u05e4\u05b4\u05d9\u05d5\u05c3
\n10 Yet it pleased Jehovah to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see (his) seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of Jehovah shall prosper in his hand. 11 He shall see of the travail of his soul, (and) shall be satisfied: by the knowledge of himself shall my righteous servant justify many; and he shall bear their iniquities. 12 Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he poured out his soul unto death, and was numbered with the transgressors: yet he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors. (asv)
\n10 \u05d5\u05b7\u05d9\u05d4\u05d5\u05b8\u05d4 \u05d7\u05b8\u05e4\u05b5\u05e5 \u05d3\u05b7\u05bc\u05db\u05b0\u05bc\u05d0\u05d5\u05b9 \u05d4\u05b6\u05d7\u05b1\u05dc\u05b4\u05d9 \u05d0\u05b4\u05dd\u05be\u05ea\u05b8\u05bc\u05e9\u05b4\u05c2\u05d9\u05dd \u05d0\u05b8\u05e9\u05b8\u05c1\u05dd \u05e0\u05b7\u05e4\u05b0\u05e9\u05c1\u05d5\u05b9 \u05d9\u05b4\u05e8\u05b0\u05d0\u05b6\u05d4 \u05d6\u05b6\u05e8\u05b7\u05e2 \u05d9\u05b7\u05d0\u05b2\u05e8\u05b4\u05d9\u05da\u05b0 \u05d9\u05b8\u05de\u05b4\u05d9\u05dd \u05d5\u05b0\u05d7\u05b5\u05e4\u05b6\u05e5 \u05d9\u05b0\u05d4\u05d5\u05b8\u05d4 \u05d1\u05b0\u05bc\u05d9\u05b8\u05d3\u05d5\u05b9 \u05d9\u05b4\u05e6\u05b0\u05dc\u05b8\u05d7\u05c3 11 \u05de\u05b5\u05e2\u05b2\u05de\u05b7\u05dc \u05e0\u05b7\u05e4\u05b0\u05e9\u05c1\u05d5\u05b9 \u05d9\u05b4\u05e8\u05b0\u05d0\u05b6\u05d4 \u05d9\u05b4\u05e9\u05b0\u05c2\u05d1\u05b8\u05bc\u05e2 \u05d1\u05b0\u05bc\u05d3\u05b7\u05e2\u05b0\u05ea\u05bc\u05d5\u05b9 \u05d9\u05b7\u05e6\u05b0\u05d3\u05b4\u05bc\u05d9\u05e7 \u05e6\u05b7\u05d3\u05b4\u05bc\u05d9\u05e7 \u05e2\u05b7\u05d1\u05b0\u05d3\u05b4\u05bc\u05d9 \u05dc\u05b8\u05e8\u05b7\u05d1\u05b4\u05bc\u05d9\u05dd \u05d5\u05b7\u05e2\u05b2\u05d5\u05b9\u05e0\u05b9\u05ea\u05b8\u05dd \u05d4\u05d5\u05bc\u05d0 \u05d9\u05b4\u05e1\u05b0\u05d1\u05b9\u05bc\u05dc\u05c3 12 \u05dc\u05b8\u05db\u05b5\u05df \u05d0\u05b2\u05d7\u05b7\u05dc\u05b6\u05bc\u05e7\u05be\u05dc\u05d5\u05b9 \u05d1\u05b8\u05e8\u05b7\u05d1\u05b4\u05bc\u05d9\u05dd \u05d5\u05b0\u05d0\u05b6\u05ea\u05be \u05e2\u05b2\u05e6\u05d5\u05bc\u05de\u05b4\u05d9\u05dd \u05d9\u05b0\u05d7\u05b7\u05dc\u05b5\u05bc\u05e7 \u05e9\u05b8\u05c1\u05dc\u05b8\u05dc \u05ea\u05b7\u05bc\u05d7\u05b7\u05ea \u05d0\u05b2\u05e9\u05b6\u05c1\u05e8 \u05d4\u05b6\u05e2\u05b1\u05e8\u05b8\u05d4 \u05dc\u05b7\u05de\u05b8\u05bc\u05d5\u05b6\u05ea \u05e0\u05b7\u05e4\u05b0\u05e9\u05c1\u05d5\u05b9 \u05d5\u05b0\u05d0\u05b6\u05ea\u05be\u05e4\u05b9\u05bc\u05e9\u05b0\u05c1\u05e2\u05b4\u05d9\u05dd \u05e0\u05b4\u05de\u05b0\u05e0\u05b8\u05d4 \u05d5\u05b0\u05d4\u05d5\u05bc\u05d0 \u05d7\u05b5\u05d8\u05b0\u05d0\u05be\u05e8\u05b7\u05d1\u05b4\u05bc\u05d9\u05dd \u05e0\u05b8\u05e9\u05b8\u05c2\u05d0 \u05d5\u05b0\u05dc\u05b7\u05e4\u05b9\u05bc\u05e9\u05b0\u05c1\u05e2\u05b4\u05d9\u05dd \u05d9\u05b7\u05e4\u05b0\u05d2\u05b4\u05bc\u05d9\u05e2\u05b7\u05c3 \u05e1
\nTHE most crucial passage in the whole Book of Isaiah is 52:13\u201353:12. This long section of Isaiah is so clear in its description of the suffering Messiah that it has caused enormous problems for teachers of Judaism. It is quite common today to hear rabbis say that this passage speaks, not of Messiah, but of Israel suffering in a Gentile world. They may even go as far as to say that this has always been the traditional view of Judaism. At that point they are entirely dependent on the ignorance of their listeners. All of the ancient Jewish writings\u2014the Mishnah, the Gemara, (the Talmud), the Midrashim and many others\u2014all regard this portion of Scripture as relating to the Messianic Person. The first rabbi to suggest otherwise was Rashi, around 1050 a.d. Every rabbi prior to Rashi, without exception, viewed this passage as describing Messiah. When Rashi first proposed that this passage spoke of the nation of Israel, he sparked a fierce debate with his contemporaries. The most famous of these was Rambam, perhaps better known as Maimonides. Rambam stated very clearly that Rashi was completely wrong in going contrary to the traditional Jewish viewpoint. (See Appendix 2 for a discussion of these rabbinic sources.)
\nAs Christian evangelists began to make greater use of this passage, particularly from the early 1800\u2019s onward, an increasing number of rabbis found Rashi\u2019s view an attractive way of countering Christian teaching. Reading through the passage will show that there are several statements which could not possibly be applied to the nation of Israel. This passage is not read in synagogues; public readings of Isaiah will jump from Isaiah 52 to Isaiah 54.
\nPreviously, in Isaiah 49, it was said that Messiah would at first be rejected by Israel, but would eventually be accepted at some later stage. This passage of Isaiah is dealing with that final acceptance\u2014which is still in the future\u2014when the leaders of Israel will acknowledge their failure at Messiah\u2019s First Coming and, using these very words in Isaiah, make their national confession. (See The Footsteps Of The Messiah, page 233.) This description of Messiah, then, is not given as something still to happen, but from a point of time in the future, immediately prior to Messiah\u2019s Second Coming, looking back to His First Coming.
\nThe whole passage divides easily into five sections, each having three verses. The first line of each section is the title of that section.
\nBehold My Servant Shall Deal Wisely\u201452:13\u201315
\nBy referring to the Messiah as the Servant, Isaiah connects Him with the previous Servant of Jehovah passages. In 42:1\u20136, Isaiah described the mission of the Servant; in 49:1\u201313, the mission of the Servant was accompanied by difficulties; in 50:4\u20139, the Servant was seen as suffering physically but short of death, and no reason was given for His sufferings. Now, in 52:13\u201353:12, it is revealed that His physical sufferings will lead to His death, and the reason for His suffering and death will be given. Verses 13, 14 and 15 of chapter 52 are a summary of everything in chapter 53; verses 1\u201312 of chapter 53 elaborate on these three verses.
\nThe emphasis in verse 13 is the exaltation of Messiah, speaking of His ascension to heaven and sitting down at the right hand of God the Father. \u201cExaltation\u201d speaks of Jesus\u2019 resurrection, \u201clifted up\u201d describes His ascension, and \u201cvery high\u201d refers to His session at the right hand of God the Father. Summary: The Servant will act wisely and His actions will gain Him a position of glory.
\nVerse 14 explains that prior to His exaltation, Messiah is to suffer humiliation. His body was so badly disfigured that He no longer resembled a man. In the sufferings of Jesus this would have happened at His scourging. The 40 lashes were given with a multi-strand whip, each strand having a nail or a piece of glass attached to it. These literally lifted the flesh off bones, not only from the back but also by wrapping around to all parts of the body. There were many who were never crucified because they did not survive the initial scourging. By the end of His scourging, when Pilate said, \u201cbehold the man,\u201d Jesus was so disfigured He was hardly recognizable as a man. Summary: The Servant will suffer and be terribly disfigured.
\nDespite the appalling suffering of verse 14, in verse 15 Messiah is destined for eventual success and victory. Those who once mocked Him will be silenced by Him. A day will come when their mouths will be closed in awe at Him. Summary: The Servant\u2019s suffering will eventually gain the silent attention of world rulers when they begin to understand the purpose of His sufferings.
\nWith this overview, chapter 53 now elaborates on these points.
\nWho Hath Believed Our Message?\u201453:1\u20133
\nThe emphasis of verse 1 is on the unbelief of Israel. They did not believe the message; the message that Jesus is the Messiah. Isaiah, besides referring to Messiah as \u201cthe Servant of Jehovah,\u201d also refers to Him as \u201cthe Arm of Jehovah\u201d as he does here. Earlier, in 40:10, Isaiah declared that the Arm will rule for God; in 51:5, the Gentiles will trust in the Arm; in 51:9, the Arm will redeem; in 52:10, the Arm will provide salvation. Now, in 53:1, Isaiah reveals the identity of the Arm to be the same as the Servant of Jehovah, the Messiah. Summary: Israel expresses surprise at what was just stated in 52:13\u201315.
\nSome of the reasons for this disbelief are given in verse 2. There was nothing about His First Coming which seemed unusual. He was born in normal\u2014indeed rather poor\u2014circumstances. This is a reaffirmation of Isaiah 11:1. Furthermore, there was nothing in His outward appearance to draw men to Him. This militates against the portraits and portrayals of Jesus so often seen. Jesus was a Jewish man with a Jewish beard, dark eyes and probably not very tall. According to this verse He was not particularly good looking. Summary: Israel confesses that when the Servant was with them, they did not notice anything special about His outward appearance that would have attracted them to Him; His childhood and growth were no different than those of others.
\nIn verse 3 we are told that His whole life was characterized by rejection and suffering. Men turned away from Him and at no time was He accorded the respect due to royalty. Summary: On the contrary, He was despised and rejected, and people in general did their best to avoid Him.
\nSurely He Hath Borne Our Griefs, and Carried Our Sorrows\u201453:4\u20136
\nThe emphasis in verse 4 is on the substitutionary nature of Messiah\u2019s suffering. At the time (verse 4b) Israel did not understand this, but considered His sufferings to be a punishment from God. He was seen to be suffering for His own sins, not for the sins of others. Summary: The nation which formerly despised the Servant now recognizes that He suffered vicariously. They thought that He was suffering for His own sins, but now realize He was suffering for theirs.
\nBut in verse 5, they now recognize that \u201che was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities,\u201d that His death was indeed substitutionary so that \u201cwith his stripes we are healed.\u201d Summary: The nation confesses that the substitutionary sufferings resulted in reconciliation and spiritual healing for He was the chastisement for their sins.
\nMessiah was not suffering for His own sins but, in verse 6, \u201cJehovah hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.\u201d Messiah was suffering for the sins of Israel. Summary: Israel confesses that it was they who sinned and went astray, and God laid the iniquity of Israel upon the Servant and therefore He suffered.
\nNote the pronouns throughout this passage: we \u2026 our, etc. Isaiah was not a Gentile but a Jew, talking to a Jewish nation. The pronouns mean that Isaiah and the Jews must be included; they cannot refer to Gentiles. Furthermore, none of the things happening to this individual could be said to apply to the nation of Israel. Isaiah is clearly talking of one person. The nation is only included in the pronouns.
\nHe Was Oppressed, Yet When He Was Afflicted He Opened Not His Mouth\u201453:7\u20139
\nAccording to verse 7, in the course of His affliction, Messiah remains silent. This was true of Jesus at both His Jewish and Roman trials (Matthew 26:63, 27:12\u201314; Luke 23:9). He uttered no words against the manifold accusations brought against Him. This is hardly true of Israel. One thing Israel has not been is silent in her sufferings; she has written many books describing her suffering and accusing those responsible. The modern state of Israel has not remained silent in the face of Arab attack; she has bombed Iraqi nuclear installations and Palestinian military encampments. This verse about suffering in silence cannot possibly be applied to the nation of Israel past or present. But it does fit the Messianic Person. Summary: The Servant humbly subjected Himself to the suffering and unjust treatment saying nothing in His own defense or making any complaint.
\nIn verse 8, He undergoes a legal trial at which He is condemned to death. He was then \u201ccut off\u201d\u2014legally executed\u2014but He suffered the penalty of the law for \u201cthe transgression of my people to whom the stroke was due.\u201d He was executed for the transgressions of the people. \u201cTransgression\u201d is a word for sin which emphasizes the breaking of a law. This One, who is Messiah, is quite distinct from \u201cmy people,\u201d who are Israel. Throughout both Old and New Testaments, \u201cmy people\u201d is always a reference to Israel. Messiah will be killed because of the sins of Israel. Here for the first time in Scripture it clearly states that Messiah is to die. There have been many previous references to His suffering, but it was never suggested that He would die. It is important to remember that Messianic prophecy was a progressive revelation. Summary: After a judicial trial and judgment, the Servant was taken away for execution and Israel did not realize that He died for the sins of the people.
\nVerse 9 talks about the burial of Messiah. Having been executed as a criminal, it would have been expected for Him to be given a criminal\u2019s grave. God intervenes, however, and, though treated with injustice and dishonor in execution, He is justly laid in a place of honor: in a rich man\u2019s tomb. Jesus was indeed taken down from the cross and laid in the tomb of a rich man, Joseph of Arimathea (Matthew 27:57\u201360). God ordains this because \u201cthere was no deceit in his mouth\u201d; His death was purely substitutionary. Summary: The Servant was assigned a criminal\u2019s grave but, in divine justice, He was instead buried in a rich man\u2019s tomb.
\nYet It Pleased Jehovah to Bruise Him\u201453:10\u201312
\nNote in verse 10 who is ultimately responsible for Messiah\u2019s death. It is not the Jews, nor the Romans, but is Jehovah Himself. It was God\u2019s will to bruise Him and God Himself who made \u201chis soul an offering for sin.\u201d The only one able and qualified to provide salvation to the world is God. Messiah\u2019s death was not accidental nor due to force of circumstance, but part of God\u2019s divine plan. It is a biblical principle that there is no remission of sin without the shedding of blood. As a temporary measure, a system of animal sacrifice was instituted, but these sacrifices only covered sin, they did not remove it. Even then, the covering only lasted for one year until the next Yom Kippur, the next Day of Atonement. But Messiah will be the final sacrifice for sin, the sacrifice which finally removes sin, and the One who will provide it will be God Himself. God is the One who is ultimately responsible for the death of Messiah. (See Appendix 3 for a more detailed discussion of this important doctrine.) And then comes a strange line: \u201cHe shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days \u2026\u201d If He has been killed, how can He see His spiritual progeny? If He is dead, how can His days be prolonged? The only way that these things can happen is by means of the resurrection, which will be described later. Having been told for the first time that Messiah will die, we are immediately given clear indication that He will be raised from the dead. After resurrection, Messiah will see the success of His mission and because of that, \u201cthe pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in His hand.\u201d Summary: God was pleased to allow the Servant to suffer and die, because this was the means by which God was going to make atonement for the people; though He dies, He will see His posterity, and His days will be prolonged.
\nAlso, in verse 11, the Messiah who has died will be able to see the results of His sufferings. By His self-knowledge, as the Messiah who died for sin, He will be able to bring justification to many. While He died for all, His death is applied only to those who believe. For those who believe, \u201che shall bear their iniquities.\u201d Summary: God will be satisfied with the work of His Servant, for He dies a substitutionary death for His people and by His death justifies many, as He bears their iniquity.
\nIn verse 12, He will finally come into His kingdom, \u201cbecause he poured out his soul unto death.\u201d He was reckoned as a sinner although He was not, but rather He bore the sins of others and has, by His death and resurrection, made intercession for others\u2019 transgressions. Summary: The Servant will be greatly blessed in the end above all others because He died on behalf of others and thus bore their sin, and now intercedes for them.
\nSummary of Isaiah 52\u201353
\nHaving read through the passage, it should now be very clear that this prophecy cannot possibly be applied to the nation of Israel. Israel is not silent. Israel has never been legally tried and condemned; Israel as a nation has never died through legal execution.
\nAs has already been said, all of the ancient rabbis without exception held the view that this is a messianic passage. There is of course an apparent conflict between passages such as this that describe Messiah as suffering, and other passages which describe Messiah as conquering, ruling and reigning in Jerusalem.
\nTo believers, this is easily understood as Messiah coming twice, once to suffer and a second time to establish His Kingdom and to rule in peace in Jerusalem.
\nThe ancient rabbis resolved the problem in a different way: by inventing the concept of two Messiahs. They taught that the first Messiah, whom they called \u201cMessiah son of Joseph,\u201d who suffered in Egypt, would come to suffer and die in fulfillment of the servant passages, one of which they listed as Isaiah 53. The second Messiah, \u201cMessiah son of David,\u201d would then come and raise the first Messiah back to life. He would then establish His Kingdom to rule and to reign. They clearly recognized the teaching of death and resurrection contained in the messianic prophecies, but failed to correctly interpret that Messiah must first come to die for our sins and then come a second time to rule in Jerusalem.
\nTo summarize why this passage must refer to Messiah and not Israel, the following ten points should be noted:
\n1. This was the view of all the ancient rabbis (see Appendix 2).
\n2. The distinctive pronouns we, us, our, must refer to Isaiah and his Jewish audience while the he, him, his, refer to the Messiah.
\n3. Throughout the passage, the Servant is portrayed as a singular personality and not a nation; there is no allegory or personification of the Servant as Israel.
\n4. In verse 9, the Servant\u2019s suffering is voluntary, willing and silent, which has never been true of Israel.
\n5. In verse 8, the Servant dies for \u201cmy people\u201d; Isaiah\u2019s people were the Jews; the Servant and Israel are therefore clearly distinguished.
\n6. The Servant is an innocent sufferer (verses 4\u20136, 8\u20139), but Israel always suffers for its own sins as Isaiah himself stated in 1:4\u20138.
\n7. The Servant suffers a vicarious and substitutionary death (verses 4\u20136, 8, 10, 12) while Israel does not suffer on behalf of the Gentiles, but because of the Gentiles.
\n8. The sufferings of the Servant bring justification and spiritual healing to those who accept it (verses 5b, 11b), but Israel has not done this for the Gentiles.
\n9. The Servant dies (verses 8, 12), but the people of Israel always survive.
\n10. The Servant is resurrected (verses 10\u201311), but since the people of Israel have never passed away, they have no need for a resurrection.
\nIsaiah 52:13\u201353:12
\nteaches that:
\nY Messiah would be born in natural circumstances with no unusual characteristics.
\nY Messiah\u2019s First Coming would be characterized by suffering.
\nY Messiah\u2019s First Coming would be characterized by rejected.
\nY Messiah would undergo a legal trial and be condemned to death.
\nY Messiah would be executed.
\nY Messiah would be buried in a rich man\u2019s tomb.
\nY Messiah would be resurrected.
\nY All of Messiah\u2019s sufferings and His death were to be substitutionary. He died so that we may have life. He died so that our sins may be removed from us. He died so that we may enter into a new relationship with God.
\nY Messiah would bring justification to all who believe in Him.
\nIsaiah 61:1\u20133
\nThe Mission of the Servant
\n61:1 The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, Because the Lord has anointed me To bring good news to the afflicted; He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted. To proclaim liberty to captives, And freedom to prisoners; 2 To proclaim the favorable year of the Lord, And the day of vengeance of our God; To comfort all who mourn, 3 To grant those who mourn in Zion, Giving them a garland instead of ashes, The oil of gladness instead of mourning, The mantle of praise instead of a spirit of fainting. So they will be called oaks of righteousness, The planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified. (nasb)
\n61:1 \u05e8\u05d5\u05bc\u05d7\u05b7 \u05d0\u05b2\u05d3\u05b9\u05e0\u05b8\u05d9 \u05d9\u05b0\u05d4\u05d5\u05b4\u05d4 \u05e2\u05b8\u05dc\u05b8\u05d9 \u05d9\u05b7\u05e2\u05b7\u05df \u05de\u05b8\u05e9\u05b7\u05c1\u05d7 \u05d9\u05b0\u05d4\u05d5\u05b8\u05d4 \u05d0\u05b9\u05ea\u05b4\u05d9 \u05dc\u05b0\u05d1\u05b7\u05e9\u05b5\u05bc\u05c2\u05e8 \u05e2\u05b2\u05e0\u05b8\u05d5\u05b4\u05d9\u05dd \u05e9\u05b0\u05c1\u05dc\u05b8\u05d7\u05b7\u05e0\u05b4\u05d9 \u05dc\u05b7\u05d7\u05b2\u05d1\u05b9\u05e9\u05c1 \u05dc\u05b0\u05e0\u05b4\u05e9\u05b0\u05c1\u05d1\u05b0\u05bc\u05e8\u05b5\u05d9\u05be\u05dc\u05b5\u05d1 \u05dc\u05b4\u05e7\u05b0\u05e8\u05b9\u05d0 \u05dc\u05b4\u05e9\u05b0\u05c1\u05d1\u05d5\u05bc\u05d9\u05b4\u05dd \u05d3\u05b0\u05bc\u05e8\u05d5\u05b9\u05e8 \u05d5\u05b0\u05dc\u05b7\u05d0\u05b2\u05e1\u05d5\u05bc\u05e8\u05b4\u05d9\u05dd \u05e4\u05b0\u05bc\u05e7\u05b7\u05d7\u05be\u05e7\u05d5\u05b9\u05d7\u05b7\u05c3 2 \u05dc\u05b4\u05e7\u05b0\u05e8\u05b9\u05d0 \u05e9\u05b0\u05c1\u05e0\u05b7\u05ea\u05be\u05e8\u05b8\u05e6\u05d5\u05b9\u05df \u05dc\u05b7\u05d9\u05d4\u05d5\u05b8\u05d4 \u05d5\u05b0\u05d9\u05d5\u05b9\u05dd \u05e0\u05b8\u05e7\u05b8\u05dd \u05dc\u05b5\u05d0\u05dc\u05b9\u05d4\u05b5\u05d9\u05e0\u05d5\u05bc \u05dc\u05b0\u05e0\u05b7\u05d7\u05b5\u05dd \u05db\u05b8\u05bc\u05dc\u05be\u05d0\u05b2\u05d1\u05b5\u05dc\u05b4\u05d9\u05dd\u05c3 3 \u05dc\u05b8\u05e9\u05c2\u05d5\u05bc\u05dd \u05dc\u05b7\u05d0\u05b2\u05d1\u05b5\u05dc\u05b5\u05d9 \u05e6\u05b4\u05d9\u05bc\u05d5\u05b9\u05df \u05dc\u05b8\u05ea\u05b5\u05ea \u05dc\u05b8\u05d4\u05b6\u05dd \u05e4\u05b0\u05bc\u05d0\u05b5\u05e8 \u05ea\u05b7\u05bc\u05d7\u05b7\u05ea \u05d0\u05b5\u05e4\u05b6\u05e8 \u05e9\u05b6\u05c1\u05de\u05b6\u05df \u05e9\u05b8\u05c2\u05e9\u05c2\u05d5\u05b9\u05df \u05ea\u05b7\u05bc\u05d7\u05b7\u05ea \u05d0\u05b5\u05d1\u05b6\u05dc \u05de\u05b7\u05e2\u05b2\u05d8\u05b5\u05d4 \u05ea\u05b0\u05d4\u05b4\u05dc\u05b8\u05bc\u05d4 \u05ea\u05b7\u05bc\u05d7\u05b7\u05ea \u05e8\u05d5\u05bc\u05d7\u05b7 \u05db\u05b5\u05bc\u05d4\u05b8\u05d4 \u05d5\u05b0\u05e7\u05b9\u05e8\u05b8\u05d0 \u05dc\u05b8\u05d4\u05b6\u05dd \u05d0\u05b5\u05d9\u05dc\u05b5\u05d9 \u05d4\u05b7\u05e6\u05b6\u05bc\u05d3\u05b6\u05e7 \u05de\u05b7\u05d8\u05b7\u05bc\u05e2 \u05d9\u05b0\u05d4\u05d5\u05b8\u05d4 \u05dc\u05b0\u05d4\u05b4\u05ea\u05b0\u05e4\u05b8\u05bc\u05d0\u05b5\u05e8\u05c3
\nTHIS prophecy falls into the third category of messianic prophecies mentioned in the Introduction\u2014prophecies which combine references to the First and Second Comings with no clear indication of any gap of time in between. Verses 1 and 2a deal with the First Coming; verses 2b and 3 deal with the Second Coming. This is very clear from Jesus\u2019 reading of the passage, described in Luke\u2019s Gospel:
\n16 And He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up; and as was His custom, He entered the synagogue on the Sabbath, and stood up to read. 17 And the book of the prophet Isaiah was handed to Him. And He opened the book, and found the place where it was written,
\n18 \u201cThe Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because He anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor. He has sent Me to proclaim release to the captives, and recovery of sight to the blind, to set free those who are downtrodden, 19 to proclaim the favorable year of the Lord.\u201d
\n20 And He closed the book, and gave it back to the attendant, and sat down; and the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed upon Him. 21 And He began to say to them, \u201cToday this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.\u201d
\nLuke 4:16\u201321 (nasb)
\nJesus read verses 1 and 2a and then stopped\u2014these words were now fulfilled, but the fulfillment of the rest of the passage still awaits His return.
\nThe First Coming\u201461:1\u20132a
\nVerse 1 reaffirms Isaiah 11:2 and 42:1. Messiah will be anointed with the Holy Spirit for His mission and His task. This anointing took place in the life of Jesus at His baptism (Matthew 3:16). It was at this point that He began His public ministry and openly claimed to be Messiah. During His First Coming, Messiah is prophesied to do four things:
\n1. Preach good news (or, the gospel) to men
\n2. Proclaim liberty to the captives
\nIn the Jewish context, the nation of Israel and Jews in particular were enslaved to the Mosaic Law because they were unable to keep it. Anyone who commits sin becomes a slave to sin. Since no Jew was able to keep perfectly all 613 commandments they were enslaved to the curse of the law. Jesus came to preach freedom and deliverance from the Law through faith in Him.
\n3. To open the prison of them who are bound
\nThis is further explained in the New Testament in the letter to the Hebrews 2:14\u201316. Because of Israel\u2019s failures under the Law, they were bound by a Satanic fear of death. Part of Jesus\u2019 mission at His First Coming is to remove the keys of death and hades from Satan so that he who believes in Jesus, Jew or Gentile, need have no more fear of death and need not be imprisoned by that fear.
\n4. To proclaim the acceptable year of Jehovah\u2019s favor
\nOr, it might be expressed as, \u201cTo proclaim the acceptable period of favor of grace.\u201d With the death of Messiah, the Dispensation of Law was brought to an end, and the Dispensation of Grace began. Under the grace of God, our salvation comes purely from accepting that Messiah died and rose again on our behalf. This is a personal decision which must be made at some point in a person\u2019s life; no one can be born a Christian in the New Testament sense of the term.
\nThe Second Coming\u201461:2b\u20133
\nThis aspect of the passage lies outside the scope of this study (see The Footsteps Of The Messiah page 121).
\nIsaiah 61:1\u20132a
\nteaches that:
\nY Messiah would be anointed by the Spirit for His mission.
\nY Messiah would have a prophetic preaching ministry.
\nJeremiah 23:5\u20136
\nMessiah the King
\n23:5 \u201cBehold, the days are coming,\u201d declares the Lord, \u201cWhen I shall raise up for David a righteous Branch; And He will reign as king and act wisely And do justice and righteousness in the land. 6 \u201cIn His days Judah will be saved, And Israel will dwell securely; And this is His name by which He will be called, \u2018The Lord our righteousness.\u2019 (nasb)
\n23:5 \u05d4\u05b4\u05e0\u05b5\u05bc\u05d4 \u05d9\u05b8\u05de\u05b4\u05d9\u05dd \u05d1\u05b8\u05bc\u05d0\u05b4\u05d9\u05dd \u05e0\u05b0\u05d0\u05bb\u05dd\u05be\u05d9\u05b0\u05d4\u05d5\u05b8\u05d4 \u05d5\u05b7\u05d4\u05b2\u05e7\u05b4\u05de\u05b9\u05ea\u05b4\u05d9 \u05dc\u05b0\u05d3\u05b8\u05d5\u05b4\u05d3 \u05e6\u05b6\u05de\u05b7\u05d7 \u05e6\u05b7\u05d3\u05b4\u05bc\u05d9\u05e7 \u05d5\u05bc\u05de\u05b8\u05dc\u05b7\u05da\u05b0 \u05de\u05b6\u05dc\u05b6\u05da\u05b0 \u05d5\u05b0\u05d4\u05b4\u05e9\u05b0\u05c2\u05db\u05b4\u05bc\u05d9\u05dc \u05d5\u05b0\u05e2\u05b8\u05e9\u05b8\u05c2\u05d4 \u05de\u05b4\u05e9\u05b0\u05c1\u05e4\u05b8\u05bc\u05d8 \u05d5\u05bc\u05e6\u05b0\u05d3\u05b8\u05e7\u05b8\u05d4 \u05d1\u05b8\u05bc\u05d0\u05b8\u05e8\u05b6\u05e5\u05c3 6 \u05d1\u05b0\u05bc\u05d9\u05b8\u05de\u05b8\u05d9\u05d5 \u05ea\u05b4\u05bc\u05d5\u05b8\u05bc\u05e9\u05b7\u05c1\u05e2 \u05d9\u05b0\u05d4\u05d5\u05bc\u05d3\u05b8\u05d4 \u05d5\u05b0\u05d9\u05b4\u05e9\u05b0\u05c2\u05e8\u05b8\u05d0\u05b5\u05dc \u05d9\u05b4\u05e9\u05b0\u05c1\u05db\u05b9\u05bc\u05df \u05dc\u05b8\u05d1\u05b6\u05d8\u05b7\u05d7 \u05d5\u05b0\u05d6\u05b6\u05d4\u05be\u05e9\u05b0\u05bc\u05c1\u05de\u05d5\u05b9 \u05d0\u05b2\u05e9\u05b6\u05c1\u05e8\u05be\u05d9\u05b4\u05e7\u05b0\u05e8\u05b0\u05d0\u05d5\u05b9 \u05d9\u05b0\u05d4\u05d5\u05b8\u05d4 \u05e6\u05b4\u05d3\u05b0\u05e7\u05b5\u05e0\u05d5\u05bc\u05c3 \u05e1
\nTHESE verses deal primarily with the Second Coming of Messiah, but there is an aspect of them which relates to His First Coming, too. Verse 5 tells of a man who will be a son of David, who will rule and reign as king. The kingship of Messiah is yet to come, but this verse clearly speaks of Messiah as a descendent of David and thus stresses His humanity. In verse 6, however, this man is given a name which is applicable to God alone: \u201cJehovah our righteousness.\u201d Modern translations generally render this as Lord. This is intended to convey the four letters YHVH which are read as Jehovah or Yahweh. (In Hebrew, \u05d9\u05d4\u05d5\u05d4. Reading from right to left these are the letters yod heh vav heh).Throughout the Hebrew Scriptures the divine name YHVH is given to God alone, yet here the man of verse 5 is clearly given the name of God in verse 6. This again presents us with the clear concept of Messiah as God-Man.
\nOne of the arguments presented by Rabbinic Judaism to refute this teaching is to point out that throughout the Scriptures there are examples of names which contain the name of God. For example, the name Jeremiah means \u201cJehovah will establish\u201d or \u201cJehovah will hurl.\u201d Or again, the name Isaiah means \u201cJehovah is salvation,\u201d and there are many other names which contain \u201cJehovah\u201d in them. It needs to be realized, however, that in none of these cases are all four of the letters YHVH found. Usually only two letters are used, sometimes three, but nowhere are all four letters of the name of God ever used in relation to a human being. Despite this, Jeremiah 23:5 clearly speaks of a man\u2014a human descendent of King David\u2014and in 23:6 he is given a name which is the name of God alone.
\nThis is something which was not, in fact, disputed by the ancient rabbis, who always interpreted this as a messianic passage. It is only relatively recently that rabbis have tried to argue otherwise. Four quotations from rabbinic writings can be given to show this.
\nIn the Midrash on Proverbs 19:21 (c. 200\u2013500 a.d.) it says:
\nRabbi Hunah said \u201cEight names are given to the Messiah which are: Yinnon, Shiloh, David, Menachem, Jehovah, Justi de Nostra, Tzemmach, Elias.\u201d
\nThe fifth name listed is Jehovah, the name of God, and this is based on the words of Jeremiah 23:6. The seventh name is Tzemmach, or \u201cBranch,\u201d and this is based on Jeremiah 23:5.
\nIn the Midrash on Lamentations 1:16, it says:
\nWhat is the name of the Messiah? Rav Ava ben Kahanna said, \u201cJehovah is his name and this is proved by, \u2018this is his name \u2026 [quoting Jeremiah 23:6].\u2019 \u201d
\nIn the Talmud (Babba Bathra Tractate 75b) it says:
\nShmuel ben Nachman said in the name of Rabbi Yohanan, \u201cthe following three will be named with the name of the Holy One blessed be he\u2014the upright, as it is said, \u2018\u2026 [quotes Isaiah 43:7]\u2019, the Messiah, as it is written \u2018and this is his name whereby he shall be called The Lord our righteousness [quoting Jeremiah 23:6]\u2019 \u2026\u201d
\nIn the Midrash on Psalm 21:1 it says:
\nGod calls King Messiah by his own name, but what is his name? The answer is \u2018Jehovah is a man of war\u2019 and concerning Messiah we read \u201cJehovah our righteousness this is his name.\u201d
\nAnd so it can be seen that in ancient rabbinic writings, and even in the Talmud itself, Jeremiah 23:6 is applied to Messiah; Messiah is given the name of Jehovah.
\nJeremiah 23:5\u20136
\nteaches that:
\nY The Messiah would be a God-Man.
\nY The Messiah would be Jehovah Himself; Jehovah would become a man.
\nY The Messiah would be a descendent of David and therefore a king. Jeremiah here reaffirms the Davidic Covenant (discussed under 1 Chronicles 17:10b\u201314).
\nMicah 5:2
\nBethlehem Ephrathah
\n5:2 \u201cBut as for you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, Too little to be among the clans of Judah, From you One will go forth for Me to be ruler in Israel. His goings forth are from long ago, From the days of eternity.\u201d (nasb)
\n5:1 \u05d5\u05b0\u05d0\u05b7\u05ea\u05b8\u05bc\u05d4 \u05d1\u05b5\u05bc\u05d9\u05ea\u05be\u05dc\u05b6\u05d7\u05b6\u05dd \u05d0\u05b6\u05e4\u05b0\u05e8\u05b8\u05ea\u05b8\u05d4 \u05e6\u05b8\u05e2\u05b4\u05d9\u05e8 \u05dc\u05b4\u05d4\u05b0\u05d9\u05d5\u05b9\u05ea \u05d1\u05b0\u05bc\u05d0\u05b7\u05dc\u05b0\u05e4\u05b5\u05d9 \u05d9\u05b0\u05d4\u05d5\u05bc\u05d3\u05b8\u05d4 \u05de\u05b4\u05de\u05b0\u05bc\u05da\u05b8 \u05dc\u05b4\u05d9 \u05d9\u05b5\u05e6\u05b5\u05d0 \u05dc\u05b4\u05d4\u05b0\u05d9\u05d5\u05b9\u05ea \u05de\u05d5\u05b9\u05e9\u05b5\u05c1\u05dc \u05d1\u05b0\u05bc\u05d9\u05b4\u05e9\u05b0\u05c2\u05e8\u05b8\u05d0\u05b5\u05dc \u05d5\u05bc\u05de\u05d5\u05b9\u05e6\u05b8\u05d0\u05b9\u05ea\u05b8\u05d9\u05d5 \u05de\u05b4\u05e7\u05b6\u05bc\u05d3\u05b6\u05dd \u05de\u05b4\u05d9\u05de\u05b5\u05d9 \u05e2\u05d5\u05b9\u05dc\u05b8\u05dd\u05c3
\nNote that the Hebrew verse numbering differs from the English numbering in this passage.
\nTHIS verse adds to Isaiah 7:14. It has already been shown that a great many Scriptures point to the divine as well as human nature of the Messiah. This has been clear from as early as Genesis chapters 3 and 4, and continues through to the prophecy of Micah. Micah was a contemporary of Isaiah, prophesying at the same time, but in a different part of Judea. In Isaiah 7:14, we read that Messiah was to be born of a virgin; here in Micah 5:2, we read where that birth is to take place. Messiah is to be born, not in Jerusalem as might have been expected, but in Bethlehem. This was perhaps hinted at in Isaiah 11:1, but is now stated clearly. This is Bethlehem Ephrathah, as distinguished from another Bethlehem in Galilee. This Bethlehem is the Bethlehem of David and of Judah, situated south of Jerusalem.
\nThe One to be born is said to \u201cgo forth for Me\u201d; He is being born in order to fulfill a particular mission, a specific purpose of God. As regards His human origin, He is to be born in Bethlehem, but regarding His divine origin, He is said to be \u201cfrom long ago, from the days of eternity.\u201d The Hebrew words for \u201cfrom long ago, from the days of eternity\u201d are the strongest Hebrew words ever used for eternity past. They are used of God the Father in Psalm 90:2. What is true of God the Father is also said to be true of this One who is to be born in Bethlehem. These words are also used in Proverbs 8:22\u201323 (the voice of Wisdom speaking).
\nAgain we have a passage which shows that Messiah is to be human\u2014being born at some specific point in time and at some specific place\u2014yet having existed since all eternity past, and therefore divine.
\nMicah 5:2
\nteaches that:
\nY Messiah would be born in Bethlehem, the city of David.
\nY Messiah would be divine as well as human, having existed from eternity past.
\nZechariah 9:9\u201310
\nRiding on a Donkey
\n9:9 Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout in triumph, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you; He is just and endowed with salvation, Humble, and mounted on a donkey, Even on a colt, the foal of a donkey. 10 And I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim, And the horse from Jerusalem; And the bow of war will be cut off. And He will speak peace to the nations; And His dominion will be from sea to sea, And from the River to the ends of the earth. (nasb)
\n9:9 \u05d2\u05b4\u05bc\u05d9\u05dc\u05b4\u05d9 \u05de\u05b0\u05d0\u05b9\u05d3 \u05d1\u05b7\u05bc\u05ea\u05be\u05e6\u05b4\u05d9\u05bc\u05d5\u05b9\u05df \u05d4\u05b8\u05e8\u05b4\u05d9\u05e2\u05b4\u05d9 \u05d1\u05b7\u05bc\u05ea \u05d9\u05b0\u05e8\u05d5\u05bc\u05e9\u05b8\u05c1\u05dc\u05b7\u05dd \u05d4\u05b4\u05e0\u05b5\u05bc\u05d4 \u05de\u05b7\u05dc\u05b0\u05db\u05b5\u05bc\u05da\u05b0 \u05d9\u05b8\u05d1\u05d5\u05b9\u05d0 \u05dc\u05b8\u05da\u05b0 \u05e6\u05b7\u05d3\u05b4\u05bc\u05d9\u05e7 \u05d5\u05b0\u05e0\u05d5\u05b9\u05e9\u05b8\u05c1\u05e2 \u05d4\u05d5\u05bc\u05d0 \u05e2\u05b8\u05e0\u05b4\u05d9 \u05d5\u05b0\u05e8\u05b9\u05db\u05b5\u05d1 \u05e2\u05b7\u05dc\u05be\u05d7\u05b2\u05de\u05d5\u05b9\u05e8 \u05d5\u05b0\u05e2\u05b7\u05dc\u05be\u05e2\u05b7\u05d9\u05b4\u05e8 \u05d1\u05b6\u05bc\u05df\u05be\u05d0\u05b2\u05ea\u05b9\u05e0\u05d5\u05b9\u05ea\u05c3 10 \u05d5\u05b0\u05d4\u05b4\u05db\u05b0\u05e8\u05b7\u05ea\u05b4\u05bc\u05d9\u05be\u05e8\u05b6\u05db\u05b6\u05d1 \u05de\u05b5\u05d0\u05b6\u05e4\u05b0\u05e8\u05b7\u05d9\u05b4\u05dd \u05d5\u05b0\u05e1\u05d5\u05bc\u05dd \u05de\u05b4\u05d9\u05e8\u05d5\u05bc\u05e9\u05b8\u05c1\u05dc\u05b7\u05dd \u05d5\u05b0\u05e0\u05b4\u05db\u05b0\u05e8\u05b0\u05ea\u05b7\u05d4 \u05e7\u05b6\u05e9\u05b6\u05c1\u05ea \u05de\u05b4\u05dc\u05b0\u05d7\u05b8\u05de\u05b8\u05d4 \u05d5\u05b0\u05d3\u05b4\u05d1\u05b6\u05bc\u05e8 \u05e9\u05b8\u05c1\u05dc\u05d5\u05b9\u05dd \u05dc\u05b7\u05d2\u05bc\u05d5\u05b9\u05d9\u05b4\u05dd \u05d5\u05bc\u05de\u05b8\u05e9\u05b0\u05c1\u05dc\u05d5\u05b9 \u05de\u05b4\u05d9\u05b8\u05bc\u05dd \u05e2\u05b7\u05d3\u05be \u05d9\u05b8\u05dd \u05d5\u05bc\u05de\u05b4\u05e0\u05b8\u05bc\u05d4\u05b8\u05e8 \u05e2\u05b7\u05d3\u05be\u05d0\u05b7\u05e4\u05b0\u05e1\u05b5\u05d9\u05be\u05d0\u05b8\u05e8\u05b6\u05e5\u05c3
\nTHE third category of messianic prophecy mentioned in the Introduction is the kind where First and Second Coming prophecies are blended together without obvious distinction. Zechariah 9:9\u201310 is an example of this. Verse 9:9 relates to the First Coming, while 9:10 relates to the Second Coming. This can be established from other passages of Scripture, but is not clear from the text itself.
\nThe First Coming\u20149:9
\nThe background to these verses is an invasion of Israel by a foreign king prophesied in verses 9:1\u20138. These verses were fulfilled by Alexander the Great. But in verse 9, in contrast to this invading Gentile king, we find reference to a future Jewish king. Israel is told to rejoice because \u201cyour king\u201d [Israel\u2019s king] is coming [not \u201cagainst you,\u201d but] \u201cto you.\u201d Jerusalem is to rejoice because, unlike Alexander, this king is to be:
\n1. Just
\nHe is characterized by righteousness, a point also made by Jeremiah 23:5\u20136. In contrast, Alexander the Great died in a drunken stupor.
\n2. Offering salvation
\nIn contrast to Alexander who came with conquest, destruction, and death.
\n3. Lowly and humble
\nLowly here has the sense of being brought low through oppression. Messiah was indeed oppressed. Alexander came with pomp and power.
\nFurthermore, in contrast to Alexander the Great on his white steed, this king is to come riding on a donkey. Specifically, He is to ride on the foal of a donkey\u2014a creature not yet broken, one which has never been ridden before.
\nThe fulfillment of this prophecy is found in the Gospels of the New Testament in the Triumphal Entry of Jesus into Jerusalem at the beginning of the last week of His life (Matthew 21:1\u201311). This marked His official presentation as the Messianic King. Jesus instructs His disciples to go to Bethphage and find a colt which had never been ridden before. The miraculous aspect of this should not be missed. By nature, the animal should have bucked Jesus off the moment He got on, but instead of throwing Him, it submitted to Him.
\nThe Second Coming\u20149:10
\nVerse 10 deals with the events of the Second Coming, in which all weapons of war are to be removed from the Land, but this lies outside the scope of this study.
\nThe Rabbinic View
\nHere we see very clearly the two lines of messianic prophecy side by side in the same passage. First, Messiah is described as being lowly and oppressed but then, in the very next sentence, He is seen as a king whose dominion extends to the ends of the whole earth. When the ancient rabbis looked at these two contradictory prophecies, they reconciled them by saying that there would be two different Messiahs. First would come Messiah whom they called the son of Joseph, to fulfill the suffering passages. He would then be followed by Messiah the son of David, the conquering Messiah (see Appendix 2).
\nThat the rabbis took this passage as messianic can be seen from the Talmud in Sanhedrin 98b\u201399a:
\nRabbi Hillel said: \u201cIsrael can expect no Messiah because they consumed him in the days of Hezekiah.\u201d The retort: \u201cWhen did Hezekiah live? Was it not in the days of the First Temple? Yet Zechariah during the time of the Second Temple prophesied and said \u2026 [quoting 9:9].\u201d
\nAlso, Pesikta (Piska 53) states:
\nThis refers to Messiah. He is called anee [lowly] because He was oppressed all these years in prison, and the sinners of Israel denied Him.\u2026 For the merits of the Messiah, the Holy One, blessed be He, will protect and redeem you.
\nAgain in the Talmud (Sanhedrin 98a) it says:
\nRabbi Joseph the son of Levi objects that it is written in one place \u201cBehold one like the son of man comes with the clouds of heaven,\u201d but in another place it is written \u201clowly and riding upon an ass.\u201d The solution is, if they be righteous he shall come with the clouds of heaven, but if they not be righteous he shall come lowly riding upon an ass.
\nThis is an alternative rabbinic interpretation to explain the two lines of messianic prophecy. This says that either one line of prophecy or the other will be fulfilled, but not both. If Israel is righteous, Messiah will come riding on the clouds; but if she is sinful, then He will come riding on a donkey. The Scriptures, however, clearly require the fulfillment of both types of prophecy.
\nThe New Testament view is much simpler than either of the rabbinic views given above. It teaches that there would be one Messiah, but He would come twice, first to die and then a second time to rule, thereby fulfilling all of the prophetic statements concerning Him.
\nZechariah 9:9\u201310
\nteaches that:
\nY Messiah\u2019s First Coming would be characterized by humility.
\nY Messiah\u2019s official presentation as the Messianic king would come when He rides into Jerusalem, riding on the foal of a donkey.
\nZechariah 11:1\u201317
\nThe Two Shepherds
\n11:1 Open your doors, O Lebanon, That a fire may feed on your cedars. 2 Wail, O cypress, for the cedar has fallen, Because the glorious trees have been destroyed; Wail, O oaks of Bashan, For the impenetrable forest has come down. 3 There is a sound of the shepherds\u2019 wail, For their glory is ruined; There is a sound of the young lions\u2019 roar, For the pride of the Jordan is ruined. 4 Thus says the Lord my God, \u201cPasture the flock doomed to slaughter. 5 \u201cThose who buy them slay them and go unpunished, and each of those who sell them says, \u2018Blessed be the Lord, for I have become rich!\u2019 And their own shepherds have no pity on them. 6 \u201cFor I shall no longer have pity on the inhabitants of the land,\u201d declares the Lord; \u201cbut behold, I shall cause the men to fall, each into another\u2019s power and into the power of his king; and they will strike the land, and I shall not deliver them from their power.\u201d 7 So I pastured the flock doomed to slaughter, hence the afflicted of the flock. And I took for myself two staffs: the one I called Favor, and the other I called Union; so I pastured the flock. 8 Then I annihilated the three shepherds in one month, for my soul was impatient with them, and their soul also was weary of me. 9 Then I said, \u201cI will not pasture you. What is to die, let it die, and what is to be annihilated, let it be annihilated; and let those who are left eat one another\u2019s flesh.\u201d 10 And I took my staff, Favor, and cut it in pieces, to break my covenant which I had made with all the peoples. 11 So it was broken on that day, and thus the afflicted of the flock who were watching me realized that it was the word of the Lord. 12 And I said to them, \u201cIf it is good in your sight, give me my wages; but if not, never mind!\u201d So they weighed out thirty shekels of silver as my wages. 13 Then the Lord said to me, \u201cThrow it to the potter, that magnificent price at which I was valued by them.\u201d So I took the thirty shekels of silver and threw them to the potter in the house of the Lord. 14 Then I cut my second staff, Union, in pieces, to break the brotherhood between Judah and Israel. 15 And the Lord said to me, \u201cTake again for yourself the equipment of a foolish shepherd. 16 \u201cFor behold, I am going to raise up a shepherd in the land who will not care for the perishing, seek the scattered, heal the broken, or sustain the one standing, but will devour the flesh of the fat sheep and tear off their hoofs. 17 \u201cWoe to the worthless shepherd Who leaves the flock! A sword will be on his arm And on his right eye! His arm will be totally withered, And his right eye will be blind.\u201d (nasb)
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\nTHE whole of chapter 11 deals with the First Coming and the events surrounding it. The chapter divides into three sections. Verses 1\u20133 describe a great devastation upon the entire land of Israel from north to south. This was fulfilled by the first and second revolts against Rome in 70 a.d. and 135 a.d. Verses 4\u201314 describe the events of the First Coming and the rejection of the true shepherd, Messiah, leading to the destruction of 70 a.d. Verses 15\u201317 describe the choosing of a false shepherd, leading to the destruction of 135 a.d.
\nThe Devastation of the Land\u201411:1\u20133
\nThe kind of devastation described in verses 1\u20133 only happened in 70 a.d. as a result of the first Jewish uprising against Rome. The prophecy of these first three verses could be said to be fully completed by the year 135 a.d. with the further destruction of the second uprising.
\nThe Jewish Temple was often referred to as a place of cedar, or as a house of cedar (1 Kings 5:5\u20136), so the destruction described in verses 1 and 2 is probably an allusion to the future destruction of the Temple, which was still being rebuilt at the time of Zechariah\u2019s prophecy. In verse 3a the shepherds, that is the Jewish leaders, are to wail because of the ruin of their glory. When Jerusalem and the Temple were destroyed, their glory was indeed ruined. Finally, verse 3b concentrates on the ruination of the Jordan valley. This is also mentioned in Jeremiah 12:5, 49:19 and 50:44.
\nThe rest of this chapter deals with the two causes of the destruction: the rejection of the true shepherd and the acceptance of the false shepherd.
\nThe Rejection of the True Shepherd\u201411:4\u201314
\nThe Commission to the Prophet\u201411:4\u20136
\nIn verses 4\u20136, the prophet Zechariah is given a commission; he is given a role to act out as a message to the people. The part he is to play is that of Messiah at His First Coming. Messiah is symbolized as the character of a shepherd, feeding a flock. The flock (verse 4) is symbolic of Israel. The sheep are being destroyed by their owners, symbolic of Rome, and even \u201ctheir own shepherds,\u201d symbolic of the Jewish leaders, \u201chave no pity on them.\u201d In verse 5, the flock, the people of Israel, have been abandoned by man; but further, in verse 6, they have also been abandoned by God. God states that He will cause each and every man to fall \u201cinto the power of his king.\u201d At first this seems a little confusing since, at the time of the Roman occupation, Israel had no king. However, we read in the Gospels that when Jesus, the True Shepherd, stood at His trial, Pontius Pilate declared to the people, \u201cHere is your king.\u201d But the Pharisees rejected Jesus and cried out, \u201cWe have no king but Caesar\u201d (John 19:15). Since Messiah was rejected as king, and only Caesar was recognized as king, it was to that king that God handed them over for judgment. In the war with the Romans in 70 a.d., a total of 1,100,000 Jews were killed and 97,000 taken into slavery.
\nThe Carrying out of the Commission\u201411:7\u201311
\nIn verses 7\u201311, Zechariah carries out his commission. In verse 7, he feeds the flock doomed to slaughter, but especially \u201cthe poor\u201d of the flock or \u201cthe afflicted,\u201d according to some translations. \u201cThe poor and the needy\u201d is a common phrase in the Prophets and is always a reference to the righteous Remnant of Israel. While at many times in their history Israel as a whole is rebellious and unrighteous, there has always remained within Israel a small group of righteous, believing people, termed \u201cthe Remnant of Israel.\u201d
\nWhile Messiah will come to minister to the whole of Israel, there will be a special emphasis in His ministry towards the believing Remnant within Israel. The fulfillment of this is seen in Matthew 9:35\u201336. Zechariah employs two staffs in this work. One is given the name \u201cFavor\u201d and the other is given the name \u201cUnion.\u201d The staff called Favor was for the protection of the flock; the staff called Union was to keep the flock together and preserve its unity.
\nIn verse 8, Zechariah faces the opposition of three other shepherds. In the context of the ministry of Jesus, these three shepherds are symbolic of the Pharisees, the Sadducees and the Scribes, the key sections of Jewish leadership during the period of the First Coming. One of the results of Jesus\u2019 ministry was the destruction of these three groups. The reason for their destruction is the mutual antagonism described in verse 8. The fulfillment of this is seen first of all in Jesus\u2019 denunciation of the religious leaders of Israel, described in Matthew 23:1\u201337.
\nSecond, the hostility of the leaders toward Jesus is seen in their plotting His execution and bribing Judas Iscariot to betray Him.
\nAlthough verse 7 described the faithful shepherding of the flock, in verse 9 there is an abrupt cessation in the feeding of the flock. In the ministry of Jesus, this part of the prophecy was fulfilled in the events of Matthew chapter 12:22\u201345. This chapter describes the crucial, pivotal point in Jesus\u2019 ministry: the rejection of His Messiahship on the grounds of demon possession. Prior to His rejection, Jesus openly declared His claim to be Messiah. After His rejection, Jesus made no further claims and forbade anyone\u2014His disciples and those individuals whom He healed\u2014to disclose His Messiahship. Prior to His rejection, Jesus openly performed many signs and miracles. After His rejection, He performed no signs\u2014except the \u201csign of Jonah.\u201d Prior to the rejection, Jesus healed all who came to Him, these healings being evidence of His claim to be Messiah. After the rejection, healing was refused if requested on the basis of His Messiahship and granted only in cases of personal need, on the basis of personal faith. Prior to the rejection, Jesus taught the people\u2014fed the flock\u2014openly and clearly as in the Sermon on the Mount. After the rejection, Jesus suddenly and immediately changed to the exclusive use of parables in order to hide the truth from the masses. The accusation of demon possession constituted the \u201cunpardonable sin\u201d and from that moment on the judgment of 70 a.d. was inevitable. Note that the unpardonable sin and the judgment of it relate exclusively to \u201cthis generation\u201d\u2014the Jewish people of that time only (Matthew 12:39, 41, 42, 45; 23:36). With the committing of the unpardonable sin, Jesus stops feeding the flock as a whole and deals only with individuals within the nation.
\nIn verse 10, with the cessation of feeding, Zechariah takes the staff named Favor and breaks it. This symbolizes God\u2019s removal of Israel\u2019s protection and the inevitability of the 70 a.d. judgment; the fulfillment of this is seen in Luke 19:41\u201344 and 21:24. Note that \u201cpeoples\u201d is in the plural, meaning \u201cGentile nations\u201d; Israel is now vulnerable to Gentile attacks, and in 70 a.d. the attack of the Romans was to be devastating indeed.
\nIn verse 11, the \u201cafflicted of the flock,\u201d that is, the believing Remnant, see the breaking of the staff Favor as the word of God and understand the significance of it. During the ministry of Jesus, the Jewish believers did indeed understand that judgment was coming, that it was from the hand of the Lord and it was inevitable. In Luke 21, Jesus had instructed them to flee from Jerusalem when the time of her destruction came.
\n20 \u201cBut when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then recognize that her desolation is at hand. 21 \u201cThen let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains, and let those who are in the midst of the city depart, and let not those who are in the country enter the city; 22 because these are days of vengeance, in order that all things which are written may be fulfilled. 23 \u201cWoe to those who are with child and to those who nurse babes in those days; for there will be great distress upon the land, and wrath to this people, 24 and they will fall by the edge of the sword, and will be led captive into all the nations; and Jerusalem will be trampled under foot by the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled.
\nLuke 21:20\u201324 (nasb)
\nIn 66 a.d., when the Romans besieged Jerusalem, the believers within the city realized that the time of judgment had arrived and that they were not to join the fight but should leave for the mountains. Later in that year, the siege was temporarily lifted and the entire Jewish Christian community from Jerusalem and the whole Land of Israel (some 100,000 people) left Israel and found refuge in Pella, east of the Jordan river. In 68 a.d. the siege was reimposed and in 70 a.d. the final destruction came. The main point here is that the \u201cafflicted of the flock,\u201d the ones who had been given special emphasis in the ministry of Messiah, understood that God\u2019s protection had been lifted, that the nation was under judgment, and so they acted in accordance with Jesus\u2019 words in Luke 21. Because of their faithful obedience to the words of their Messiah, not one Jewish believer lost his life; not one Jewish believer was taken into slavery.
\nThe Price of the Good Shepherd\u201411:12\u201314
\nVerses 12\u201314 describe the value placed upon the work of the good shepherd. In verse 12, the good shepherd approaches the leadership of Israel and asks for his wages, to be paid according to what they think he is worth. He is paid thirty pieces of silver. While today that may sound like a reasonable amount, it was, in fact, a display of contempt. Under the Mosaic Law thirty pieces of silver was the compensation value for a dead slave (Exodus 21:32). The work of the good shepherd is therefore judged to be equivalent to that of a dead slave. Being paid thirty pieces of silver was more insulting than being paid nothing at all.
\nThe words of verse 13 are extremely important here. It is Zechariah who has been paid the thirty pieces of silver, but who is it that is really being insulted? \u201cThen the Lord said to me, \u2018throw it to the potter, that magnificent price [sarcasm] at which I was valued by them.\u2019 \u201d It is the Lord who is the Good Shepherd. It is the Lord whose work is so despised as to be valued at only the thirty pieces of silver. Thus it becomes very clear that Zechariah is merely an actor playing out a prophetic role, a common means of giving prophecies in the Scriptures, and that this role is to be fulfilled by Jehovah Himself, when He becomes a man, as spelled out in previous prophecies.
\nZechariah is then told to take the thirty pieces of silver and throw them away by throwing them into the potter\u2019s area of the Temple Compound. These words found their fulfillment when Judas Iscariot was paid thirty pieces of silver by the Jewish leaders to betray Jesus. Afterwards, Judas did what Zechariah did and threw the coins into the potter\u2019s section of the Temple Compound. All of this is described in Matthew 26:14\u201316 and 27:3\u201310 (see Appendix 8). It should be noted that the thirty pieces of silver were paid to Judas by the chief priests, who would have taken the money from the Temple treasury. This money was intended for the specific purpose of purchasing sacrifices. Although they did not realize it, that is exactly what the priests did. They purchased a sacrifice; Jesus was to be the final sacrifice for sin (see Appendix 3).
\nThe response to the contempt of verse 13 is in verse 14. Zechariah takes the second staff, called Union, and breaks it. This again is a prophetic act, this time signifying that the flock is to be scattered and the unity of Israel destroyed. During the war against the Romans from 66\u201370 a.d., various factions developed amongst the Zealots and they began fighting amongst themselves, destroying each other\u2019s food stocks and killing each other. Ultimately, it was the civil strife within Jerusalem which caused it to fall easily to Rome. The destruction of unity therefore led to the scattering of the flock; the great dispersion of Jewry did indeed begin in 70 a.d.
\nThe Foolish Shepherd\u201411:15\u201317
\nWhile the leadership rejects the Good Shepherd of verses 4\u201314, in the next passage, verses 15\u201317, they accept a foolish, or unrighteous, shepherd instead.
\nIn verse 15, Zechariah is told to play a second role, not of a good shepherd as before, but this time that of a foolish shepherd who will bring only harm to the flock.
\nIn the year 132 a.d., Simon bar Cochba led the second Jewish revolt against Rome. He was supported in this by many of the rabbis but most significantly, midway through the revolt, the chief rabbi, Rabbi Akiba, declared Bar Cochba to be the Messiah. At the start of the revolt, the Messianic Jews had taken up swords and joined in what was, initially, the defense of the Land. With Rabbi Akiba\u2019s declaration, however, the revolt became a messianic movement, and the believing Jews were forced to withdraw from the battle, unable to support Bar Cochba as Messiah. As a result of this, Rabbi Akiba together with the various Jewish councils, passed a long list of laws prohibiting any kind of association with the Jewish believers in the Land. Eventually, the Romans returned after their defeat by Bar Cochba, and began a scorched earth policy throughout the Land of Israel. By the time Bar Cochba made his last stand in 135 a.d., virtually the entire Land had been burned; hardly anything was left growing and the people were starving en masse. The destruction of Zechariah 11:1\u20133 was therefore fulfilled to a further degree than in the year 70 a.d.
\nZechariah 11:1\u201317
\nteaches that:
\nY Messiah\u2019s First Coming would be rejected, especially by the Jewish leaders.
\nY While the nation as a whole would reject Messiah, there would be a small Remnant of believing people who would accept Him.
\nY The leadership of Israel would sell Him out for thirty pieces of silver.
\nY The results of this rejection were to be twofold. First, protection would be removed, leaving Israel vulnerable to Gentile attack\u2014in 70 a.d. Second, unity would be removed and Israel would be scattered.
\nY Because they turned away from the true Messiah, they would foolishly accept a false messiah. This led to the second devastation of the land in a.d. 135.
\nY If the destruction described in Zechariah 11:1\u20133 was fulfilled in 70 a.d., then Messiah must have come before 70 a.d.
\nY Messiah is the Good Shepherd\u2014John 10:11\u201318.
\nZechariah 12:10
\nThe Final Recognition of Messiah
\n12:10 \u201cAnd I will pour out on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the Spirit of grace and of supplication, so that they will look on Me whom they have pierced; and they will mourn for Him, as one mourns for an only son, and they will weep bitterly over Him, like the bitter weeping over a first-born. (nasb)
\n12:10 \u05d5\u05b0\u05e9\u05b8\u05c1\u05e4\u05b7\u05db\u05b0\u05ea\u05b4\u05bc\u05d9 \u05e2\u05b7\u05dc\u05be\u05d1\u05b5\u05bc\u05d9\u05ea \u05d3\u05b8\u05bc\u05d5\u05b4\u05d9\u05d3 \u05d5\u05b0\u05e2\u05b7\u05dc \u05d9\u05d5\u05b9\u05e9\u05b5\u05c1\u05d1 \u05d9\u05b0\u05e8\u05d5\u05bc\u05e9\u05b8\u05c1\u05dc\u05b7\u05dd \u05e8\u05d5\u05bc\u05d7\u05b7 \u05d7\u05b5\u05df \u05d5\u05b0\u05ea\u05b7\u05d7\u05b2\u05e0\u05d5\u05bc\u05e0\u05b4\u05d9\u05dd \u05d5\u05b0\u05d4\u05b4\u05d1\u05b4\u05bc\u05d9\u05d8\u05d5\u05bc \u05d0\u05b5\u05dc\u05b7\u05d9 \u05d0\u05b5\u05ea \u05d0\u05b2\u05e9\u05b6\u05c1\u05e8\u05be\u05d3\u05b8\u05bc\u05e7\u05b8\u05e8\u05d5\u05bc \u05d5\u05b0\u05e1\u05b8\u05e4\u05b0\u05d3\u05d5\u05bc \u05e2\u05b8\u05dc\u05b8\u05d9\u05d5 \u05db\u05b0\u05bc\u05de\u05b4\u05e1\u05b0\u05e4\u05b5\u05bc\u05d3 \u05e2\u05b7\u05dc\u05be\u05d4\u05b7\u05d9\u05b8\u05bc\u05d7\u05b4\u05d9\u05d3 \u05d5\u05b0\u05d4\u05b8\u05de\u05b5\u05e8 \u05e2\u05b8\u05dc\u05b8\u05d9\u05d5 \u05db\u05b0\u05bc\u05d4\u05b8\u05de\u05b5\u05e8 \u05e2\u05b7\u05dc\u05be\u05d4\u05b7\u05d1\u05b0\u05bc\u05db\u05d5\u05b9\u05e8\u05c3
\nTHE whole of Zechariah 12 deals with events in the Second Coming of Messiah and specifically with the Campaign of Armageddon. (This is obviously outside the scope of this study but is dealt with in The Footsteps Of The Messiah, pages 214, 233\u2013235.) Verse 10 is of relevance to our study of First Coming prophecies, however. The Messiah was rejected by the Jewish leadership at His First Coming and it is an absolute prerequisite of His Second Coming that Jewish leaders should repent of their original rejection and ask God for His return. Zechariah 12:10 describes the grief which will one day be experienced by Jewish leaders over the death of Messiah at His First Coming.
\nIn the context of our present study, there are three points made here:
\n1. Another confirmation that Messiah will be rejected by the Jewish leaders.
\n2. We have already been told by Isaiah that Messiah will die, but now we are told that His will be a violent death by means of piercing.
\n3. It is the Lord who is speaking and He says that \u201cthey will look on me whom they pierced\u201d\u2014it is Jehovah who was pierced. Again we are told that Messiah will be God Himself. The word for \u201cpierced\u201d means \u201cto thrust through.\u201d This was fulfilled during Jesus\u2019 crucifixion when a Roman soldier thrust a spear into His side, as recorded in John 19:31\u201337.
\nThat some rabbis took this passage as messianic is clear from the Talmud in Succah 52a:
\nWhy is this mourning in Messianic times? There is a difference in interpretation between Rabbi Dosa and the Rabanan [sages]. One opinion is that they mourn for Messiah Ben Joseph who is killed, and another explanation is that they mourn for the slaying of the evil inclination. It is well according to him who explains that the cause is the slaying of the Messiah since that well agrees with this verse. If it refers to the slaying of the evil inclination, it must be asked, is this an occasion for mourning? Is it not rather an occasion for rejoicing? Why then should they weep?
\nZechariah 12:10
\nteaches that:
\nY Messiah\u2019s First Coming would be rejected by the leaders of Israel.
\nY Messiah would die a violent death by means of piercing.
\nY Messiah would be both God and Man.
\nZechariah 13:7
\nThe Good Shepherd
\n13:7 \u201cAwake, O sword, against My Shepherd, And against the man, My Associate,\u201d Declares the Lord of hosts. \u201cStrike the Shepherd that the sheep may be scattered; And I will turn My hand against the little ones. (nasb)
\n13:7 \u05d7\u05b6\u05e8\u05b6\u05d1 \u05e2\u05d5\u05bc\u05e8\u05b4\u05d9 \u05e2\u05b7\u05dc\u05be\u05e8\u05b9\u05e2\u05b4\u05d9 \u05d5\u05b0\u05e2\u05b7\u05dc\u05be\u05d2\u05b6\u05bc\u05d1\u05b6\u05e8 \u05e2\u05b2\u05de\u05b4\u05d9\u05ea\u05b4\u05d9 \u05e0\u05b0\u05d0\u05bb\u05dd \u05d9\u05b0\u05d4\u05d5\u05b8\u05d4 \u05e6\u05b0\u05d1\u05b8\u05d0\u05d5\u05b9\u05ea \u05d4\u05b7\u05da\u05b0 \u05d0\u05b6\u05ea\u05be\u05d4\u05b8\u05e8\u05b9\u05e2\u05b6\u05d4 \u05d5\u05bc\u05ea\u05b0\u05e4\u05d5\u05bc\u05e6\u05b6\u05d9\u05df\u05b8 \u05d4\u05b7\u05e6\u05b9\u05bc\u05d0\u05df \u05d5\u05b7\u05d4\u05b2\u05e9\u05b4\u05c1\u05d1\u05b9\u05ea\u05b4\u05d9 \u05d9\u05b8\u05d3\u05b4\u05d9 \u05e2\u05b7\u05dc\u05be\u05d4\u05b7\u05e6\u05b9\u05bc\u05e2\u05b2\u05e8\u05b4\u05d9\u05dd\u05c3
\nZECHARIAH 13:7 is a one verse summary of the whole of Zechariah chapter 11. The Shepherd of verse 13:7 is the Good Shepherd of 11:4\u201314. This verse again states that Messiah will be a God-Man. The humanity of Messiah is obvious: \u201c\u2026 and against the man \u2026\u201d The words which follow are never adequately translated into English and so the divinity of Messiah is not made obvious. What is translated as \u201cmy associate\u201d is, in the Hebrew, \u201cmy equal.\u201d The verse should really read, \u201cand against the man, my equal,\u201d and of course in order to be equal with God, Messiah must actually be God. This may not be obvious in English translations, but is very clear in the original Hebrew.
\nThis verse also emphasizes the violent nature of Messiah\u2019s death and again states that His death will be the cause of the dispersion of Israel. The shepherd was struck in 30 a.d. when Jesus was crucified, and the sheep were scattered in 70 a.d. when Israel was dispersed. These words are applied to Jesus\u2019 disciples in Matthew 26:31\u201332 but the primary reference here is to the dispersion of 70 a.d. In verse 7b, even the little ones, the innocent common people, are to suffer because of the rejection of Messiah, the Good Shepherd, by the leaders of Israel.
\nZechariah 13:7
\nteaches that:
\nY Messiah would be a God-Man.
\nY Messiah\u2019s death would be violent.
\nY Messiah\u2019s death would cause the dispersion of Israel.
\nMalachi 3:1
\nThe Messenger of the King
\n3:1 \u201cBehold, I am going to send My messenger, and he will clear the way before Me. And the Lord, whom you seek, will suddenly come to His temple; and the messenger of the covenant, in whom you delight, behold, He is coming,\u201d says the Lord of hosts. (nasb)
\n3:1 \u05d4\u05b4\u05e0\u05b0\u05e0\u05b4\u05d9 \u05e9\u05b9\u05c1\u05dc\u05b5\u05d7\u05b7 \u05de\u05b7\u05dc\u05b0\u05d0\u05b8\u05db\u05b4\u05d9 \u05d5\u05bc\u05e4\u05b4\u05e0\u05b8\u05bc\u05d4\u05be\u05d3\u05b6\u05e8\u05b6\u05da\u05b0 \u05dc\u05b0\u05e4\u05b8\u05e0\u05b8\u05d9 \u05d5\u05bc\u05e4\u05b4\u05ea\u05b0\u05d0\u05b9\u05dd \u05d9\u05b8\u05d1\u05d5\u05b9\u05d0 \u05d0\u05b6\u05dc\u05be\u05d4\u05b5\u05d9\u05db\u05b8\u05dc\u05d5\u05b9 \u05d4\u05b8\u05d0\u05b8\u05d3\u05d5\u05b9\u05df \u05d0\u05b2\u05e9\u05b6\u05c1\u05e8\u05be\u05d0\u05b7\u05ea\u05b6\u05bc\u05dd \u05de\u05b0\u05d1\u05b7\u05e7\u05b0\u05e9\u05b4\u05c1\u05d9\u05dd \u05d5\u05bc\u05de\u05b7\u05dc\u05b0\u05d0\u05b7\u05da\u05b0 \u05d4\u05b7\u05d1\u05b0\u05bc\u05e8\u05b4\u05d9\u05ea \u05d0\u05b2\u05e9\u05b6\u05c1\u05e8\u05be\u05d0\u05b7\u05ea\u05b6\u05bc\u05dd \u05d7\u05b2\u05e4\u05b5\u05e6\u05b4\u05d9\u05dd \u05d4\u05b4\u05e0\u05b5\u05bc\u05d4\u05be\u05d1\u05b8\u05d0 \u05d0\u05b8\u05de\u05b7\u05e8 \u05d9\u05b0\u05d4\u05d5\u05b8\u05d4 \u05e6\u05b0\u05d1\u05b8\u05d0\u05d5\u05b9\u05ea\u05c3
\nONLY two prophecies in the Hebrew Scriptures deal with the forerunner of the Messiah. The first is in Isaiah 40:3\u20135, and the second is here in Malachi 3:1. The forerunner of Messiah\u2019s Second Coming is clearly identified in Malachi 4:5\u20136 as the Prophet Elijah. The forerunner of Messiah\u2019s First Coming, however, is never named, neither here nor in Isaiah. Only in the New Testament is he revealed as John the Baptist.
\n11:7 And as these were going away, Jesus began to speak to the multitudes about John, \u2026 10 \u201cThis is the one about whom it is written, \u2018Behold, I send My messenger before Your face, Who will prepare Your way before You.\u2019 11 \u201cTruly, I say to you, among those born of women there has not arisen anyone greater than John the Baptist; yet he who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.
\nMatthew 11:7a, 10, 11 (nasb)
\nMalachi is the last of the Old Testament prophets. His prophecy is the last revelation of God for 400 years. His name in Hebrew means \u201cmy messenger\u201d or \u201cmy angel.\u201d The Hebrew word for \u201cmy messenger\u201d in verse 3:1 is in fact malachi (\u05de\u05b7\u05dc\u05b0\u05d0\u05b8\u05db\u05b4\u05d9). The next prophetic voice to be heard in Israel, 400 years after Malachi, will be the voice of malachi, \u201cMy messenger\u201d\u2014John the Baptist.
\nThe rest of verse 1 talks about the First Coming of Messiah. It says that Messiah will suddenly come to His Temple. This is the Second Temple, rebuilt by Zerubabel and remodeled by Herod the Great. It was to this Temple that Jesus came, on two separate occasions, in order to cleanse it of money-changers (John 2:13\u201322; Matthew 21:12\u201313). The text specifically says \u201chis temple.\u201d This Temple belongs to Messiah. He has full rights to the Temple and can do with it as He pleases. When Jesus cleansed it He was exercising His lordship, His authority, His ownership. Verses 2\u20135 of this passage go on to talk about Messiah\u2019s cleansing of the people at His Second Coming.
\nMalachi 3:1
\nteaches that:
\nY Messiah\u2019s First Coming would be preceded by a herald.<\/p>\n
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