Bible Overview #5
Waiting for Jesus
We have been going through the whole Bible, focusing on specific Bible characters. Last week we focused on David, and throughout the whole story so far, we have been asking the same questions: Who is God? What is His character? And what does a relationship with God look like?
We’ve also been looking at what YWAM likes to call God’s redemptive plan—meaning that despite people’s sin, God promised to send a Savior through a human family line. Last week we saw how, through David’s kingly line, the Savior would be a King whose Kingdom would never end.
Many kings came and went after David, and Israel eventually split into two kingdoms. The north remained Israel, and the south was called Judah. There were more kings who led the people away from God than kings who led them toward Him. God raised up prophets to warn them that punishment was coming and to call them to repent—prophets like Jeremiah and Isaiah. But the Israelite people celebrated their sins, and justice was broken. They even worshipped other gods. As punishment, they were taken as slaves into enemy nations—Assyria and Babylon. However, just listen to God’s heartbreak in these verses:
Hosea 11:1–6
“When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called my son. But the more they were called, the more they went away from me. They sacrificed to the Baals and they burned incense to images. It was I who taught Ephraim to walk, taking them by the arms; but they did not realize it was I who healed them. I led them with cords of human kindness, with ties of love. To them I was like one who lifts a little child to the cheek, and I bent down to feed them. Will they not return to Egypt and will not Assyria rule over them because they refuse to repent? A sword will flash in their cities; it will devour their false prophets and put an end to their plans.”
Yet God did not abandon His people. He used prophets like Ezekiel and even Daniel to prophesy to His people and to the Babylonian leaders. Many prophets also spoke of a King who would come and rebuild the Kingdom and unite the peoples of all nations under Himself—and His Kingdom would have no end.
Zechariah 14:16
“And it shall come to pass that everyone who is left of all the nations which came against Jerusalem shall go up from year to year to worship the King, the Lord of hosts, and to keep the Feast of Tabernacles.”
In captivity, they took the Scriptures and taught them to each other. They never wanted to be punished like this again. So they read and memorized the Law and the Prophets to understand what they had done wrong and to avoid repeating it. This is where the Pharisees and teachers of the law began. When they finally returned from captivity to the land of Israel, something was different. God was now silent for 400 years, and His presence never entered the temple again. But God had a plan He was working, and He did not forget His promise.
Even bigger nations took over Israel, unifying languages and building roads through many lands. But these nations hated the people of Israel. The Israelites again cried out to the Lord for their King and Savior, promised from the beginning of time. God did hear them. And when everything was just right—when all His preparation was complete and in His perfect timing—He sent Jesus… but He did not come as a king. He did not come how they expected, but how they needed Him.
John 10:10
“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.”Isaiah 61:1
“The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners.”
God is a promise-keeping God. And His love is unconditional. So we have been answering the same questions every week, and please share those answers again this week. But I would like to ask new questions: Which characteristics do you see in yourself that reflect the character of God, and which ones do you need to work on? Be honest with yourself and ask God. I heard once that true humility is not only knowing your weaknesses but also seeing your strengths. Of course, you also have to rely on God in both, and it is for His glory, not your own.
