“400 years of silence did not mean that God was on vacation.   He was busy fulfilling prophesy and paving the way for the Son’s appearance.  During that time  Israel was overtaken by the Medo-Persia,  Greek, and  Roman empires.  After the two exiles (2 Kings 17:23; 2 Kings 25:21) the majority of Israelites had not returned to Judah and  were settled outside of Palestine by the first century AD.”

I love this season as we  think about  the birth of Christ and reflect on the Old Testament predictions of His coming.   But have you ever wondered what God was doing between the two Testaments?

The gap between the Old and New Testament has been called “The 400 Silent Years” because God had stopped communicating directly with His people.   The book of Malachi was written around 430 BC and closes with a prophesy remarkably similar to the first divine communication recorded in the New Testament:

Malachi 4:5-6 says, “Behold, I am going to send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and terrible day of the LORD.  He will restore the hearts of the fathers to their children and the hearts of the children to their fathers, so that I will not come and smite the land with a curse”

Now fast forward four centuries to when the Angel Gabriel appears,

“Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for  your prayer has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and  you shall call his name John.   …and  he will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and  the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready for the Lord a people prepared.” (Luke 1:13)

But the 400 years of silence did not mean that God was on vacation.   He was busy fulfilling prophesy and paving the way for the Son’s appearance.  During that time  Israel was overtaken by the Medo-Persia,  Greek, and  Roman empires.    After the two exiles (2 Kings 17:23; 2 Kings 25:21) the majority of Israelites had not returned to Judah and  were settled outside of Palestine by the first century AD.

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