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In the Hebrew Bible, G-d declared to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob that their descendants would inherit a land of their own. In later biblical history, Scripture foretells of a future redemption which will be brought about through an anointed agent of the Lord. Such a kingly figure, the early prophets maintained, would be a descendant of David and that his throne would be secure for all time. Eventually there arose the view that the house of David would rule over both the Northern and Southern Kingdoms as well as neighboring peoples. Later the eighth-century prophets such as Amos and Hosea predicted the destruction of the nation because of its iniquity, yet in accordance with the divine promise they prophesied that there would be an ingathering of the exiles and the dominance of the Israelites over surrounding nations. Such suffering was to serve as a means of moral reform: Israel is to endure devastation before such redemption can take place. Then the Lord will have compassion upon his chosen people and return them to their former glory. This message of destruction and restoration continued in the ministries of later pre-exilic prophets: for such figures as Isaiah, Micah, Zephaniah and Jeremiah G-d would in time deliver the Israelites - they would not be cut off forever. A new redemption, they proclaimed, would bring about a new spiritual life. In the post-exilic period, the message of hope and consolation was a predominant theme: again the prophets reassured the nation that G-d would be reunited with his people and Zion would undergo future glory. The theme of a future redemption was echoed in the Psalms: there, too, the promise of a future king became a predominant theme. Finally, the Book of Daniel predicts the coming of a divinely appointed deliverer-the Son of Man is to be given dominion over all the earth.
The term 'Messiah' is an adaptation of the Hebrew HaMashiah ('the Anointed'); in time it came to refer to the redeemer at the End of Days. Although there are no explicit references to such a figure in the Torah, the notion of the redemption of the Jewish nation is alluded to in the promises made to the patriarchs. Thus, in the Book of Genesis, Abraham is told that he will be the father of a multitude:
And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and him who curses you I will curse; and by you all the families of the earth shall bless themselves. (Genesis 12:2-3)
Again, in Genesis 26:3-4 Abraham's son Isaac is told that his descendants will be as numerous as the stars and that through them all nations will be blessed:
I will give all these lands, and I will fulfill the oath which I swore to Abraham your father. I will multiply your descendants as the stars of heaven, and will give to your descendants all these lands; and by your descendants all the nations of the earth shall bless themselves.
Finally, Isaac's son Jacob is reassured in a dream that his offspring will be as the dust of the earth, the source of G-d's blessing to all peoples:
And he (Jacob) dreamed that there was a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven; and behold, the angels of G-d were ascending and descending on it! And behold, the Lord stood above it and said, 'I am the Lord, the G-d of Abraham your father and the G-d of Isaac; the land on which you lie I will give to you and to your descendants; and your descendants shall be like the dust of the earth, and you shall spread abroad to the west and to the east and to the north and to the south; and by you and your descendants shall all the families of the earth bless themselves.' (Genesis 28:12-14)
Although these verses do not express a clear conception of the Messiah, they form the background to the evolution of the doctrine of the deliverance of the nation.
In the Book of Samuel the notion of redemption through a divinely appointed agent was explicitly expressed: here Scripture asserts that the Lord had chosen David and his descendants to reign over Israel to the end of time. Thus 2 Samuel 23 proclaims:
Now these are the last words of David: The oracle of David, the son of Jesse, ... the anointed of the G-d of Jacob ... The G-d of Israel has spoken, the Rock of Israel has said to me: When one rules justly over men, ruling in the fear of G-d .... Yea, does not my house stand so with G-d? For he has made with me an everlasting covenant, ordered in all things and secure. (2 Samuel 23:1, 3, 5)
In this passage David is depicted as the anointed in the sense that he was consecrated for a divine purpose.
Of similar significance are the verses in 2 Samuel and 1 Chronicles where Nathan the prophet assured the king that his throne would be established for all time and that his throne would be secure forever. Speaking to David about the construction of the Temple, he declared:
Thus says the Lord of hosts, I took you from the pasture, front following the sheep, that you should be prince over my people Israel; and I have been with you wherever you went, and have cut off all your enemies from before you; anti I will make for you a great name, like the name of the great ones of the earth. And I will appoint a place for my people Israel, and will plant them, that they may dwell in their own place ...(2 Samuel 7:8-10)
This early biblical doctrine assumed that David's position would endure through his lifetime and would be inherited by a series of successors who would carry out G-d's providential plan. With the fall of the Davidic empire after the death of King Solomon, there arose the view that the house of David would eventually rule over the two divided kingdoms as well as neighboring peoples. In the words of the eighth-century prophet Amos:
'In that day I will raise up the booth of David that is fallen and repair its breaches, and raise up its ruins, and rebuild it as in the days of old; that they possess the remnant of Edom and all the nations who are called by my name,' says the Lord who does this. (Amos 9:11-12)
Yet despite such a hopeful vision of Israel's future, the pre-exilic prophets were convinced that the nation would be punished for its iniquity. Warning the people of impending disaster, Amos spoke of the Day of the Lord when G-d would unleash his fury against those who had rebelled against Him. This would not be a time of deliverance, but of destruction:
'Woe to you who desire the day of the Lord!', he declared. 'Why would you have the day of the Lord? It is darkness, and not light' (Amos 5:18).
Here the prophet portrayed such a day in the most negative terms:
Therefore thus says the Lord, the G-d of hosts, the Lord: 'In all the squares there shall be wailing; and in all the streets they shall say, "Alas! alas!" They shall call the farmers to mourning and to wailing those who are skilled in lamentation, and in all vineyards there shall be wailing; for I will pass through the midst of you'. (Amos 5:16-17)
For Amos the Day of the Lord will be bitter - feasts will be turned into mourning and songs to lamentation (Amos 8:10). Those who are secure in Samaria will go into captivity, and Israel will be driven into exile (Amos 6:7; 7:17).
For Amos, then, the Day of the Lord is the necessary result of sin: this fearful prediction serves as the backdrop to deliverance. Before Israel can be redeemed, the nation is to suffer exile, destruction and slaughter. Only after such terrible events will the house of David be restored to its former glory and the kings of the house of David rule over the ten tribes. At the time of salvation there will be an ingathering of the exiles and Israel will rule over all foreign powers.
Like Amos, Hosea believed that G-d would punish his people for their sinfulness. Predicting the end of the Northern Kingdom, he prophesied that the people will be exiled to Assyria and Egypt:
They shall not remain in the land of the Lord; but Ephraim shall return to Egypt, and they shall eat unclean food in Assyria. (Hosea 9:3)
Such suffering, however, is to serve as the means to moral reform. Israel is to endure the pangs of childbirth before redemption can come (Hosea 13:13). Such chastisement is to bring about repentance and dedication to the covenant. Then the Lord will have mercy on his chosen people and exalt them among the nations:
Hosea 6:1-3 1 Come, and let us return unto the LORD: for he hath torn, and he will heal us; he hath smitten, and he will bind us up. 2 After two days will he revive us: in the third day he will raise us up, and we shall live in his sight. 3 Then shall we know, if we follow on to know the LORD: his going forth is prepared as the morning; and he shall come unto us as the rain, as the latter and former rain unto the earth. (KJV)
There is thus a direct link between destruction and redemption. According to Hosea, although the people shall be deprived of their king this situation will change once the Israelites mend their ways and return to the Lord:
For the children of Israel shall dwell many days without king or prince, without sacrifice or pillar, without ephod or teraphim. Afterward the children of Israel shall return and seek the Lord their G-d, and David their king; and they shall come in fear to the Lord and to his goodness in the latter days. (Hosea 3:4-5)
Echoing Amos, Hosea predicted that the Day of the Lord will be great and abundant: it will result in earthly prosperity and bliss:
I will be as the dew to Israel; he shall blossom as the lily, he shall strike root as the poplar; his shoots shall spread out; his beauty shall be like the olive, and his fragrance like Lebanon. They shall return and dwell beneath my shadow, they shall flourish as a garden. (Hosea 14:5-7)
The captives and the exiles shall return to their own land, and in another passage Hosea prophesied that the order of nature will be fundamentally altered:
'And I will make for you a covenant on that day with the beasts of the field, the birds of the air, and the creeping things of the ground; and I will abolish the bow, the sword, and war from the land; and I will make you lie down in safety, (Hosea 2:18).
Here in embryonic form is the concept of perfect peace in the end of days. Drawing faith from the closing chapters in the history of Northern Israel, both Amos and Hosea predicted a future age in which the glories of the Lord would be manifest in the land.
The Book of Isaiah begins by explaining that what follows is an account of the prophesies of Isaiah concerning Judah and Jerusalem. In the first prophetic oracle the prophet presents G-d as disappointed with his people because of their iniquity. Nonetheless he predicted the eventual triumph of G-d's kingdom on earth:
It shall come to pass in the latter days that the mountain of the house of the Ford shall be established as the highest of the mountains, and shall be raised above the hills; and all the nations shall flow to it, and many peoples shall come, and say: 'Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the G-d of Jacob; that he may teach us his ways and that we may walk in his paths.' For out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. He shall judge between the nations, and shall decide for many peoples; and they shall beat their swords into ploughshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more. (Isaiah 2:2-4)
This future vision, however, is overshadowed by calamity. In chapter 2 Isaiah levelled criticism against idolatry, foretelling that such rebellion against G-d will bring about the destruction of the Temple. After discussing the place of Assyria in G-d's providential plan of devastation, Isaiah returned to the promise of salvation. A child will be born, he stated, who will be the Prince of Peace yet this promise is placed into the context of G-d's dissatisfaction with his people. According to the prophet, G-d will use Assyria as an instrument of punishment. Only a faithful remnant will remain, from which a redeemer will issue forth to bring about a new epoch in the nation's history:
There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots. And the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him ... He shall not judge by what his eyes see, or decide by what his ears hear; but with righteousness he shall judge the poor, and decide with equity for the meek of the earth; ... The wolf shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid, and the calf and the lion and the fatling together. (Isaiah 11:1-2, 3-4, 6)
In another passage, the prophet presented a song of praise which is to be sung on the day of Israel's redemption:
In that day this song will be sung in the land of Judah: 'We have a strong city; he sets up salvation as walls and bulwarks. Open the gates, that the righteous nation which keeps faith may enter in. Thou doth keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee Trust in the Lord for ever, for the Lord G-d is an everlasting rock.' (Isaiah 26:1-4)
A contemporary of Isaiah, the prophet Micah prophesied in the Southern Kingdom from 750 to 686 B.C.E. Condemning both Samaria and Judah for their wickedness, he declared that G-d will bring about judgment of the people: Samaria will be reunited and the places of idolatry destroyed. Yet despite this dire prediction, the prophet wished to reassure the nation that it would not be utterly cut off. G-d, he stated, has a purpose for them in the future:
I will surely gather all of you, O Jacob, I will gather the remnant of Israel; I will set them together like sheep in a fold, like a flock in its pasture, a noisy multitude of men. (Micah 2:12)
Confident in the restoration of the people, he looked forward to an age of prosperity and fulfillment. Like Isaiah he predicted a time of messianic redemption. All nations, he declared, will go to the mountain of the Lord and dwell together in peace; in those days swords will be turned into ploughshares and each man will sit under his vine and fig tree:
For out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. He shall judge between many peoples, and shall decide for strong nations afar off; and they shall beat their swords into ploughshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more; but they shall sit every man under his vine and under his fig tree, and none shall make them afraid. (Micah 4:2-4)
The prophet Zephaniah was active in Judah during the reign of Josiah in about 625 B.C.E. Like the prophetic figures who preceded him, he warned against the nation's unfaithfulness: in his view, impending destruction would be the result of sinfulness. The great Day of the Lord is at hand, the prophet announced - it will be a time not of fulfillment but of calamity:
a day of distress and anguish, a day of ruin and devastation, a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and thick darkness, a day of trumpet blast and battle cry against the fortified cities and against the lofty battlements. (Zephaniah 1:15-16)
Nothing will be able to prevent this outpouring of G-d's wrath; nonetheless, such devastation will not totally overwhelm the people. In the final part of his book, Zephaniah called on the Israelites to wait for G-d's vindication: he will gather the nations and pour out the heat of his anger. But at that time he will change the speech of all nations so that they will call on the name of the Lord and serve him with one accord. Knowing that their chastening is over, the people can exult. Certain of G-d's loving kindness, the nation can look forward to restoration and renewal.
'Sing aloud, O daughter of Zion,' he declared. 'Shout, O Israel! Rejoice and exult with all your heart, O daughter of Jerusalem' (Zephaniah 3:14). Confident of the future, the prophet declared in G-d's name:
'Behold, at the time I will deal with all your oppressors. And I will save the lame and gather the outcast, and I will change their shame into praise and renown in all the earth. At that time I will bring you home, at the time when I gather you together; yea, I will make you renowned and praised among all the peoples of the earth, when I restore your fortunes before your eyes,' says the Lord. (Zephaniah 3:19-20)
In 626 B.C.E. Jeremiah was commissioned as a prophet during the reign of Josiah - his ministry continued until the destruction of Judah. Jeremiah's earliest prophecies date from the time of Josiah: Judah, he stated, had forsaken G-d and in consequence will be punished. What is now required is repentance: if the inhabitants refuse, G-d will send forth an invader to subdue the country:
Flee for safety, O people of Benjamin, from the midst of Jerusalem! Blow the trumpet in Tekoa and raise a signal on Beth-hac-cherem; for evil looms out of the north. (Jeremiah 6:1)
Although persuaded that the country was doomed, Jeremiah was certain that the Lord will not completely destroy his people: a remnant will return with a new king at its head:
Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, and he shall reign as king and deal wisely, and shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. In his days Judah will be saved, and Israel will dwell securely. (Jeremiah 23:5-6)
In his view, this new redemption will bring a new spiritual life for the Israelites. The Lord will create a new heart for his people and pour out a new spirit upon them:
Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, not like the covenant which I made with their fathers when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, my covenant which they broke, though I was their husband, says the Lord. But this is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put my law within them, and I will write it upon their hearts; and I will be their G-d, and they shall be my people. (Jeremiah 31:31-33)
For Jeremiah, in this blissful time a noble king filled with fear of the Lord will rule over the people:
Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will fulfill the promise I made to the house of Israel and the house of Judah. In those days and at that time I will cause a righteous Branch to spring forth for David; and he shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. In those days Judah will be saved and Jerusalem will dwell securely. And this is the name by which it will be called: 'The Lord is our righteousness.' (Jeremiah 33:14-16)
Dwelling in Babylon, the prophet Ezekiel began his ministry seven years before the conquest of Jerusalem. Like the earlier prophets, he castigated the Jewish people for their iniquity - because they had turned away from G-d further punishment will be inflicted upon them. Yet, despite the departure of G-d's glory from the Temple, Ezekiel reassured the nation that it will not be abandoned:
'Thus says the Lord G-d: I will gather you from the peoples, and assemble you out of the countries where you have been scattered, and I will give you the land of Israel' (Ezekiel 11:17).
In this spirit the prophet offered words of comfort and hope after the fall of Judah. In his view, G-d takes no pleasure in the death of sinners; what he requires instead is a contrite heart. Using the image of a shepherd and his flock, Ezekiel reassuringly declared that G-d will gather his people from exile and return them to the Promised Land:
For thus says the Lord G-d: Behold, I, I myself will search for my sheep, and will seek them out. As a shepherd seeks out his flock when some of his sheep have been scattered abroad, so will I seek out my sheep; and I will rescue them from all places where they have been scattered on a day of clouds and thick darkness. (Ezekiel 34: 11-12).
This prophecy is followed by a further vision of restoration - the Lord promises that cities will be reinhabited and their ruins rebuilt. Such national restoration, the prophet continued, will be accompanied by personal dedication to the law. This reassurance was reinforced by Ezekiel's vision of dry bones: although the nation had been devastated, it will be renewed in a further deliverance:
As I prophesied, there was a noise, and behold, a rattling; and the bones came together, bone to its bone. And as I looked, there were sinews on them, and flesh had come upon them, and skin had covered them ... Then he said to me, 'Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. Behold, they say, "Our bones are dried up, and our hope is lost; we are clean cut off." Therefore prophesy, and say to them, Thus says the Lord Cod: Behold, I will open your graves, and raise you from your graves, O my people; and I will bring you home into the land of Israel . .. And I will put my Spirit within you, and you shall live, and I will place you in your own land ...' (Ezekiel 37:7-8,11, 14)
This vision is followed by a description of a future king who will rule over his people. Under his dominion Jerusalem will benefit from the promises of the covenant:
My servant David shall be king over them; and they shall all have one shepherd. They shall follow my ordinances and be careful to observe my statutes. They shall dwell in the land where your fathers dwelt that I gave to my servant Jacob; they and their children and their children's children shall dwell there for ever; and David my servant shall be their prince for ever. (Ezekiel 37:24-25)
Like Ezekiel, Second Isaiah was anxious to offer words of consolation to those who had experienced the destruction of Judah. In place of oracles of denunciation, the prophet offered the promise of hope and restoration. According to Second Isaiah, the Lord will return in triumph to Jerusalem as a shepherd leading his flock:
'He will feed his flock like a shepherd, he will gather the lambs in his arms, he will carry them in his bosom, and gently lead those that are with young' (Isaiah 40: 11).
All the world will witness this act of deliverance and declare that the G-d of Israel is Lord.
In chapter 49 the prophet depicted the servant of the Lord through whom salvation will be brought to the ends of the earth - he (singular pronoun referring to the whole of the nation) will be mocked and despised. This theme is further developed in chapter 53:
He (singular pronoun referring to the nation) was despised and rejected by men; a man (singular pronoun again referring to the nation) of sorrows, and acquainted with grief, and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we (Gentile kings are speaking) esteemed him not. Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by G-d, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that made us whole, and with his stripes we are healed. (Isaiah 53:.3-5)
Second Isaiah concluded with a vision of the future glory of Zion: G-d will be reunited with his people, and all will be fulfilled.
Echoing the predictions about the restoration of Zion in Second Isaiah, Third Isaiah emphasized the role of the Jewish people in G-d's providential plan. Through Israel's redemption all nations will be blessed, and the Temple will become a focus of worship for all peoples. Chapter 60 continues with a description of the glory of Zion. Jerusalem will be honored throughout the world because of G-d's greatness. This theme is developed in the next chapter which speaks of a figure on whom the Spirit of G-d will rest; he will liberate all captives, bring tidings to the afflicted, and rebuild Zion:
The Spirit of the Lord G-d is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me to bring good tidings to the afflicted; he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound; ... They shall build up the ancient ruins, they shall raise up the former devastations; they shall repair the ruined cities, the devastations of many generations. (Isaiah 61:1, 4)
At this time Jerusalem will be acknowledged as the place where the Lord's redeemed dwell. Although G-d will judge those who have been unfaithful, the promise of restoration is offered to all who are loyal to him. Here Third Isaiah spoke of a new heaven and a new earth that will be created at the end of days:
'For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth; and the former things shall not be remembered or come into meld. But be glad and rejoice for ever in that which I create; for behold, I crease Jerusalem a rejoicing, and her people a joy . . .The wolf and the lamb shall feed together, the lion shall eat straw like the ox; and dust shall be the serpent's food. They shall not hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain.' (Isaiah 65: 17-18,25)
The prophet Haggai, together with Zerubbabel, engaged in the rebuilding of the Temple. In a series of discourses he described the glories of the rebuilt Temple. G-d, he declared, is with his people. No longer is he determined that they should be punished because of their iniquities as he was when he used the Assyrians and Babylonians to accomplish his purposes. G-d, he stated, will be victorious over Israel's enemies. In this context, he emphasized that the Lord has chosen Zerubbabel as his servant- he is to be G-d's signet ring:
The word of the Lord came a second time to Haggai on the twenty-fourth day of the month, 'Speak to Zerubbabel, governor of Judah, saying, I am about to shake the heavens and the earth, and to overthrow the throne of kingdoms; I am about to destroy the strength of the kingdoms of the nations, anti overthrow the chariots and their riders; and the horses and their riders shall go down, every one by the sword of his fellow. On that day, says the Lord of hosts, 1 will take you, O Zerubbabel my servant, the son of She-alti-el, says the Lord, and make you like a signet ring; for I have chosen you, says the Ford of hosts.' (Haggai 2:20-2.3)
Zechariah, a contemporary of Haggai, also focused on the importance of rebuilding the Temple. Although the Lord had punished Judah by sending its inhabitants into exile for seventy years, the nation has suffered sufficiently. Now G-d's mercies will be made known to his chosen people - the land will prosper and G-d's dwelling will be established in Jerusalem. Prophesying about such a glorious future, Zechariah foretold that a king will come who will reign over the people. In a vision of hope, the prophet described this messianic figure who will be a descendant of David. He shall enter the city in triumph riding upon an ass:
'Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem! Lo, your king comes to you; triumphant and victorious is he, humble and riding on an ass, on a colt the foal of an ass' (Zechariah 9:9).
According to Zechariah, G-d will redeem his people - he will strengthen them and bring them back to Zion; the inhabitants of Jerusalem shall be as though they had never been rejected:
I will signal for them and gather them in, for I have redeemed them, and they shall be as many as of old. Though I scattered them among the nations, yet in far countries they shall remember me, and with their children they shall live and return. (Zechariah 10:8-9)
Like Haggai and Zechariah, the prophet Malachi was a post-exilic prophet who was active after the exiles returned from Babylonia. In his view, Israel's sinfulness caused the Lord great distress. In order to remedy such transgression, G-d resolved to send his messenger to prepare the way for the Lord's entry into his Temple:
'Behold I send my messenger to prepare the way before me, and the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple; the messenger of the covenant in whom you delight; behold he is coming, says the Lord of hosts' (Malachi 3:1).
However, because of their iniquity the people will not be able to deal with such a message - the coming of the Lord will thus not bring about Israel's redemption. Rather, it will be like a refiner's fire which will purify the nation.
The prophet insists that the promise of G-d's forgiveness and restoration will be fulfilled. Even though Israel has been iniquitous, G-d will return to his people if they seek him. In a final section of the book, Malachi described the Day of the Lord: it will be a time of destruction for the wicked and reward for those who fear his name. In conclusion Malachi announced that G-d will send the prophet Elijah before the Day of the Lord so that the nation will be reconciled:
Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and terrible day of the Lord comes. And he will turn the hearts of the fathers to their children and the hearts of children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the land with a curse. (Malachi 4:5-6)
In addition to predictions about a future redemption of Israel found in the prophetic writings, the Book of Psalms contains numerous references to divine deliverance. The first of the messianic psalms begins with tumult. The world is in agitation - kings and princes have rebelled against G-d and his anointed. Yet, the Lord will prevail:
He who sits in the heavens laughs; the Lord has them in derision. Then he will speak to them in his wrath, and terrify them in his fury, saying, 'I have set my king on Zion, my holy hill.' I will tell of the decree of the Lord: He said to me, 'You are my son, today I have begotten you. Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage, and the ends of the earth your possession.' (Psalm 2:4-5)
The allusion to the enthronement of the king is echoed in Psalm 110; here there is the same promise of victory over the enemies of the Lord:
The Lord says to my lord: 'Sit at my right hand, till I make your enemies your footstool.' The Lord sends forth from Zion your mighty sceptre. Rule in the midst of your foes! (Psalm 110:1-2)
The subsequent verses promise defeat of Israel's enemies:
He will execute judgment among the nations, filling them with corpses; he will shatter chiefs over the wide earth. (Psalm 110:6)
Other Psalms, traditionally attributed to King Solomon, present a different picture of this future king: he is the righteous ruler and the guarantee of the nation's prosperity:
Give the king thy justice, O G-d, and thy righteousness to the royal son! May he judge thy people with righteousness, and thy poor with justice! Let the mountains bear prosperity for the people, and the hills, in righteousness! May he defend the cause of the poor of the people, give deliverance to the needy, and crush the oppressor! (Psalm 72:1-4)
For the Psalmist there is a fundamental link between the righteousness of the king and the fruitfulness of the land. Repeatedly the moral character of his rule is expressed:
For he delivers the needy when he calls, the poor and him who has no helper. He has pity on the weak and the needy, and saves the lives of the needy. From oppression and violence he redeems their life; and precious is their blood in his sight. (Psalm 72:112-14)
Continuing the theme of kingly rule, Psalm 21 states that the king is G-d's beloved whom he has given long life, victory, glory and majesty:
Thou has given him his heart's desire, and has not withheld the request of his lips. For thou doth meet him with goodly blessings; thou doth set a crown of fine gold upon his head. He asked life of thee; thou gayest it to him, length of days for ever and ever. His glory is great through thy help; splendor and majesty thou doth bestow upon him. Yea, thou doth make him most blessed for ever; thou doth make him glad with the joy of thy presence. (Psalm 21:2-6)
Connected with this notion of kingly rule, Psalm 132 contains G-d's promise to David that a scion of his dynasty will always reign in Israel:
The Lord swore to David a sure oath from which he will not turn back: 'One of the sons of your body I will set on your throne. If your sons keep my covenant and my testimonies which I shall teach them, their sons also for ever shall sit upon your throne.' (Psalm 132:11-12)
In summary then the Book of Psalms depicts the king as the Anointed of the Lord; he is placed by the Lord on his throne, proclaimed as his son, and appointed to maintain righteousness and justice throughout the land. Through his actions he conveys divine blessing to his people, fertility to the soil, and victory over foreign powers. Ruling over the entire world, his throne is established for all time.
Turning from the Psalms to the Book of Daniel, a different picture is given of such a divinely anointed deliverer. According to tradition, Daniel lived in Babylonia In the sixth century B.C.E. during the final days of the Babylonian empire; most scholars, however, contend that the book was written in the second century B.C.E. Chapters 7 to 12 consist of a series of dreams foretelling future events. The first was a vision of beasts - a lion, a bear, a leopard and another creature terrifying in appearance. Each of these beasts symbolizes an empire: the lion corresponds to Babylonia; the bear the Medo-Persian empire; the leopard that of Alexander the Great; the fourth Rome. The theme is that Babylonia will be succeeded by these other empires until G-d's everlasting reign will be established. Here Daniel referred to one like the Son of Man who will be given dominion over all the earth:
I saw in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven there came one like a son of man, and he came to the Ancient of Days and was presented before him. And to him was given dominion and glory and kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him; his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom one that shall not be destroyed. (Daniel 7:13-14)
In the next vision a ram representing the Medo-Persian kings is succeeded by a goat-this denotes the king of the empire established by Alexander the Great. According to some scholars Daniel 8:23-25 refers to the coming of the Syrian King Antiochus IV, an enemy of the Jews:
'And at the latter end of their rule, when the transgressors have reached their full measure, a king of bold countenance, one who understands riddles, shall arise. His power shall be great, and he shall cause fearful destruction, and shall succeed in what he does, and destroy mighty men and the people of the saints.'
These visions are followed by Daniel's prayer for deliverance despite the Israelites' sinfulness. Here Daniel appealed to G-d's mercy to deliver his people from their plight. In a response, Daniel was assured concerning the future of Jerusalem and the coming of the Anointed One:
Seventy weeks of years are decreed concerning your people and your holy city, to finish the transgression, to put an end to sin, and to atone for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal both vision and prophet, and to anoint a most holy place. Know therefore and understand that from the going forth of the word to restore and build Jerusalem to the coming of an anointed one, a prince, there shall be seven weeks. (Daniel 9:24-25)
This supplication is followed in chapter 10 by a vision of the last days. On the twenty-fourth day of the first months a man clothed in linen whose loins were girded with rich gold of Uphaz appeared on the Tigris. In a series of speeches, he strengthened and encouraged Daniel, revealing to him later kings who would reign during the period of Greek rule. This passage is followed by prophecies concerning an unknown king, and a final assurance that the Lord will remain faithful to his people:
And there shall be a time of trouble, such as never has been since there was a nation till that time; but at that time your people shall be delivered, every one whose name shall be found written in the book. And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt. And those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the firmament; and those who turn many to righteousness, like the stars for ever and ever. (Daniel 12:1-3)
There you have it...a composite picture of what the Jewish people expected. This again is the same picture the non-Jewish believer must examine to find the truths about the coming Messiah. Shalom
Bennoah1@verizon.net