Sometimes we don’t miss a voice until it goes silent. At the end of the Old Testament there is a period of 400 years often referred to as “the silent years.” Years without any prophets or leaders whose words or lives were recorded in Scripture. Years where there was no voice from God. But before the silence, three rebuilding projects were completed; God’s temple, God’s City, and God’s people. God used the lower story of three godly men to move His Upper Story forward. Our promise keeping God would set the stage for the coming of His promised Redeemer. His plan to restore His creation was about to take a giant leap forward. But first the rebuilding.
The first wave of returning exiles rebuilt the temple; the 2nd and 3rd waves under Ezra and Nehemiah rebuilt the walls around Jerusalem and the hearts of the people. Nehemiah’s desire was that they rebuild the wall around Jerusalem for protection. God’s greater desire was to rebuild the hearts of his people.
One hundred and forty years had passed since God’s people had assembled as a nation united. Reunited again, the first thing the people wanted was to hear The Word of God. They knew they needed to refocus on God and to re-center their lives on His Word. They wanted to align their lives with God’s Upper Story; they wanted to join Him in what He was doing and they wanted to do life with God, not apart from Him.
Ezra read the Scriptures, the Levites interpreted it. (Apparently, some people had loss their ability to understand the Hebrew language.) Levites formed small groups throughout the crowd making sure the people understood what was being read. “They read from the Book of the Law of God, making it clear and giving the meaning so that the people understood what was being said.”
This is what The Story is doing for us; it’s making God’s Word clear so we can understand what God is saying. The Story helps each of us to refocus on God and to re-center our lives on His Word; to align our lives with His Word; to join Him in what He’s doing and to do life with God, not apart from Him.
So Ezra read the Word of God to the people. When they heard God’s Word they were broken and repented; their hearts were broken over what they had been missing; they wept at not having heard God’s Word; and as they heard His Word they were deeply grieved by their past rebellion and disobedience. They heard the word. They understood the word. They obeyed the word. And God rebuilt His people.
You can hear God’s voice in the same way these people did; through his Word. God’s Word can and will rebuild your life. God’s Word can refocus your heart on God and re-center your life on His truth. Hear His voice and align your life with God’s Upper Story; join Him in what He was doing and do life with God, not apart from Him. It all begins with hearing His voice.
Malachi closes out the Old Testament with God’s message of warning and of promise. Malachi prophesied the return of the prophet Elijah as a sign of things to come. God had restored His people and protected His faithful remnant. He had protected Judah’s royal line in keeping his promise to David. God speaks His final words of warning and promise through Malachi, and then God was silent. These are His final words for 400 yrs. God’s people would not hear from Him again until the promised Elijah would step forth as God’s next messenger.
Malachi is the last person to speak before the close of the OT. He tells us that the next prophet who is going to speak for God is going to introduce us to the One they’re waiting for; the One who will provide the once and for all solution for getting us back to God. The next prophet, one like Elijah will introduce us to the Messiah. Malachi foretells that the next time God speaks (which will be 400 yrs. later) it will be through the lips of John the Baptist, the one who would prepare the way for Christ to come.
