For more than a thousand years the Jewish people had awaited the Saviour’s coming. And yet at His coming they knew Him not. They saw in Him no beauty that they should desire Him. See Isaiah 53:2. “He came unto His own, and His own received Him not.” John 1:11.
(HLv 17.1)
God had chosen Israel to preserve among men the symbols and prophecies that pointed to the Saviour, to be as wells of salvation to the world. The Hebrew people were to reveal God among the nations. In the call of Abraham the Lord had said, “In thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.” Genesis 12:3. The Lord declared through Isaiah, “Mine house shall be called an house of prayer for all peoples.” Isaiah 56:7, RV.
(HLv 17.2)
But Israel fixed their hopes on worldly greatness and followed the ways of the heathen. In vain God sent them warning by His prophets. In vain they suffered the chastisement of heathen oppression. Every reformation was followed by deeper apostasy.
(HLv 17.3)
Had Israel been true to God, He would have made them “high above all nations which He hath made, in praise, and in name, and in honor.”“The nations, which shall hear all these statutes,” shall say, “Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.” Deuteronomy 26:19; 4:6.
(HLv 17.4)
But because of their unfaithfulness, God’s purpose could be wrought only through adversity and affliction. They were brought to Babylon and scattered through the lands of the heathen. While they mourned for the holy temple that was laid waste, through them a knowledge of God was spread among the nations. Heathen systems of sacrifice were a perversion of the system God had appointed; from the Hebrews many learned the meaning of the service divinely ordained, and in faith grasped the promise of a Redeemer.
(HLv 17.5)
Not a few exiles lost their lives because of their refusal to disregard the Sabbath and to observe heathen festivals. As idolaters were roused to crush out the truth, the Lord brought His servants face to face with kings and rulers, that they and their people might receive light. The greatest monarchs were led to proclaim the supremacy of the God whom their Hebrew captives worshiped.
(HLv 18.1)
During the centuries that followed the Babylonish captivity, the Israelites were cured of the worship of graven images, and their conviction became fixed that their prosperity depended on obedience to the law of God. But with many of the people the motive was selfish. They rendered service to God as the means of attaining national greatness. They did not become the light of the world but shut themselves away in order to escape temptation. God had placed restrictions on association with idolaters to prevent them from conforming to the practices of the heathen. But this teaching had been misinterpreted. It was used to build up a wall between Israel and other nations. The Jews were actually jealous lest the Lord should show mercy to the Gentiles!
(HLv 18.2)
After the return from Babylon, all over the country synagogues were erected, where the law was expounded by priests and scribes. Schools professed to teach the principles of righteousness. But during the captivity, many of the people had received heathen ideas, and these were brought into their religious service.
(HLv 18.3)
The ritual service had been instituted by Christ Himself. It was a symbol of Him, full of vitality and spiritual beauty. But the Jews lost the spiritual life from their ceremonies and trusted the sacrifices and ordinances themselves, instead of Him to whom they pointed. To supply that which they had lost, the priests and rabbis multiplied requirements of their own; and the more rigid they grew, the less of the love of God was manifested.
(HLv 18.4)
Those who tried to observe the minute and burdensome rabbinical precepts could find no rest from a troubled conscience. Thus Satan worked to discourage the people, to lower their conception of the character of God, and to bring the faith of Israel into contempt. He hoped to establish the claim that the requirements of God could not be obeyed. Even Israel, he declared, did not keep the law.
(HLv 19.1)
The Jews had no true concept of the Messiah’s mission. They did not seek redemption from sin, but deliverance from the Romans. They looked for the Messiah to exalt Israel to universal dominion. Thus the way was prepared to reject the Saviour.
(HLv 19.2)
At the birth of Christ the nation was chafing under the rule of foreign masters and was racked with internal strife. The Romans appointed and removed the high priest, and the office was often secured by bribery and even murder. Thus the priesthood became more and more corrupt. The people were subjected to merciless demands, and were also heavily taxed by the Romans. Widespread discontent, greed, violence, distrust, and spiritual apathy were eating out the heart of the nation. In their darkness and oppression, the people longed for One who would restore the kingdom to Israel. They had studied the prophecies, but without spiritual insight. Thus they interpreted prophecy in accordance with their selfish desires.
(HLv 19.3)