Advent Journey - Following the Seed From Eden to Bethlehem Shembull

Day 23

SILENT NIGHTS

Abiud (54), Eliakim (55), Azor (56), Sadoc (57), Achim (58), Eliud (59), Eleazar (60), Matthan (61), Jacob (62)  

After the prophet Malachi, there were roughly 400 years of silent nights. Not the kind of peaceful evening we think of at the manger scene, where a mother cuddles her newborn Christ child.

I’m talking about the roughly 146,000 days of silence from God.

There are no biblical accounts to report between the last prophet Malachi and the Gospels (between the Old and New Testaments.) No prophet stirrings. No angel appearances. Nothing. 

But guess what? Bible genealogies do give us some nuggets from this era. The Seed carriers! That shouldn’t be surprising for us Advent Journey folks.

How special is it to know that the only mention of the 400-year silence is the fathers in line of the Seed!

Matthew’s genealogy mentions nine fathers that carry the Seed forward from Zerubbabel. We know nothing else about these men. The fact that we have their names says something about God’s desire for us to have this precious Seed history.  

If you read Luke’s genealogical account (Chapter 3), you’ll notice different names mentioned for this “silent” period. That’s because Luke reports the genealogy for Mary, while Matthew reports the genealogy for Joseph.

Mary is also from the tribe of Judah, child of King David – but her lineage traces to David’s son, Nathan. Because Joseph is in the line of the kings (Solomon), the Bible is focused on that path. 

Remember, Jesus comes from a line of kings. 

Reflections:

Don’t you imagine that for 400 years, some of the Jews were waiting for God to say or do something? Some were looking for the fulfillment of various prophecies and expected a king to arrive in the line of David.

What unfulfilled prophecies or promises are we still awaiting today? How might our waiting compare to that of the Jews during the 400 years of silence?

What encouragement can we gain from their example?