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Dec 24, 2022 06:00am

Breaking the Silence

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If you’ve ever been in a disagreement with someone and had to stop the conversation, either because you have to agree to disagree or because the emotions were too high to continue, you probably understand the painfulness of the silence that lies between you and the other person. It usually involves rehashing the conversation over and over in your head trying to sort out what has happened or maybe anxiety over how you are going to resolve the issue with that person and salvage the relationship. Or possibly you stress over trying to figure out how to break the silence in a way that will change the trajectory of the conversation going forward.

The transition from the Old Testament to the New Testament is much like this scenario. The last book of the Old Testament, Malachi, is a series of disputes between God and His people. God begins by exposing the people’s corruption in questioning God’s love for them and defiling His temple. Then God confronts them with their idolatry and divorce, both of which God hates. The people respond to Him with defensiveness and justifications rather than with humility and repentance, and so God does something that is beneficial in any relationship interaction when the conflict is not progressing:

He initiates a break from communication. He reminds them Scripture is a gift that recounts the past and points to hope for the future. He reminds them of His covenant with those who trust Him and obey. He also lets them know He is not taking a permanent leave, but He promises to bring a new prophet that will restore His people and bring healing to their hearts.

After having read this last verse of the Old Testament, you can turn the page and, in most Bibles, you will find an empty page that cites that there were 400 years of silence. While God did not send any additional prophets or speak any additional words during that silence, the truth is, the people still had the Scriptures and commands of God to recount the past and give them hope for the future should they choose to engage with them.

As He promised, God did break the silence, and He broke it in a way that would definitely change the trajectory of the conversation with His people. He begins with something they would know from their own history: Abraham’s lineage through King David, because these men are key points in the covenant God has made with His people. In this covenant, He promised to be their God, to bless their loyalty and obedience to Him, and to send the Messiah to reign, heal, and save. Then God changes the trajectory of not just the conversation between Himself and His people but He makes it possible for them to be reconciled completely!

It begins with a miraculous conception in a virgin named Mary, who humbly submits to the calling of God to give birth to the Messiah. It involves the faith and submission of her betrothed husband, Joseph, who despite ridicule and shame, chooses to obey the voice of God who calls him to courageously stand against the status quo. It is interesting to note the humbly obedient and receptive people God uses to make His first statement after the years of silence. As the time drew near for the baby to be born, a decree went out that made it necessary for them to travel to Bethlehem to their homeland to be registered in a census, this all happened with the purpose of fulfilling the prophecy of Micah that the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem. Upon their arrival in Bethlehem, because of the crowds of people, Mary and Joseph end up in a cattle stable, where the Messiah would be born in humble solitude. Though there was no royal dwelling or proclamation that went forth, there were royal visitors: Noblemen from the East, who were watching the stars, saw the star over Bethlehem indicating the birth of a King. They traveled to see the young child and brought gifts of significant worth, fit for a king, but delivered to a stable. There was also a royal birth announcement made by a host of angels to nearby shepherds proclaiming, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men!”

It’s quite a picture to behold in our minds, isn’t it? So humble, yet so holy! And the change it brings to the conversations from Malachi are this:
– There are no more indictments against God’s people. The Messiah came to give his life as a sacrifice to pay the penalty for all those sins.

– Although faith in God is still necessary, obedience to His ceremonial or sacrificial laws are not required. Obedience to the moral laws are now acts of love, gratitude, and worship from those who benefit from having received this gift of grace.

– God fulfilled His promise to bring a prophet to restore His people and bring healing to their hearts but that free gift is now extended to all who will put their faith in Jesus and follow Him.

II Corinthians 5:19 says that…… God was, in Jesus, reconciling the world to Himself, by not imputing their sins to them……
What a glorious, and merciful way to break the silence!