We were given the ability to write so that we could become familiar with the past actions of God and people. We are, if we choose, able to read the written record. This is history. It should be used to guide us.
The weirdest thing in history?
Over a period of several thousand years, God provided information about the future to a select group of Hebrews. He had holy men and women who acted as God wanted. He gave many of them the ability to write predictions of the future.
At the time, the predictions made little sense. A person was described in some detail. That person, the “Messiah”, would “save” the world.
Over 300 separate prophecies referred to this person. He was thought by many to appear as a military conqueror. “He will be like Caesar or Alexander. He will protect and guide us.”
The words of the prophets were carefully preserved. They were copied, often on expensive sheepskin. Sometimes, on even costlier sheets of pure copper. Every care was taken to be sure that not one word was changed. The copiers and their copies were diligently inspected as they copied new manuscripts for new temples far away. The cost was incredible. The written record exact.
Finally, the Messiah arrived, as prophesied. He arrived, as predicted, in Bethlehem of the foretold family.
When He did not appear to be interested in military conquest that would enrich the Jewish establishment, who’d paid for the copies made of the prophets’ prophecies, they ignored Him.
As more and more people began to realize that this Person was, in fact The Son of God, the Jewish establishment realized that they were in danger of being, in a phrase, put out of work. “It’s not fair!” some complained. “You think a thousand years sheepskins, scribes, and scriptoriums are free? We’ve been spending all this money to send copies of the prophecies all over the world, and they’re being used to destroy our establishment. We’re being replaced by a bunch of lunatics who think they should eat the body and drink the blood of this Jesus. We executed Him as a common criminal, and the fools look at the prophecies and think they can prove He is God!”
It was in fact: The weirdest thing in history. An entire people, wealthy and widespread, had donated countless amounts of money to preserve the prophecies. Then, when the prophecies came true and God took human form, those very same people turned away. Over the intervening two thousand years, Jews have come to believe in the Messiah their prophets predicted.
Many, however, have not. A few notice that there have been no prophets since Jesus. Still, they will not believe in their own ancestors’ predictions. Some will actually say: “I would rather go to hell, if it exists, than believe.”
Throughout the years, many understand that God reveals much about Himself and the process of salvation. The Jews obedience in writing down and preserving the prophecies, and then ignoring the personification of truth they predicted, is duplicated by all who refuse to believe and obey, but never so perfectly.
It can be proven with precision, the Jews failure to take seriously He Whom their own prophets predicted is: The weirdest thing in history.
