The World Between the Testaments

On what happens between Malachi and Matthew

We’re heading into the new year and into a new testament—a new chapter in the ongoing story of God’s work in the world.

You may recall from last time (November! sorry…) that the Old Testament closes with many Israelites returning back to their homeland from exile. In those final episodes, the people are rebuilding the city’s walls and restoring the nation’s worship. They’re trying to reestablish something like normal life after 70 years of forced migration.

Something shocking happens when you flip the page from Malachi to Matthew. You’re in the same place (the Promised Land) but everything is different. The economy has changed. Most of the main characters in the Old Testament were shepherds and farmers. Now they’re fishermen and tax collectors and prostitutes. There are new titles for religious folks. In place of judges and prophets we find Pharisees and Sadducees. And God’s people follow new modes of worship, too. Synagogues—never mentioned in the Old Testament—suddenly are quite prominent.

This week’s video is about the changes that happen in the (roughly) 400 years between Malachi and Matthew.

It’s really fascinating stuff. And for me, it helps the whole Bible feel more relevant. The world the characters of the New Testament inhabited was a lot like ours: multicultural, multilingual, complex and always changing. God’s people disagreed over what it meant to be faithful under those circumstances. Some resisted entirely. Some accommodated entirely. Others focused on making a living and doing the best they could. Sound familiar?

Anyway, give it a listen here:

This video series was filmed by New Life Church as part of their NLC School of Ministry curriculum. They generously agreed to let me to share these videos with subscribers.

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