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Of the Branch of David for whom pious Jews waited it was written: 'With righteousness shall he judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth: and he shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked" (Isa. 11:4).
Answer for yourself: In the above passage what are to be the "tool" of the Messiah to effect change?
Answer for yourself: What is the common denominator in the above 4 actions from Israel's expected Messiah? That was easy, or was it? The Messiah will "speak" and in his speech will be "judging, reproving, smiting, and slaying". Without a doubt we find that the actions of the Messiah will effect change through the vessel of teaching and preaching. Such will be the hallmarks of the ministry of the Messiah. Through the Messiah's ministry of teaching and preaching mankind will be moved to repent.
The sharp two-edged sword of the Messiah would be no physical weapon, but justice and righteousness. This is critically important to understand if we are ever to come to terms with why the Kingdom did not appear during the days of Yeshua or following his ministry.
Dating from the first century B.C. we have an exposition of the kind of Messiah who was expected, based on the passage from Isaiah just quoted.
"And a righteous king and taught of God is he that reigneth over them: and there shall be no iniquity in his days in their midst (in the nation of Israel….remember Israel needed to merit the Kingdom through righteousness), for all shall be holy and their king is the Lord Messiah. For he shall not put his trust in horse and rider and bow (not in a military Messiah), nor shall he multiply unto himself gold and silver for war, nor by ships shall he gather confidence for the day of battle ... For he shall smite the earth with the word of his mouth even for evermore ... He himself also is pure from sin, so that he may rule a mighty people, and rebuke princes and overthrow sinners by the might of his word. And he shall not faint all his days, because he leaneth upon his God: for God shall cause him to be mighty through the spirit of holiness, and wise through the counsel of understanding, with might and righteousness' (Psalms of Solomon, 17: 35-42).
Answer for yourself: As what was to be the result of such "words of Messiah" and "might of his words"? We are told in the verse 35 of the Psalms of Solomon that "there would be no iniquity in his midst"? And where was Messiah to come? To Israel of course. There were to be no iniquity in his midst!
That means the Messiah's ministry would succeed and that the people of Israel would respond by tearing their hearts and not their garments when hearing his words. This was the only way to prepare the fallow ground of the hearts of Israel to merit the Kingdom and her King. This was the only way for Israel to be heirs to "fulfilled Messianic promises". Israel had to merit her calling; she had to be worthy of such a high calling as of God’s Holy Nation and God’s Royal Priesthood for the nations. It all depended upon God’s servant being worthy of her calling. Now you understand the steady stream of prophets with the same message: repentance manifested in true love through the obedience of the Commandments of God!
Isa 5:7
7 For the vineyard of the LORD of hosts is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah his pleasant plant: and he looked for judgment, but behold oppression; for righteousness, but behold a cry. (KJV)
God had tried to prepare His vineyard for the sake of the world. The hope of the world and the coming of His Messiah was determined upon His nation rising to the great call God had given them.
Isa 5:1-9
Jesus would say of this nation:
Matt 23:31
31 Wherefore ye be witnesses unto yourselves, that ye are the children of them which killed the prophets. (KJV)
The last chance for Israel was at hand. The last chance for the world as well. The Messiah was among them finally. His job was to evaluate the fruits of repentance of God’s people. He looked for a holy people.
Matt 21:19
19 And when he saw a fig tree in the way, he came to it, and found nothing thereon, but leaves only, and said unto it, Let no fruit grow on thee henceforward for ever. And presently the fig tree withered away.
And....
Matt 21:33-41
The Son of David who was to come would be holy and just, 'the Messiah of righteousness', as he is called in the Dead Sea Scrolls, living in close communion with God and obedient to his will. It is by the word of truth that he will convict and defeat his adversaries and not through military might!
That the Messiah should have such a character fully accords with what I have brought out about the nature of the Messianic Hope. The goal was the universal rule of God acknowledged by all men, when war, strife and wickedness should cease. To reach that goal it was required that Israel should be 'a kingdom of priests and a holy nation'. I have said nothing new since the beginning of these articles but only reinforced concepts which lay silent in the Christian Church.
Answer for yourself: How much more must the Messiah, who would come in God's name, be the perfect Israelite?
To him would apply the words of the Psalmist: 'Thou lovest righteousness, and hatest wickedness: therefore God, even thy God, bath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows ... Then said I, Lo I come: in the volume of the book it is written of me, I delight to do thy will, O my God: yea thy law is within my heart' (Ps. xlv. 7, xl. 7-8). This was the likeness to which the Messiah was expected to conform, and this is what Christians should have been taught.
It was said of him: 'And he shall gather together a holy people, whom he shall lead in righteousness: and shall judge the tribes of the people that bath been sanctified by the Lord his God. And he shall not suffer iniquity to lodge in their midst; and none that knoweth wickedness shall dwell with him. For he shall take knowledge of them that they be all sons of their God, and shall divide them upon the earth according to their tribes ... He shall judge the nations and the peoples with the wisdom of his righteousness. Selah' (Psalms of Solomon, xvii. 28-31).
Answer for yourself: What kind of people was the Messiah coming for? A holy people whom he will lead in righteousness. The Messiah was to gather about himself a holy people. Of course not all is expected to be holy, but definitely a remnant is expected.
Israel had been told repeatedly the necessity of being "spiritually ready" to accept her Messiah. Israel's failure in this regard would mean that the Messiah would not be revealed and that the Kingdom would be postponed!
Let me reiterate one more time as a refresher as noted on a previous article. Most Christians are familiar with the Apostle Paul and his statement in the Book of Romans, chapter 11:26 where it says: “And so all Israel shall be saved: even as it is written: ‘There shall come out of Zion the Deliverer; He shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob’”.
Answer for yourself: Paul states in Romans 11:26 “even as it is written.” Do you know where Paul is referring to as it being written? He is referring to Isa. 59:20.
If you look up this passage in the Septuagint you will find the same as quoted above. Normally you might think the Rabbis translated this Greek passage from their Hebrew manuscripts for this is the party line held by most. However, serious study if done in this area will disclose to you that the Rabbis only translated the first five books of the Torah and did not translate from Hebrew into Greek the Prophets or the Writings. That means other then Jewish Rabbis translated these passages. We have their example as given above.
If you consult the Jewish Scriptures in the Palestinian Masoretic text as contained today in the Stone Edition Tanakh for example, Isa. 59:20 reads entirely different. Let me quote it for you as taken from the Stone Edition Tanakh on page 1057: “A redeemer will come to Zion, and to those of Jacob who repent from willful sin---the word of Hashem.”
The Messiah will come only to those in Jacob who turn from sin. Such turning from sin will be accomplished in these last days (Daniel 9 timetable) through Messiah’s words as we have seen before (preaching “repentance”....the message of Jesus by the way). Such words, if kept in the mouth of God people and not withdraw from their hearts and minds, will cause them to walk in the Commandments of God. Such will produce a righteous remnant in Israel which would qualify as the necessary remnant thus representing the Holy Nation and the Royal Priesthood to whom the Messiah would come. Such spiritual condition by the people of Jacob would be necessary to fulfill their calling as a light to the nations. This concept is totally foreign to the ideas of Paul who prided himself that he was no longer under such “Law” but under grace. Somebody got it wrong?
Somebody did just what the Tanakh warned not to do when it said: “My words that I have placed in your mouth will not be withdrawn from your mouth nor from the mouth of your offspring….from this moment and forever.”
IN THE ABSENCE OF FRUITS OF REPENTANCE.....JESUS KNEW ISRAEL MISSED HER VISITATION...AND THAT HE WOULD DIE....AND THE PROPHECIES WOULD NOT BE FULFILLED...AT LEAST NOT THEN
We now close this series as we look at the sending out of the seventy as depicted in the Gospel of Luke chapter 10 and the final realization of Jesus that the prophecies will not be fulfilled. Again, this does not make him any less the Messiah, but explains why the Gentile Church would alter the Scriptures to “protect the image” of Jesus....a failed Messiah. Again, it was not his fault! And again you should want to know the truth about Jesus and not accept an altered revelation because of the ignorance and anti-Semitism of the early Gentile Church.
Now, let us finish.