What actually happened when Israel returned from Babylon? Compared to the texts we’ve been reading, the fulfillment was disappointing. Remember principle 2: God is not predictable. There were many residents of Israel and Judah who read the texts of Hosea, Micah, Isaiah, and others. I can imagine them making out charts to outline in advance just what God was going to do. But God’s work, when it came, wasn’t quite what the predictors expected.

On the twenty-first day of the seventh month,
the word of the LORD came through the prophet Haggai:
“Speak to Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah,
to Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest,
and to the remnant of the people.
Ask them, ‘Who of you is left who saw this house in its former glory?
How does it look to you now?
Does it not seem to you like nothing?
But now be strong, O Zerubbabel,’
declares the LORD.
‘Be strong, O Joshua son of Jehozadak,
the high priest.
Be strong, all you people of the land,’
declares the LORD,
‘and work.
For I am with you,’
declares the LORD Almighty.
‘This is what I covenanted with you
when you came out of Egypt.
And my Spirit remains among you. Do not fear.’
“This is what the LORD Almighty says:
‘In a little while I will once more shake the heavens and the earth,
the sea and the dry land.
I will shake all nations,
and the desired of all nations will come,
and I will fill this house with glory,’
says the LORD Almighty.
‘The silver is mine and the gold is mine,’
declares the LORD Almighty.
‘The glory of this present house
will be greater than the glory of the former house,’
says the LORD Almighty.
‘And in this place I will grant peace,’
declares the LORD Almighty.”
Hag 2:1-9 NIV

In this text the Lord notes the disappointment of the people as they view the fulfillment of the prophecies of return from exile. Yet He affirms that the fulfillment is nevertheless a true fulfillment. They were tempted to question the fulfillment. That’s something to keep in mind as we approach unfulfilled prophecy– as we approach the book of Revelation. From Münster to Waco, people have tried to use the material in Revelation to gain a detailed “knowledge” of the future that God did not design for them to have. We all need to be reminded that the same God who is consistent is not predictable.

As time went on it gradually became clear that God’s mighty act in returning His people from the Babylonian Exile was not going to be the final event of earth’s history. Attention more and more shifted to God’s greatest act of all– the arrival of the Messiah. But that raises a fresh question. Many people assume that the messianic prophecies of the Old Testament have more of a point by point fulfillment than the prophecies we have been looking at. Is this really so? Are the messianic prophecies of the Old Testament an exception to the rule that God uses the language of the past to describe events in the future? Are the messianic prophecies more predictable than the general trend? Let’s look at a few examples.

“‘The days are coming,’ declares the LORD,
‘when I will raise up to David a righteous Branch,
a King who will reign wisely
and do what is just and right in the land.
In his days Judah will be saved
and Israel will live in safety.
This is the name by which he will be called:
The LORD Our Righteousness.’”
Jeremiah 23:5-6

What do we learn from this text? First, the Messiah is coming and he will be a king like David. David’s kingship provides a historical model for what the Messiah will be like, a model of wise and just rulership. But obviously not every action of David provides a model for the righteous Messiah. The Messiah will be like David, but his life will not be an exact replay of David’s reign. The line from prophecy to fulfillment here is not totally predictable.

A second aspect to this prophecy is found in the title given to the Messiah, “The Lord Our Righteousness.” There was a king reigning in Judah at the time when Jeremiah gave this prophecy. His name was Zedekiah, which in Hebrew means , “the Lord is my righteousness.” Jeremiah tells us that the Messiah, when He comes, will be a king like Zedekiah. While Zedekiah did not live up to his own name, his name was still a model of what the Messiah would be like. The Messiah would play the role that Zedekiah was supposed to play. He would be the One who perfectly carried out the righteousness of God. So the messianic prophecy of Jeremiah 23 uses the language of the past and the present to project an image of what Messiah would be like.

Let’s go back to another prophecy in Isaiah:
“Again the LORD spoke to Ahaz, ‘Ask the LORD your God for a sign, whether in the deepest depths or in the highest heights.’ But Ahaz said, ‘I will not ask; I will not put the LORD to the test.’ Then Isaiah said, ‘Hear now, you house of David! Is it not enough to try the patience of men? Will you try the patience of my God also? Therefore the
Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel. He will eat curds and honey when he knows enough to reject the wrong and choose the right. But before the boy knows enough to reject the wrong and choose the right, the land of the two kings you dread will be laid waste.’”
Isaiah 7:10-16

This prophecy is talking about a king named Ahaz and a prophet named Isaiah. Ahaz is worried about two nations seeking to conquer his kingdom. Isaiah is offering him a sign from the Lord. God sends him a message that a young woman (Hebrew can be read either “a young woman” or “a virgin”) will conceive and have a child. The good news for Ahaz is that before the child is ready to eat solid food and before he knows right from wrong, the two nations will be destroyed. So this prophecy of the Messiah grows out of an immediate situation. God uses the language of the present to describe the future. In the time of the Messiah God will deliver His people just as Ahaz was delivered in Isaiah’s day (Isa 9:1-7).

In Zechariah, a small book at the end of the Old Testament, we see the same principle operating again:
“Rejoice greatly, O Daughter of Zion!
Shout, Daughter of Jerusalem!
See, your king comes to you,
righteous and having salvation,
gentle and riding on a donkey,
on a colt, the foal of a donkey.
I will take away the chariots from Ephraim
and the war-horses from Jerusalem,
and the battle bow will be broken.
He will proclaim peace to the nations.
His rule will extend from sea to sea
and from the River to the ends of the earth.”
Zechariah 9:9-10

Here we see the language of Ephraim, Jerusalem, and the river Euphrates (just the River” in the text). In the language of the people’s time and place there is also a description of the Messiah. But using texts like these, could anyone have predicted the exact course of Jesus’ life? No. Should it surprise us that some understood these texts to predict that the Messiah to be a powerful king who would dominate the political forces in His world? Even Jesus’ own disciples, after copious hints, failed to understand Jesus’ Messiahship until Pentecost. Only after having known Jesus, walked with Him, and received God’s interpretation through the Spirit, could the life of Jesus be seen as the fulfillment of these very prophecies.