The Silent Years: 400 Years Between the Testaments
Between Malachi and Matthew lie around 400 years in which God spoke no new prophetic word to Israel. Yet the silence was not inactivity: behind the scenes God was moving empires, languages and hearts to prepare the world for the coming of His Son.
A Pause With a Purpose
Between the last recorded time God spoke in the Old Testament and when John the Baptist began his ministry in the New Testament was a period of around 400 years, often called the silent years because God didn’t communicate directly with the Jews as a nation during that time; no new prophets were raised and God revealed nothing new to the Jewish people (Mal 4:5-6; Lk 3:3). God was preparing to speak His greatest and most powerful Word to mankind: Jesus. A pause – a long and distinct pause – would add emphasis to that monumental revelation.
Silence was not absence
God at Work in World History
In this intertestamental period God was active in world history, causing major political and military events to occur just as He had predicted in the book of Daniel. The nation of Greece came to power and was then conquered by Rome. The Romans built roads (this aided the spread of the gospel); most people understood a common language, Greek (the language of the New Testament); and there was a good degree of peace and freedom to travel – all further aiding the dissemination of the gospel. God was preparing the world for the coming of the Messiah.
The Stage Is Set
The Pharisees, Sadducees and scribes came to positions of influence, yet they were not true spiritual leaders. Religious life had become structured around the Law but was short on living faith, leaving a spiritual vacuum. At exactly the right moment God broke the silence, first through John the Baptist and supremely through His Son – the stage was now set for Jesus Christ to come into this vacuum (Gal 4:4).
Prepared for the fullness of time
Reflection and Application:
- Divine silence is not divine absence – God is always at work behind the scenes.
- God prepares people and circumstances long before His answer becomes visible.
- Make the most of the roads, languages and freedoms of your own day to share the gospel.
- Trust God’s timing: He speaks, and acts, at exactly the right moment (Gal 4:4).
See also: New Testament, Old Testament.