400 Years of Silence, Sunday

0:00Hey kids! Welcome to Junior's for Jesus! Go grab your Bibles! We're going to be digging in and learning some really exciting stories. Let's get started! Hey kids! This week we're going to learn about the time period between the old and the new testament. Did you know that there's a gap of time between them? What was happening during this 400 years of silence? We'll find out together this week. The memory verse is Isaiah chapter 60 verse 2. For behold, the darkness shall cover the earth and deep darkness the people. But the Lord will arise over you and His glory will be seen upon you. Isaiah chapter 60 verse 2. Sunday Greek Culture. On our timeline we have now moved about 4,000 years from creation to the time when Jesus came to our world. We've gone through the 39 Old Testament books and now

1:05we've come to the first four of the 27 New Testament books. About 400 years passed between Malachi, the last book of the Old Testament, and the first events described in the New Testament. Except in Daniel's prophecies, the Bible doesn't tell us about those years. But history sure does. So before we begin our study of the New Testament, we'll notice a few of the many things that happened during these 400 years. The Persian Empire still ruled Judah when Malachi wrote his book. But war between the Persians and the Greeks had started long before that. And many years after Malachi, young Alexander the Great, the leader of the Greeks, invaded the Persian Empire with his army. They conquered it in about seven years. And after that, Judah was called Judea, its Greek name. Wherever Alexander and his army went, they spread the Greek way of thinking

2:10and doing things. We call that Greek culture. Part of that culture was the Greek language, which became widely used for important writings. That's why the New Testament was written in Greek. Both Greek and Aramaic were spoken in many places. Paul could speak both, and also Hebrew, Acts 21, 37, through chapter 22, verse 2. Alexander built a city in Northern Egypt and named it after himself. Alexandria. After his death, many Jews moved there. Their descendants who grew up in the Greek culture there needed the scriptures in the Greek language. So the Old Testament was translated from Hebrew into Greek. The books of Moses, Genesis through Deuteronomy, were translated first. And the other books were translated more slowly over a period of many years. Finally, all of the Old Testament was available in the Greek language. And by that time, it was needed

3:16by Jews living in many other cities. That Greek version is called the Septuagint. And now, let's apply it. That Greek version of the Bible would allow people from all walks of life and culture to understand that the Messiah was coming. God would use the Greek language to unify the people and make them ready for Jesus's entrance into the story. The common language would allow for the gospel to spread to many different nations quickly. Today, we should thank God for the people who continue to translate God's word into different languages so people around the world can learn about the good news of Jesus. It's question time. Let's see how much you remember. Who was the most famous Greek general? What's the name of the last book of the Old Testament?

4:23What language was the Old Testament written in? What is the name of the Greek version of the Old Testament? What is the language of the New Testament? Remember, you can always go back and listen to the podcast again to find the answers. This podcast is sponsored by MyBibleFirst.org. Visit us for other great resources for children, youth, and adults.