Hello!
This is a history update, so that everyone understands what's going on, and what will happen next! :) Thanks for reading!
2.
The people of Israel were slightly… backward. Well maybe that wasn't the right word for it. The real truth of the matter was that they wanted whatever God didn't want them to have. It was rather like a father trying to keep his child away from a fire. Israel would think, "Oh what pretty colors! How interesting! I want to touch it!" And God would warn them over and over again, "Don't touch it! You'll regret it!"
Only unlike the child who usually grows up and learns from his mistakes, Israel kept right on chugging down that path of destruction.
God said, "You don't need a king. I'll be your King,"
Israel said, "The Jews need an earthly king. You're not good enough."
And so the troubles began. How many kings had they suffered through now? There was Saul, who was mad, David- who for all his good qualities could not manage his own family to save his life- and Solomon… who nearly ruined everything with his many wives and concubines.
The list continued down the line. Once or twice a jewel among thorns would appear… like Josiah the boy king. Still, the majority of them were self seeking, power hungry fools.
Then came Herod.
Herod wasn't technically the King… he was technically more of a governor. Mostly he kept watch over the Jews and ruled over them while Rome attended their own business. Rome would come around every so often to collect taxes of course… or to take the animals or children of those who could not pay. Unfortunately there seemed to be a growing number of them due to the fact that Herod's taxes were fairly high as well.
The Romans thought it justified that Herod would issue such taxes. He was a genius to be sure, his architecture was beautiful, creative, and massive. He built the Jews a new temple of splendor that was unsurpassable.
Naturally, the Jews disliked him. It wasn't that they didn't enjoy the majesty of their temple, but rather that while in the construction of this temple Herod had also been building temples to Pagan gods, large amphitheaters and other projects they would rather not be built at all, much less with their own tax money!
And then there was the matter of his obvious and dangerous insanity. Out of fear of anyone but himself gaining power or overthrowing him, Herod killed his wife Mariamne, but also her grandfather, mother, brother and two sons. He even went on to kill another wife.
It was easy to see why the Jews detested him- and Rome who made them pay tribute to Caesar who believed himself a god. Yet at the same time they could do nothing. They barely dared to speak up about it, lest they be killed themselves. Their only hope- the Messiah!
The messiah! The prophets of old (whom they now cherished- having somehow forgotten that their ancestors had tried and often succeeded in killing these messengers) had said many things about the messiah's coming! Of course, the priests knew these things, but in light of current events they were inclined to skip over the prophecy about him being, 'the lowest of men' or 'born as an infant, lying in a manger.' They preferred the much more alluring prophecies.
"The Messiah will come riding on a white horse and slay our enemies!" The radicals would beam. The Jews would all comfort themselves with that fact. The messiah would slay the Romans! The Messiah would crush them, kill them, annihilate them for their sin and wickedness!
Somewhere up in heaven, God had smacked his palm to his forehead in agony at their foolishness. Somewhere down on earth, God was about to meet up with a cousin he hadn't seen in a long long time.