with the
coming of the Messiah, the anointed one, who should re-establish the
line of David (Isa. ix. 6 f., xi. 1 f.; Micah v. 2; Ezek. xxxiv. 23,
xxxvii. 24; Zech. ix. 9; Ps. ii. 72). Others said nothing of such a one,
but seemed to expect the regeneration of Israel through the labours,
sufferings and triumphs of the righteous remnant (Isa. liii., Ezek.
xxxvi.-xxxvii.). By the strong emphasis upon righteousness, the tribal
Lord of Israel was revealed as the universal God, of one relationship to
all men. This monotheism was not primarily cosmological nor
metaphysical, but ethical. The Jews showed little capacity for abstract
reasoning and never pursued their inquiries to the discovery of ultimate
principles. Thus they did not develop a systematic cosmology, nor
formulate a system of metaphysics. Their religion was pre-eminently
"theocratic"; God was thought of as King, enthroned in heaven and
supreme. In the beginning as a tribal deity his powers were limited and
he was involved in the fortunes of his people. But as the conception of
Yahweh was deepened and broadened, and, especially after the development
of ethical monotheism, not only was he believed to possess power
sufficient to ensure the triumph of his chosen people, but to be the
creator and ruler of all things in heaven and on earth, the God whom all
peoples should worship and obey.

But the prophetic teaching was obscured in part by the nationalism of
the prophets themselves, who exalted Israel as at once God's instrument
and the peculiar object of his love; and in part by the triumph of a
legal-ritualistic sacrificial system. In the downfall of Jerusalem, the
experiences of the exile in Babylon, and the return to Judaea, the
nation was transformed into a church. Apart from the brief Maccabaean
period, the intense patriotism of the people centred in the
ecclesiastical organization. As a result, cult and organization and code
hardened, forming a shell which proved strong enough to resist all
disintegrating tendencies. Inevitably the freedom, spirituality and
universality of the prophetic teaching were obscured. In the 1st century
A.D. the national and priestly elements controlled; doubtless many
individuals still were faithful to the purer prophetic message, though
also zealous for the system of ritual and sacrifice, but for the ruling
majority ritualistic service was the chief thing, justice, purity and
mercy being subordinate. Hence in their view all who did n