Great progress towards final freedom and spiritual understanding was attained as the truth of monotheism dawned upon the Jewish nation. For many years after the worship of Jehovah was established, the people's concept of Him was crude, material, and limited. But the belief that He was a tribal God, partial in His dealings with men, hating as well as loving, and having to be appeased by sacrificial offerings, gradually yielded to a more spiritual concept. Some of the later prophets saw clearly that God was the God of all men, not merely of the Israelites; that He demanded obedience and holiness rather than material sacrifices. But it was a revelation to some, and a shock to others, when Christ Jesus revealed Him as the tender Father, who loves all impartially.
Because they had perceived the truth of monotheism, the Israelites looked upon themselves as a favored people. Their attempts to overthrow their enemies and establish their supremacy through material means proved to be a failure. In spite of the many glorious victories they had when in their distress they turned to God and relied wholly upon Him, the passing centuries found them subordinate to, rather than triumphant over, their foes. As earthly hopes vanished, the Messianic hope grew in the hearts of the people. The expectancy of an earthly, national leader gave way to the idea of the Messiah, who should deliver Israel, and set up an earthly kingdom— "having Palestine as its center, and Jerusalem as its capital. " This hope grew as the Israelites found themselves dominated in turn by the great empires of Persia, Greece, and Rome.
This vision of material prosperity and power prevented them, as a nation, from recognizing the Messiah when he came, although Christ Jesus spoke continually of the kingdom he had come to establish and did many mighty works before their eyes. Even his few faithful followers failed to discern during their Master's earthly career that it was a purely spiritual kingdom to which he referred. That to some extent they shared the national view of their Jewish contemporaries is proved by the words of the two who walked to Emmaus: "We trusted that it had been he which should have redeemed Israel."
