The Old Testament prophets died. Four hundred years went by. Most of the Jews did not obey God.

Armies from other lands captured the Jews. Wicked kings from other lands made them slaves. The kings killed thousands of them.

The kings would not let the Jews make sacrifices to God. They took the things made of gold from the temple. The kings worshiped idols in the temple.

The last army to capture the Jews was the Roman army. The Romans broke down the walls of Jerusalem. They captured the city. They sent a man named Herod to be the king of the Jews.

Herod wanted the Jews to like him. So he made the temple beautiful again. He had thousands of men work on it. They put gold and silver back into the temple. When it was finished it was very beautiful. But the Jews still did not like Herod.

Herod was very wicked. He killed many people. He killed his wife and two sons. He tried to kill the baby Jesus.

The Jews did not want Herod to be their king. They did not want the Romans to be their leaders. The Jews were waiting for the Savior to come. They thought he would help them fight the Romans. They thought the Savior would be their king.