A basis for any effective communication is that the hearers already have some reference to the things you're saying. In Israel's case they already had the story of God's exile and restoration in place. They were a people waiting for the promise of restoration. Many of her national festivals told the story of her redemption. She was promised that God would restore her fortunes when she returned to the Lord with all her heart and soul (Deut 30: 1-10)

This promise of restoration is reenacted in Her national festivals, where Israel's story was retold to Israel year in and year out. For example the new moon festival was to tell Israel that the long night of her suffering because of rebellion to God would come to an end, a new Day of Restoration would dawn when she would have trouble no more and so she would be comforted. The Day of Atonement signified the day when Israel's corporate sin would be forgiven. For when she was forgiven her fortunes would be restored in an Edenic sense. The Passover was the story of how God had delivered her by signs and wonders and war from the slavery of foreign Kings. If God had saved her in the past, God would save them again in the future. This was demonstrated again under the Antiochus Epiphanes who oppressed them and tried to force paganism on them. Judas Maccabee was a deliverer God raised up to deliver them so that they could live in peace. This was a period of 100 years freedom and was remembered by the festival of Hannukah.

They understood that God would raise up a final deliverer from the line of David who would bring in the time of restoration and establish God's kingdom forever. So Israel would be saved from her enemies, her sins would be forgiven, the covenant would be renewed and she would dwell in safety and peace forever. This is heaven in the Old Testament. It is concrete and material, it is this worldly. This concept of the Kingdom of God is not well known in Western churches because of the Platonic influence which turns salvation into the salvation of your spirit and not your whole being. Also it is failure to understand that this world is redeemable and that this world would be saved and renewed in the New heavens and earth wherin righteousness dwells . We need to move away from the thinking even if it is on a subconscious level that anything material is evil and unredeemable,because this is a pagan way of thinking that doesn't conform to the word of God .

The Kingdom of God is for the Hebrew the restoration promised of returning to the Edenic land of Israel. As time went on Isaiah and Ezekiel reproclaim the promises of restoration and return from exile but widen it from the land of Israel to stretching over all the earth. Even Paul in Romans 4:13 develops the promise of the land to Abraham to the promise of inheriting the world through the Abrahamic promises. When Jesus preached repent the Kingdom of God is at hand, the promises of restoration as preached by Moses and the prophets is what came to mind. The language the prophets use to describe the Kingdom is Edenic language but it surpasses Eden.

The context of the Sermon of the Mount can only be understood properly in the light of who Jesus was and what he came to do. Jesus is the Christ promised to come from the seed of Abraham, through whom the nations will be blessed. The promise is given in the backdrop of exile from Eden because of sin, the people and the earth are cursed and dying. Therefore the task as the Christ is to reverse the curse and bring in the Kingdom of God. That means we can't approach the beatitudes as the sayings of a wise man or sage or moralist. They are the words of the king of Israel and the world proclaiming the time of her restoration was dawning. Jesus is God's Christ (king) of the kingdom, describing what kind of people the people of the kingdom are !!!