Advent: December 22nd
Eventually, Herod loses patience.
In fact, the text says he is furious and he does the unthinkable! He has all of the male children in Bethlehem, age two years and under, killed, “According to the time that he had ascertained from the wisemen.”
Now, I don’t think that Herod would have done the bare minimum here. He is evil enough that he is willing to murder the babies of his own people to keep his throne and power. I personally think he doubled the number given by the Magi, or at least increased it by some measure, just to be sure.
And this too, was foretold around 600 years previously, “A voice was heard in Ramah, weeping and loud lamentation, Racheal, weeping for her children; she refused to be comforted, because they are no more.” Jeremiah 31:15-17
While you will likely never hear this part of the Christmas story played out in the church nativity, it was a very real part of the story. We know that Mary had family close to Bethlehem(Elizabeth), and it is extremely likely that Joseph would also have family and friends who lived in the area. I can’t imagine what it was like to receive the news that so many babies had been murdered. How terrifying it would have been to realize that this evil man had done all of this in an attempt to kill YOUR child.
But there’s something else I hope we see. God had a good and perfect plan. Nothing was going to be able to stop Jesus from coming, not even this evil man.
God is not the author of evil, but he can still use it to bring about His good purposes. Only God has the infinite knowledge and power to bring all things together for good.
In truth, Jesus’s life was never really in danger. No one and no thing was ever going to be able to take his life until he willingly gave it on the cross.
“No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This charge I have received from my Father." John 10:18
It is likely that Herod died within a year or two of murdering Bethlehem’s babies and it was not an easy death. Researchers believe Herod died from chronic kidney disease that was complicated by a case of maggot-infested gangrene of the genitals.
Matthew 2:19-23 "But when Herod died, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, saying, “Rise, take the child and his mother and go to the land of Israel, for those who sought the child's life are dead.” And he rose and took the child and his mother and went to the land of Israel. But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning over Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there, and being warned in a dream he withdrew to the district of Galilee. And he went and lived in a city called Nazareth, so that what was spoken by the prophets might be fulfilled, that he would be called a Nazarene."
God took care of it all!
By God’s grace and with His blessing, the holy family were allowed to return to Mary’s hometown of Nazareth where Jesus would grow up in wisdom and stature and in favor with God and man. (Luke 2:52)
