“Then Herod, when he saw that he was mocked of the wise men, was exceeding wroth, and sent forth, and slew all the children that were in Bethlehem, and in all the coasts thereof, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had diligently enquired of the wise men,” Matthew 2:16.
When I read this passage this morning (Monday 2nd January), I began to think of why such a thing should happen. I started out from the truth that the “LORD is upright: he is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in him,” Psalm 92:15. The wise man stated the case well: “As the bird by wandering, as the swallow by flying, so the curse causeless shall not come,” Proverbs 26:2. As the swallow, with its homing instincts, follows the course set for it of God, so God’s judgments follow a path set by Him. Nothing is by chance nor happens without divine overruling!
We think of the cruel and wicked actions of Herod but has thought been given to why such a horrific thing should have overtaken the babes of Bethlehem!
The narrative refers to the prophecy of Jeremiah and states that this slaughter was the subject of that prophecy.
“Then was fulfilled that which was spoken by Jeremy the prophet, saying, In Rama was there a voice heard, lamentation, and weeping, and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children, and would not be comforted, because they are not.” (more…)
