Text used: Matthew 2
Herod was king of Jerusalem when Jesus
was born in Bethlehem (means
“House of Bread.”) Bethlehem, also known
as Ephratah, was about 5 miles
south of Jerusalem, and when wise men
came to Herod asking where the
REAL King of the Jews was, Herod got pretty
jealous and tense, not to
mention angry. (Think of how you would
feel if you were the current
king and another one was born to replace
you. Herod was on an
egotistical “power trip” here.)
The Wise Men came to Herod wondering where
the King was born so that
they could worship Him. After a meeting
with scribes and priests, an
Old Testament prophecy was remembered
– He would be born in Bethlehem of
Judaea (Judea).
“And they said unto him, In Bethlehem of
Judaea: for thus it is written
by the prophet, And thou Bethlehem, in
the land of Juda, art not the
least among the princes of Juda: for out
of thee shall come a Governor,
that shall rule my people Israel.” (2:5-6)
Herod told the Wise Men to come back to
him after they found the Child
so that he could “worship Him also,” yet
an angel of the Lord revealed
his true motives to the wise men in a
warning telling them not to return
to Herod.
Herod had it in his heart to kill the young
Child, and after angered by
the Wise Men not returning, he commanded
that all children two years and
younger in his kingdom be killed. This
slaughter fulfilled a prophecy,
too, and Matthew does not fail to mention
that!
“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.” (2:17-18)
So….is this REALLY accounted for in Jeremiah?
You can bet so!
Jeremiah 31:15 – “Thus saith the
LORD; A voice was heard in Ramah,
lamentation, and bitter weeping; Rahel
weeping for her children refused
to be comforted for her children, because
they were not.”
Jesus was not in the region when Herod
killed all the babies. An angel
of the Lord told Joseph to take Mary and
Jesus to Egypt. This
fulfilled another prophecy (“Out of Egypt
I will call my son” from
2:15), and they remained in Egypt
until Herod died and an angel of the
Lord told them they could return to Israel,
although Archelaus (Herod’s
son) was in command, so they returned
to Nazareth (which was in Northern
Israel), which was not under Archelaus’
control.
Being ‘from’ Nazareth was another prophecy
fulfilled – “He shall be
called a Nazarene” (from 2:23).
Proverbs 6:16-19
16 These six things doth the LORD hate:
yea, seven are an abomination
unto him:
17 A proud look, a lying tongue, and hands
that shed innocent blood,
18 An heart that deviseth wicked imaginations,
feet that be swift in
running to mischief,
19 A false witness that speaketh lies,
and he that soweth discord among
brethren.
In verse 16, that does not mean that the
Lord hates only 6 things, but
7 are an abomination. That is a structure
common in the Old Testament
similar to English, “Not just six, but
SEVEN…” So hate is not placed
below abomination here. Just looking at
the first three:
A proud look: Herod was ruler, and he didn’t
want anyone else
‘stealing’ it from him.
A lying tongue: Telling the Wise Men that
he would come and worship
the Child when he really wanted to kill
him.
Hands that shed innocent blood: Killing
all the children under the age
of two in his kingdom.
This was not a God-pleasing kingdom! Herod’s
plan to kill Jesus did
not succeed, either. I guess Herod didn’t
consider that Jesus would be
given an Everlasting Kingdom!
“When they had heard the king, they departed;
and, lo, the star, which
they saw in the east, went before them,
till it came and stood over
where the young child was. When they saw
the star, they rejoiced with
exceeding great joy.” (2:9-10)
This star in the east was most likely not
just your average star. God
was basically pointing the Wise Men to
the location of Jesus’ birth.
They were very happy, to say the least,
when they saw Jesus, too!
“And when they were come into the house,
they saw the young child with
Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped
him: and when they had
opened their treasures, they presented
unto him gifts; gold, and
frankincense, and myrrh.” (2:11)
Gold, Frankincense, and Myrrh were pretty
fancy gifts! Not to mention,
these gifts were symbolic of Jesus’ Life.
Gold – a Royal gift, very expensive. Jesus
would be our King, and King
of kings
Frankincense – Often used in Old Testament
sacrifices in the Temple in
perfume offerings to the Lord. Jesus would
be our High Priest and also
our perfect sacrifice, the proper atonement
for our sins.
Myrrh – An embalming fragrance used before
burial. Jesus was born to
die for the payment of our sins.
Matthew 1:21 – “And she shall bring
forth a son, and thou shalt call
his name JESUS: for he shall save his
people from their sins.”
2 Corinthians 9:15 – “Thanks be
unto God for his unspeakable gift.”
http://www.djsterf.com/eternal
He came to Save the world, not to condemn
it (John 3:17), so choose
Life, and Life Everlasting! Have a blessed
day and enjoy reading God’s
Word!