“Treachery In Judea”
“…Rachel weeping for her children, and would not be comforted, because they are not….”
Jerimiah 31.15
While Mary and Joseph fled South to Egypt and safety, terror was poised to strike Bethlehem.
When the Magi had not returned to Jerusalem, Herod became suspicious.
He sent a military escort to inquire. They returned with the news that the Magi had rebuffed his invitation to return to Jerusalem, and instead went back to Persia by a different route.
Herod was enraged.
Convinced the Magi did so to protect the new king, Herod hatched a diabolical scheme.
In a fit of deranged anger, he ordered the death of all the male children in Bethlehem two years old and under.
Fearful that the new king might yet escape, he expanded the net of death to include the surrounding Judean hills:
Herod’s arrogance and fear blinded him to the futility of his evil scheme.
God’s sovereign purpose would not be thwarted by the evil spoken of by the prophet Jeremiah.
“In Rahmah 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.”
In spite of Herod’s treachery, the triune Godhead set into motion what God had planned from eternity past;
The reconciliation of the human race, separated by sin, from their Creator.
A Holy price must be paid. A sacrifice was required. Not just any sacrifice, but a perfect sacrifice:
A sacrifice that would satisfy the holiness of God, without sin or blemish.
God’s son, baby Jesus, would grow to be a man. The Messiah.
He would offer his own body to be the sacrifice God’s righteousness demanded.
Because of Jesus Christ sacrifice at Calvary, God offers grace, mercy, and love: Giving life and redemption to all who would receive it.
At Calvary’s cross, Mary’s heart was pierced; just as Simeon had prophesied in the temple.
God created a way for mankind to be forgiven. Jesus Christ gave his life and conquered death when he was raised from the dead that first Easter morning.
The plan God had made from the very beginning, came in human flesh that first Christmas.
God’s Son, born of a virgin in a lonely little stable, in a dusty little village … Bethlehem of Judea.
