The evil that men do

“Then was fulfilled what was spoken by the prophet Jeremiah: “A voice was heard in Ramah, weeping and loud lamentation, Rachel weeping for her children; she refused to be comforted, because they are no more.” (Matthew 2:17-18)

There are issues in every family, and they tend to be magnified at Christmas. A co-worker’s father passed away yesterday, five days before Christmas. Holidays tend to bring family strife. Matthew’s story not only brings joy, but it also brings grief, with the slaughter in Bethlehem, “A voice was heard in Ramah, weeping and loud lamentations” (Matthew 2:17).

Sinclair posed a great question, “What did Matthew mean by saying that the words of Jeremiah 31:15 had been fulfilled?” In this verse from the prophet Jeremiah, he was describing a catastrophic scene for the people of God who began a long march from Ramah, leading time into exile. Ramah lay in the territory of Benjamin. This was where Rachel’s tomb was located. In Genesis, we read how she, Jacob, and her family were traveling from Bethel to Bethlehem. This is when Rachel went into labor and died having Jacob’s son, whom Rachel named “Ben-Oni,” meaning son of my sorrow. However, Jacob was brave and renamed him Benjamin, meaning son of my right hand.

Rachel lamented because she would never see her children again. One thousand years later, it seemed it was happening all over again. These children of the patriarchs would never be seen again in the land God had promised them.

In Matthew’s setting, it was not a foreign invader who caused the grief but Israel’s own king. Yet another repeated pattern, only this time it was not the destruction of a people’s hope in the promised land, but the destruction of a promised child, a messiah. Bethlehem was a fulfillment of an ancient pattern.

One thing to consider is that when New Testament authors quote Old Testament writings, they make the assumption the reader will understand, as Sinclair puts it, the “big passages.” In other words, Jeremiah rings a bell with the situation being viewed. If you have ever written anything on a religious subject and are a reader of the Bible, inevitably, you will be writing, and your thoughts ring a bell about a biblical passage.

In the depth of Jeremiah 31 and its linking to the infanticide of Bethlehem, Matthew hopes we can see the future of the new covenant promise of God. The promised child the serpent hoped to crush has been protected. Yes, his heel will be bruised, but the blood that shall be shed will be the blood of the new covenant. Rachel weeps, Bethlehem laments, but God keeps his promises.

Did the fathers of Bethlehem remember their own King David’s words, “But when David saw that his servants were whispering together, David understood that the child was dead. And David said to his servants, “Is the child dead?” They said, “He is dead” …   But now he is dead. Why should I fast? Can I bring him back again? I shall go to him, but he will not return to me.” ( 2 Samuel 12:19,23 ESV). When David faced his own death, he repeated again his faith in God’s word. “He has made with me an everlasting covenant, ordered in all things and secure” (2 Sam 23:5)

In whatever way death or trials overshadow your Christmas, you too can find God’s assurances and His covenant with us that is established and will remain unbroken. We should remember the infants of Bethlehem and pray that all of our little ones will come to know the Lord, understand the word of God and the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and give their lives to the Lord as their Savior.

Father, Abba,

I pray for the children of your children’s children that they may be touched by you. I pray that you will bless them and hold them in your arms as they navigate this twisted world. I pray they will come to know, love, and turn their lives over to you. They, too, are your children who are on loan to us. Help us to edify them so that they, too, will one day hear, “Well done, my good and faithful servant.”

In the beautiful name of our Savior, Christ Jesus, we pray, Amen.

Peace and Grace!

Based on scripture and Sinclair Ferguson, The Dawn of Redeeming Grace”, The Goodbook Company, 2021