Luke 2:16-18
16 Then when Herod saw that he had been tricked by the magi, he became very enraged, and sent men and killed all the boys who were in Bethlehem and all its vicinity who were two years old or under, according to the time which he had determined from the magi. 17 Then what had been spoken through Jeremiah the prophet was fulfilled:
18 “A voice was heard in Ramah,
Weeping and great mourning,
Rachel weeping for her children;
And she refused to be comforted,
Because they were no more.”
This is a hard devotionals for me to write because I can’t explain how these verses make me feel. I am in tears not only for the sorrow but also for the overwhelming sense of God’s love that over takes me. That may not make sense to some people but it’s a powerfully moving experience for me. One that I’ve experienced each time I study these verses, and I’ve studied them many times.
Read these verses from a mother’s perspective. I can imagine and feel the weeping and great mourning that followed that horrific slaughter. There were mothers in Bethlehem that had their son’s ripped from their arms and killed for no known reason. These were the most senseless deaths. It was a tragedy inflicted on Israel because it was a chosen nation, but they did not know that was the reason. At the time, there was no making sense of why it happened.
However, God was not unaware and He was not unloving. This was prophesied years before hand and the deep sorrow was written in the scriptures where it would never be forgotten. This mattered to God. These martyrs were memorialized before they were even born and these mourning mothers were also memorialized. God knew and He cared. The parents of these children never knew in their lifetime why their sons were killed but I believe they had special crowns in heaven waiting for them.
We have no record in scripture but I believe there was a day that Mary learned about the slaughter of the sons of her relatives in Bethlehem. Upon hearing the news, she would have realized her son was the intended target, just as the angel said. Her relatives’ sons were killed simply because they lived where Jesus lived and were close to his age. She would have wept and mourned for her relatives who suffered what was intended for her family. That could have been an overwhelming burden for Mary and Joseph to carry; knowing their relatives had to suffer such an atrocity that was meant for them, but I believe it became a powerful reminder of the love of God and the power of God. This story that they were living out was way bigger than just their little family; it extended to the family of Israel and to the whole world. I believe it is one of the many things she pondered and treasured in her heart.
There is suffering that comes when we are a part of manifesting God’s love and His kingdom to a fallen world. There will be much suffering that we cannot understand but we have to trust God is aware of it all and cares. If God had given up the Christ child to save the earthly life of those boys, the whole world would have perished.
This is what I meant when I said last time that I was in no way belittling the tragic things that are happening. This was horrific. It should not happen but in this fallen world it does. God could have stopped Herod’s plans to kill the boys but He didn’t. He used it to fulfill scripture. I don’t begin to understand but there is just some inexplicable tenderness in it all because I know God’s heart hurts when our hearts hurt.
Sorrow and love flow mingled down. “Greater love has no one than this, that a person will lay down his life for his friends.” (John 15:13) Maybe love and sorrow are inseparable in this fallen world and for this short life in time, but not for eternity.
We can become overwhelmed by the suffering or we can be overshadowed by God’s love, mercy, and power.