Sep6
Matthew 2:16…….Ready
When Herod realised that he had been outwitted (duped, tricked, fooled, mocked-K.J.V.) by the Magi, he was furious, (livid, enraged, boiling, went ballistic.)and he gave orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years old and under, in accordance with the time he had learned from the Magi. (Due to the total population of Bethlehem, being around 1000 at this time. Estimates have set the number of infants at about a hundred, with the number of boys 2 years old and under at no more than a few dozen.)
Continued From Book
“Teaches how Herod fearing he would lose his throne was willing to do whatever it took to preserve his power. “ ⇒ We may not be as psychopathic as Herod, but we have more in common with Herod than we like to admit. We act like Herod when we try to keep Christ off the throne and out of certain areas of our lives. We act like Herod when we want to hang on to our right to rule. We act like Herod when we hoard certain aspects of our lives from God. We act like Herod when we refuse to surrender our finances to God. We act like Herod when we hold fast to something God is calling us to let go of. We act like Herod when we’d do anything to get and hold onto power, even if it includes hurting other people. We act like Herod when we give into self-preservation, self-centeredness, and self-exaltation. (Note: It may seem obvious and simple: after all, that we don’t want to be like Herod in trying to physically hurt anyone or rejecting Jesus outright. But sometimes, when we act selfishly or greedily, or when we think too highly or pridefully of ourselves we can.)
“Displays those who fear the truth will do all they can to suppress the truth as fast as they can, by any means possible.” ⇒ People will do all they can to get rid of the convicting presence of the Word. Not all people who love the truth are willing to face the truth.
“Teaches how those who want to do their own thing will do all they can to push Jesus aside and get Him out of their affairs. Many want to eliminate and get rid of God as quickly as possible that they may go about living life the way they want to live.”
“Warns how sin has a way of multiplying itself, leading us to do unthinkable things we never imagined.” ⇒ As the saying goes “Sin will take us further than we wanted to go, make us stay longer than we wanted to stay, and make us pay more than we wanted to pay. How many Christians have been destroyed because they let the devil ride, they let sin into their lives. If Herod had kept his head he would not have committed such an atrocious act.
“Warns when we fail to bend the knees to the Lordship of Christ – we end up hurting ourselves and everyone around us.” ⇒ What drives Herod’s rage is the same thing that fuels our resistance. We want to be on the throne. Herod’s murderous plot is a reminder that acts of self-protection usually involve harming others. The more we selfishly seek to secure ours and ourselves at all costs, the more likely we are to bring harm—and in this case, devastation—to others. Herod’s power, prestige, and possessions were more valuable to him than people. We may not always be as extreme as King Herod, but when we seek to build and protect our kingdoms is often no less tragic. We build our kingdoms out of Fear. Our kingdoms are ruled from fear and insecurity, lashing out or retreating when threatened by others or when we hold too tightly onto the things of this world. Status, wealth, accomplishments, relationships, and even time can become our “kingdoms.” Herod had everything. Yet his overbearing ego and his maniacal self-focus kept him from seeing the truth. He didn’t have a willingness to see what God was doing in the world and bow the knee to it. So don’t be like Herod, whose drive for self-preservation and power caused him to miss the point of the birth of the Son of God.
“Warns how those who are following God and doing what is right will often find themselves targets of scorn.” ⇒ Obedience to God’s commands often conflicts with a way of life that is at odds with what the world’s values. As result we will stand out. In order to silence their accusing conscience they will do all they can to condemn the faithful. If we can be silenced, the disobedient world hopes their conscience that condemns them, will also be silenced.
“Prepares believers how some will miss interpret our motives, thinking we’re out to trick/mock them, when our true intentions was only about following and obeying God.” ⇒ Know that when following God’s direction our motives and intentions will often be suspect. Will be accused as being bigoted, self-centered, narrow-minded, or out of touch.
“Warns of what can happen we allow anger and our emotions to control us.” ⇒ We often become our own worst enemies when we give into anger, hate, pride, envy, and jealousy. Just like Herod we can be so completely controlled by our passions, what little judgment and common sense we had just went out the window. Because of his anger Herod did not bother to consider, because the Magi did not return to him, they were probably on to his wicked plan, and if so, they would surely have warned the family. The family, in turn, would have long fled Bethlehem and probably the country, thereby losing any chance of killing the baby Jesus.
“Even today, there’s a inner Herod in all of us as who’s going to rule & reign, Christ or self! Do you find yourself acting more like king Herod–certainly not as ruthless, but just as stubborn and defiant, that you’ll do anything to maintain the throne of you life no matter the costs.” ⇔ Will you be honest with yourself and take a minute to examine your record as king of your life: how’s that working for you, not great I bet! So don’t pull a Herod in thinking I’m going to call the shots and do things my way. Instead will you allow Christ to rule as King by taking the crown from your head and stepping down from the throne and placing Jesus on it where He belongs. How far are you willing to go to ensure that Jesus stays on the throne.
“People often ask: “Why did this happen” or “where was God at during this tragedy?” Where is God when billions of babies are taken before their first breath? Where was God when 20 innocent lives were cut-down at Sandy Hook Elementary? Where is God? And why did God allow this to happen when He could have prevented it by warning these parents as He did Joseph & Mary? First we need to remember God was not at fault, Herod was. Second God allow it to happen in order to accomplish a greater purpose. Just as God rescued His Son from Herod, only to have Jesus die later that we may be Saved from our sins.” ⇒ There are other reasons why God allows the innocent to suffer. First: God allows suffering as a consequence of living in a fallen world. (According to God’s standards there are no innocent people, all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.-Rom. 3:23) God in His sovereignty allows suffering having given man free will and freedom of choice. Sometimes the innocent suffer as a direct result of other peoples own actions and poor choices, drunk driving, drug abuse, etc. Other times the innocent suffer because of what some might call “acts of God”: Natural disasters, earthquakes, floods, accidents, etc. (Even in those cases, we can say that the suffering is the result of sin, generally speaking, because we live in a sinful fallen world.) Second: God uses suffering to draw us to Himself so that we may seek Him.-(Acts 17:27) Third: God uses suffering to take our eyes off this world and turn them to the next. The Bible continually exhorts us to not get caught up in the things of this world but to look forward to the world to come.-(1-John 2:15-17) Could God prevent all suffering? Of course He could! But He assures us that “all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are called according to His purpose”-(Rom. 8:28). Suffering—even the suffering of the innocent—is part of the “all things” that God is using to accomplish His good purposes, ultimately. His plan is perfect, His character is flawless, and those who trust Him will not be disappointed.
Additional Notes & Applications
Teaches how just like Herod people will stop at nothing to eliminate the competition and retain power. For many they’ll do everything and anything they can to eliminate those who they feel are a threat to their authority, a threat to their position, a threat to their lifestyle, and a threat to their way of living.
Displays how some people can remain hostel and defiant to the very end no matter how much truth or evidence they’ve been given. (Many don’t want to admit their a sinner who needs God’s help.)
Warns how self-interest and uncontrolled ambition can turn us into monsters, that will stop at nothing in getting our way no matter who we have to hurt in the process. (Do you put personal pursuits and interests above family and your Christian morals and values?)
Displays the natural tendencies of the sinful nature that wants to resist and defy God every step of the way. Will you stop running, fighting, and resisting and see the sinfulness and wickedness in your own heart and your need of God’s forgiveness? (cf. Rom. 7:18-25)
Prepares believers to expect persecution for no other reason than our proximity and closeness to Christ.
Displays how God is working His eternal purpose and plans out even in the midst of evil and tragedy. As horrible as this event is, know that even in a broke and evil world God is still in control. And don’t forget there’s an encouragement part in all of this, that these babies are now with God in heaven! (cf. Rom. 8:28)
Warns how nothing gets us more mad than ungratefulness. Herod had gone out of his way to please the Jews, even to the point of rebuilding their Temple and instead of accepting him as their king, they are all going crazy over some child born in little hick town called Bethlehem. To him, they were just a bunch of ungrateful people. How many of us have gotten angry because people or family members did not appear grateful for the hard work and sacrifices we did on their behalf.
Warns if not careful we too can feel jealous in how someone came to Christ and the road it took. We have our own ways of reaching out, just far enough to slaughter someone’s experiences of God’s grace for the sake of our patterns, practices, and perspectives.
Emphasizes how some can miss interpret our motives, thinking somehow we’re out to trick & mock them, not realizing our true intentions was only about following and obeying what God commands. (Know that when following God’s direction our motives and intentions will often be suspect. Will be accused as being bigoted, self-centered, narrow-minded, or out of touch.)
Warns of what anger can do when we don’t get our way. That we start to vent our frustration towards the wrong things, blaming everything and everyone else around us, when its really we who are at fault! Herod should of recognized that it was He who was being deceptive, and not the Magi.
Note: When it says Herod realized he was “outwitted’ or “tricked” by the Magi it is referring to Herod’s perception of the motives of the wise men/magi, not their true intention. It was not their purpose to trick or mock the king but simply to obey God’s command “not to return to Herod” (v. 12). The king, of course, knew nothing of God’s warning and saw only that the wise men did not do as he had instructed. Herod should have been angry with himself, for it was he who had practiced deception. Now that his trick has boomeranged—the failure of the wise men to return being an injury to his pride. So too for us when we follow the Divine Direction our motives and intentions will often be suspect. We will be accused as being insensitive, divisive, self-centered, mean, or out of touch. We must not only be aware of these mistaken beliefs, but realize it takes courage to obey and stay true to God regardless of the ramifications or peoples misconceptions. (Note: This does not mean we can act irresponsibly, but must do all we can to correct others when we find they misconstrued our true motives and intentions, God has called us to peace, not discord. Also note we may find ourselves in Herod’s position, thinking a brother or sister has hurt us or wronged us, not knowing that maybe they were only acting out of the will of God in helping us for our own good.)
Note: Hostility towards the Christian faith, though not as opposing or violent as King Herod, is still alive and active today. Nativity scenes are disappearing from public places where such symbols have traditionally been displayed in courthouse lawns and city squares. The “Ten Commandments” have been removed from schools. Even in our own military, soldiers are not allowed to receive Bibles or display symbols of the Christian faith that might offend the local population where they are stationed. Christian military chaplains are restrained from speaking about Jesus Christ in Iraq and Afghanistan. “Prayers” have been banned in public schools and many work places. The word “Christmas” has been substituted with something more secular as “Happy Holidays” or “Marry X-Mass”. Even “Christ” has been replaced with “Santa Clause” and the “Easter Bunny”. Christmas used to be a time for sharing and talking about Christ, now its about parties and family get togethers. Humankind wants freedom from God to do want it pleases. Todays mantra is; “If it pleases you and doesn’t hurt anyone else, do it”. Following God has been replaced with “Spirituality” or “Enlightenment”.
Note: Many accept this event do to the fact that such atrocities were not out of character for Herod who even had his wife & sons killed suspecting they were trying to depose him. Thus it’s not improbable that his fear of a potential king would stop him from killing a few babies. If you think Herod’s act was atrocious in killing a couple dozen babies at most. Because of our own countries refusal to stop abortion, the rulers of our land have more blood on their hands than Herod, having killed millions upon millions of babies!
Note: Many overcome the atrocity of such an evil act as a grim reminder of the consequences of Adam & Eve’s fall in the garden of Eden, having used their freewill to bring sin & rebellion against God into the world. Second, the slaughter of the children in Bethlehem is a reminder of how badly broken this world truly is—which of course is why Jesus came in the first place. His birth was marked by all the characteristics of the world around us, including the worst kinds of evil.
Note: It’s interesting that Herod went to Scripture to find out where the Messiah was to be born,-(2:4) but never bothered to look to find out where the baby would escape too. (2:14-15)
Note: Some question this event due to that fact that it is not found in any supporting secular historical documents of the time. But this does not make it untrue, it simply may not have been recorded due to either:
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Historians would not have been aware of such an act, due to the obscurity of a small town like Bethlehem.
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Historians would not think it worthwhile recording such an event, due to the other atrocities committed by Herod.
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Historians would not have wanted to record anything that would appear to confirm Christianity.
(For more Applications get the whole Book) 
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