Herod Kills the Children of Bethlehem
16 Then Herod, when he saw that he was deceived by the wise men, was exceedingly angry; and he sent forth and put to death all the male children who were in Bethlehem and in all its districts, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had determined from the wise men. 17 Then was fulfilled what was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet, saying:
18 “A voice was heard in Ramah,
Lamentation, weeping, and great mourning,
Rachel weeping for her children,
Refusing to be comforted,
Because they are no more.”
Bethlehem was a small village, and the number of children aged 2 and under was probably less than 100, but we do not have any actual records. The significance of innocents being killed by a rogue government or a madman is something that is to be found throughout history, with the 20th Century taking the uncoveted prize for the greatest crimes against innocents.
Among the many genocides of the 20th Century, one that is often overlooked by the world is that which occurred in the Ottoman Empire against the Armenians during World War I. It was an attempt by the Islamic Young Turks to rid the crumbling Ottoman Empire of Christians within their borders. They were excellent merchants and had large land holdings in what had been their country for thousands of years. In the Bible, the country of Armenia is found in passages such as 2 Kings 19:37 and Isaiah 37:38. Armenia was also the first official Christian country. Over 1,500,000 died during this genocide (1915-1924). The Tu7rkish government has never acknowledged the Armenian Genocide as taking place, and just relegate any deaths to the fact that there was a World War.
Bethlehem’s genocide seems rather insignificant in light of what has been said, but there are several parallels that make it extremely important. First, both were an attempt to eliminate Christianity from a geographical area. In Bethlehem, it was the founder—Christ Himself—that was the target. Innocent children were slaughtered just to make sure that there would be no possibility that the world system of that day (in Herod’s view) would be changed. Non Christian countries such as the nation of Turkey are intolerant of Christianity because they rightly see it as a threat to their system. Second, both show the earmarks of the real author of evil, Satan. Herod was a pawn of Satan, who knew of Herod’s own insecurities about staying as the King of the Jews. Herod has even executed his own children whom he feared, and so it would be reasonable to assume that he would have no problem with the mass deaths of innocents to find that One predicted in the Old Testament to be born in Bethlehem.
The quote from Jeremiah 31:15 is found by the writer of this Gospel to be fulfilled in the scene there at Bethlehem. Rachel’s Tomb, as we said a few days back, is on the Hebron Road that connects Jerusalem to Bethlehem. Jeremiah connects Bethlehem with Rachel due to the proximity of her grave to the little town. Remember, Rachel died while in childbirth, and she gave the name Ben-oni, “son of my sorrow,” to her child. Jacob changed his name to Benjamin, which means “son of my right hand.” Jeremiah sees her crying over the slaughter of children in Bethlehem that takes place at the time of Christ. The Child escaped the murderous onslaught of Satan, but He will come back to lay down His life at a later time. As the Christmas Season now becomes a memory, let us never lose sight that the greatest news is that Christ came to die, a death that would be the propitiation for our sins.