Matthew 2:16–18

Herod, however, angry because the wise men did not return to him, gave orders for the murder of every boy up to two years of age in Bethlehem and the surrounding area... One might ask why he even included newborn babies. No doubt he was determined to allow no margin of error at all. How foolish, ignorant and empty is the enmity of man against God! History from that period also reports that Herod was a dying man at this time. Yet his self-centred pride could tolerate no thought of a rival, though only a child!

The king questioned the wise men closely, and from that he settled in his own mind when the Child must have been born. God warned them, so they kept away instead of returning to Herod. Then he sent out his cruel command: kill the children in Bethlehem and all the region around it, "two years old or under." He naturally concluded that a long stretch of time had passed between the birth of Christ and his wicked order.

Bethlehem belonged to the tribe of Judah, and Benjamin lay right next to it. A strip of land belonging to the tribe of Benjamin dipped down into the land of Judah. Herod was so determined to sweep the whole area clear that he killed the children not only in Bethlehem, but in "the region around it" — the parts of Benjamin just mentioned.

Herod's cruelty was calculated. By aiming his blow at the children he meant to put an end to the One who threatened his throne. No doubt the devil moved Herod to carry out such an atrocity, and the devil knew well who it was that had been born (Revelation 12:4). Its purpose fails. Joseph is warned of the danger and takes the young child and His mother and flees into Egypt. Still the blow falls, and who can tell the sorrow it must have brought? ... The very next verse in Matthew 2 records the death of Herod. He was soon called from his seat. He will stand before the great white throne for judgment, as Revelation 20:11-15 describes.

Herod had claimed to be a worshipper, yet his heart was full of enmity. It worked in him so strongly that after a time he issued a decree. He ordered all the children from two years old and under in the land of Israel to be killed, and he thought this would include the infant Saviour. However, he did not succeed... So God overrules man's wickedness to carry out His own purposes. If we do not see that, my Christian friends, we shall be at a loss to understand much of the Scriptures... Did He not do so at the cross? There man put to death the Son of His love, and God overruled that wickedness to carry out His own blessed purpose of eternal redemption.

Nothing can exceed the wickedness of Herod. He held the throne at Jerusalem at that time, and he will not part with it, even though another's claim is divine. If he can keep it, he will not give it up even to God Himself. That is the language of his actions. And like ruler, like people. Jerusalem is troubled at the word of the men of the East, just as Herod is. At his command, men stand ready to do the work of death... the children of Bethlehem shall die now, because David's Lord may be among them.

"In order that it might be" — hina (see Matt. 1:22); "so that it might be" — hupos (Matt. 2:23); and "then ... was fulfilled" — tote (Matt. 2:17) — are never confused in the quotations from the Old Testament. The first is the object of the prophecy. The second is not simply its object, but an event that fell within the scope and intention of the prophecy. The third is only a case in point, where what happened was an illustration of what the prophecy said.

Nothing shows more clearly how Christ is always before the Holy Spirit than the way our inspired writer applies Jeremiah 31:15 here. A pagan, or certainly a Jew, might admire the picture for its beauty, its boldness, and its grandeur. But who except God would have thought just then of the mourning prophet's words? They brought His Son before Him in Herod the Edomite's slaughter of the babies of Bethlehem. Matthew does not say that this was the object of the prophecy, as he does in other cases.

Why Rachel's voice? Bethlehem belonged to the tribe of Judah, but Benjamin was next to them; and you will remember Benjamin was Rachel's son. Bethlehem is first mentioned in connection with Rachel's death (Gen. 35:16-20), and her tomb was "in the territory of Benjamin at Zelzah" (1 Sam. 10:2). This piece of land belonged to Benjamin, but it dipped down into the land of Judah. A little building marks the site of her tomb to this day, about a mile north of Bethlehem, on the main road from Jerusalem and Bethel. Herod was so determined to sweep the whole area clear that he killed the children not only in Bethlehem but in "all that region" — the parts of Benjamin just mentioned.

We see from this that God puts forth no miraculous power to preserve Emmanuel. It was carrying out the prophecies — filling in the picture of ruin, both moral and national, that the Holy Spirit had sketched long years before. God was showing how precious every footstep of His Son was to Him… Wherever Christ was, His place was with His people in their sorrow, and He will not let them feel a pang without sharing it. … If Christ has the smallest connection with Israel, they become the object of Satan's hatred. Herod, led on by Satan, gave the order to kill their little ones, but the Messiah is taken away from the scene of his rage.

It is beautiful to see that the Holy Spirit (Matt. 2:17-18) applies to that event the passage about sorrow but not the passage about joy. Here is what follows: "Keep your voice from weeping, and your eyes from tears, for there is a reward for your work, declares the LORD, and they shall come back from the land of the enemy" (verse 16).

When Bethlehem mourned the babies Herod had killed, it was as if Rachel were repeating her lament from her grave nearby. But Rachel must find comfort here too, in a deeper way than in the prophet. The One who had escaped would in time offer Himself freely. He would redeem the heirs of death from the power of the grave and bring them back to a better life.

Three phrases are never confused in the quotations of the Old Testament: "in order that it might be" (see Matt. 1:22); "so that it might be" (Matt. 2:23); and "then… was fulfilled" (Matt. 2:17). The first is the object of the prophecy. The second is not simply its object, but an event that fell within the scope and intention of the prophecy. The third is only a case in point, where what happened illustrated what the prophecy said.

The next quotation we find here is from Jeremiah, and it speaks of Rachel weeping over her dead. Matthew introduces it in a very different way — "then was fulfilled," not "that it might be." This is only an application. When Bethlehem mourned her babies slaughtered by Herod, it was then as if Rachel from her grave close by were repeating her lamentation.

Rachel had been dead for centuries and centuries. But the Spirit of God puts it in this remarkable way, as if her spirit had risen from the dead. This dreadful slaughter took so many of her own children, along with the murdered infants of the tribe of Judah. So Rachel's voice is lifted up in weeping, and her cries of sorrow reach even Ramah, the chief town of Benjamin… Bethlehem was the place where she died. Her children died there too, just because it was the spot where her Saviour and theirs was born.

Like Jacob's, the nation's way to the glory runs through trial and trouble. The reference to Rachel's anguish shows this too (Jer. 31:15). "Benoni," the son of her sorrow, becomes "Benjamin," the son of the right hand. The nation's story is hidden like a riddle in the stories of Jacob, Rachel and her children.

It is beautiful to see that the Holy Spirit (Matt. 2:17-18) applies to that event the passage about sorrow, but not the passage about joy. Here is what comes next in Jeremiah: "Thus says the LORD: 'Keep your voice from weeping, and your eyes from tears, for there is a reward for your work, declares the LORD, and they shall come back from the land of the enemy'" (verse 16).

But there was bitter sorrow for the mothers of Bethlehem… What comfort they would have found, if only they had turned to the Scripture that spoke of their sorrow! There we read: "I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore I have continued my faithfulness to you… There is hope for your future, declares the LORD, and your children shall come back to their own country" (Jer. 31).

But Rachel must be comforted here also, in a deeper way than in Jeremiah. The One who escaped would later freely offer Himself, to redeem people from the power of the grave and bring the heirs of death back to a better life.

No doubt it was the devil who, knowing well Who had been born, moved Herod to commit such an atrocity (Revelation 12:4). Its purpose fails… Yet the blow falls, and who can tell the sorrow it must have caused?

The wicked deed is only a beginning of the sorrows of Israel, because they rejected the King… The worst is still to come, in the time of Jacob's trouble, when the false Messiah will be like Herod, shedding their blood… What greater crying and lamentation there will be in the land in the future!