SATURDAY December 30, 2023

Voices of Lamentation and Sorrow

Then was fulfilled what was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet, saying: “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.”
Matthew 2:17-18

King Herod secretly asked the Wisemen to let him know where they found the Child––the Newborn King. However, God intervened and warned the Wisemen in a dream that they should not return to Herod, so they left for their own country another way (Matthew 2:12). Joseph was also warned in a dream of Herod’s evil intentions to murder Jesus. So during the night, he protected Mary and Jesus by taking them to Egypt (Matthew 2:13-15).

Once King Herod found out he had been tricked by the Wisemen, he was so infuriated. He was able to calculate the possible age of the Child because he had asked them the time when the star had appeared. Herod would not accept a rival to his throne, and moved by Satan, he decided on a plan to eliminate the threat. He ordered all the male children two years old and under to be slaughtered. The order was to be executed not only in Bethlehem, but also in its surrounding districts.

A prophecy spoken by the prophet Jeremiah was fulfilled. These acts of violence committed by a tyrannical king were written hundreds of years before: Thus says the LORD: “A voice was heard in Ramah, lamentation and bitter weeping, Rachel weeping for her children, refusing to be comforted for her children, because they are no more” (Jeremiah 31:15).

Why was there a reference to Rachel, the wife of Jacob, the Patriarch of Israel? She went into labor as the family neared Bethlehem. Sadly, Rachel died in childbirth, but before her last breath, she was able to see her son, whom she called Ben-Oni, meaning, “Son of my sorrow.” However, his father called him Benjamin meaning “Son of (the) right hand.” Rachel was buried on the road to Ephrath––Bethlehem (Genesis 35:16-20).

Life can be cruel, it is often full of sorrow and pain. Yet there is comfort in Jesus, the Son who now sits at God’s right-hand who identifies with us.

He is despised and rejected by men, a Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief.
~Isaiah 53:3~

For more from Raul Ries, please visit SomebodyLovesYou.com!