ChristmasReading2022A - Flipbook - Page 50
Herod
We sing:
Joy to the World, the Lord is Come!
Let earth receive her king;
Let every heart prepare Him room…
Who doesn’t like Christmas music? It’s the music of good news, hope
and joy. But, ironically, it was far from that on the very rst Christmas.
The rst Christmas for many felt like anxiety and fear because a king
was disturbed at the news of the birth of a rival king. There was no
room in his heart for the newborn King. There would be no joyous
welcoming. There would be no joy for the coming of earth’s true King.
There would only be disdain, deceit and death. This was the life of
Herod, king of the Jews. His was a heart of darkness.
Herod was a contemp ble and mean king who was completely
unafraid to author calamity in the lives
of others. He was never above killing o The sad news is
people who disturbed him whether it
that we all have
was leading members of the Jewish
society, a favorite wife or even a son. It
within us a
did not ma er. And if king Herod was
not above murdering those close to
degree of the
him, what chance did a rival infant king
“Herod heart.”
have? None!
When the magi arrive from the east and
ask: “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his
star when it rose and have come to worship him” (Ma hew 2:2), it did
not sit well in the heart of the old wretch. And in his heart, he hatched
an evil scheme to deal with the rival infant king. Once he learned that
the baby would be born nearby in Bethlehem, Herod sent the magi to
nd the address with strict instruc ons: “Go and search carefully for
the child. As soon as you nd him, report to me, so that I too may go
and worship him” (Ma hew2:8). It was feigned submissiveness.
Herod’s true intent was to seek and destroy the infant king. He
intended to destroy an infant.
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When his plan failed, all pretense is dropped and the murderous side
of Herod appeared and he ordered the murder of all the li le boys in
the vicinity of Bethlehem two years of age or younger. God’s
interven on leads Joseph, Mary and Jesus to safety, but there can be
no greater contrast between the Kingdom of God and the kingdom of
men than this—the death of innocents.
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DAY Twenty-four: December 21 - Wednesday