Herod, boiling in a jealous rage, commits the same act as Pharaoh did long ago. In a chaotic and fiery frenzy, children are taken from their homes and killed, all because of the pride of one man.
Today's Bible verse is Romans 8:28, from the King James Version.
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Speaker 1: And we know that in all things God works for
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Speaker 1: the good of those who love Him, who have been
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Speaker 1: called according to His purpose Romans eight twenty eight. Lord,
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Speaker 1: in the midst of chaos, darkness, and despair, you are
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Speaker 1: a steady and reliable pillar for us to lean on.
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Speaker 1: We know that every trial and hardship work together for
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Speaker 1: our good and your glory. Give us the faith to
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Speaker 1: move forward with hope and assurance in your plan. When
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Speaker 1: we feel weak and lost, guide us with your word
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Speaker 1: and remind us of all your promises. We know that
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Speaker 1: just because we believe in you doesn't mean we are
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Speaker 1: immune to hardship. Rather, we know that purpose can be
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Speaker 1: found in the midst of our ship. Thank you in
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Speaker 1: advance for all the lessons and growth that will come
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Speaker 1: from our struggles. Continue to love and guide us through
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Speaker 1: it all in Jesus' name. Amen, Thank you for praying
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Speaker 1: with me today. Stay tuned now for another episode of
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Speaker 1: Stories of the Messiah.
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Speaker 2: Herod's smile was a serpent's grin as he raised his
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Speaker 2: glass to the wise men. Then perhaps the rumors hold true,
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Speaker 2: my lords, A new king.
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Speaker 3: May indeed grace our land glory to God.
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Speaker 2: But his eyes were stormy seas churning with rage and fear.
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Speaker 2: Should you find the child, do return and tell me
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Speaker 2: so that I too may pay my respects. The Magi
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Speaker 2: thanked Harod and departed. Herod watched them leave, his smile
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Speaker 2: changing into a snarl as the door closed behind them.
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Speaker 2: Messiah or not, he hissed in a venomous whisper, no
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Speaker 2: one will disthrone me. His eyes blazed with malevolence that
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Speaker 2: recalled the cruelty of Pharaoh long ago. With a cry
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Speaker 2: of fury, he hurled his cup against the wall and
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Speaker 2: summoned his gods.
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Speaker 3: Slay every boy under two, show no mercy to those
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Speaker 3: who defy me.
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Speaker 2: He slumped back into his throne, his thoughts a whirlwind
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Speaker 2: of paranoia. An infant shall not undo me. He vowed
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Speaker 2: the words a dark oath. The palace seemed to shudder
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Speaker 2: at his command, a foreboding silence descending as Herod's madness
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Speaker 2: spiraled further into the darkness, a void of which there
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Speaker 2: could be no return.
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Speaker 4: Today's episode is jarring and unsettling. As much as we
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Speaker 4: would love for the Christmas story to end on a
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Speaker 4: high note, with Joseph and Mary blissfully walking off into
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Speaker 4: the sunset. That isn't how the gospel is told. You see, Jesus'
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Speaker 4: birth isn't the ending. It begins God's mission to rid
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Speaker 4: the world of evil. That evil will be put on
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Speaker 4: full display in this episode. The chilling account of Herod's
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Speaker 4: order to kill all the male children in Bethlehem aged
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Speaker 4: two and under is a dark shadow in the story
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Speaker 4: of Jesus' birth. This heartbreaking event, often called the massacre
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Speaker 4: of the Innocence, reveals profound truths about the human condition
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Speaker 4: and God's redemptive plan. Let's not shy away from hard
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Speaker 4: stories like these. The darkness of mankind is revealed to
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Speaker 4: us so that the light of Christ can shine all
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Speaker 4: the brighter. Let's dive back into the story now. At
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Speaker 4: the end, we'll search for redemptive truths and silver linings.
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Speaker 2: Herod's mind was a twisted labyrinth of pride and paranoia.
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Speaker 2: Forest of fear and obsession haunted him. His throne was
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Speaker 2: his identity, his power, the essence of his being. The
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Speaker 2: mere whispers of a new born king sent tremors through
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Speaker 2: his mind. Herod hadn't even spared his own sons from
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Speaker 2: his paranoid rage, So this newborn stranger would be no different.
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Speaker 2: He was prepared to drown the paranoia and fear in
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Speaker 2: the blood of innocence. The orders were given, cold and merciless.
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Speaker 3: Slay every boy under two from here to the outskirts
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Speaker 3: of Bethlehem.
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Speaker 2: He commanded, his voice, the edge of a knife.
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Speaker 3: Burn their houses, if you must, let the flames purge
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Speaker 3: our land of this false.
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Speaker 2: Ho His soldiers were seasoned men of war and subjects
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Speaker 2: to Caesar, but even they found themselves at a moral crossroads.
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Speaker 2: Their loyalty to their king battled the humanity that still
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Speaker 2: flickered within their hearts. They had faced death on the battlefield,
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Speaker 2: and had shed blood in the name of Caesar. A this,
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Speaker 2: this was a horror they had never imagined. The first
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Speaker 2: village was a peaceful settlement, nestled in the shadow of
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Speaker 2: the mountains. As the soldiers approached, the air was filled
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Speaker 2: with children's laughter and the scent of freshly baked bread.
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Speaker 2: Their orders were clear, their path defined, But as they
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Speaker 2: looked into the eyes of the mothers and fathers and
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Speaker 2: the innocent children, their hearts wavered, a fragile dam holding
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Speaker 2: back a torrent of doubt and despair. Our remonsters. One
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Speaker 2: soldier whispered to another as they set fire to the houses,
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Speaker 2: the flames leaping like hungry demons. Is this what we
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Speaker 2: have become? The King's will be done? The other replied,
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Speaker 2: his voice hollumn, his eyes haunted. We have no choice,
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Speaker 2: but there is always a choice. Hideous evil is often
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Speaker 2: committed by those who feel they have no way out.
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Speaker 2: The soldiers pressed on the village after village, a trail
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Speaker 2: of tears and ash marking their path. They pried children
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Speaker 2: out of their mother's arms, and executed the fathers who
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Speaker 2: tried to stand in their way. The horror of parents
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Speaker 2: losing children became a relentless nightmare, a wound that would
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Speaker 2: never heal. Some soldiers broke, their minds, shattered by the
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Speaker 2: atrocities they were committing. Others pressed on their humanity a
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Speaker 2: distant memory, their souls numb to the suffering. In one village,
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Speaker 2: a mother clung to her child, her eyes wide with terror.
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Speaker 2: As the soldiers approached. Her husband stood before her, a
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Speaker 2: broken man, his face a mask of despair. Take me instead,
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Speaker 2: he begged, his voice, a plea to the heavens, take
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Speaker 2: my life, but spear my son. But the soldiers continued
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Speaker 2: their course, Their swords and torches cut through the valley
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Speaker 2: of Anatos. The cries of babies, growls of fathers, and
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Speaker 2: laments of mothers filled the air, all in the name
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Speaker 2: of Herod, sitting atop his throne of evil. The prophetic
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Speaker 2: words of Jeremiah hung in the air. A voice was
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Speaker 2: heard in Ramah lamentation weeping and great mourning. Rachel weeping
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Speaker 2: for her children. She wouldn't be comforted because they are
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Speaker 2: no more. Herod's hideous acts mirrored Pharaohs long ago when
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Speaker 2: he chose to drown the Hebrew children in the Nile.
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Speaker 2: Yet out of that tragedy a hero emerged, a child
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Speaker 2: who was spared for the sake of rising to deliver
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Speaker 2: those very people. If Herod had understood the story of Moses,
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Speaker 2: he would have known that God would not suffer evil rulers.
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Speaker 2: Long after an oath, the soldiers traveled to the town
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Speaker 2: of Bethany. Flames engulfed any home that refused Herod's decree.
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Speaker 2: The soldiers did quick work searing their souls along with
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Speaker 2: the houses. Finally, they set their sights on Bethlehem. They
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Speaker 2: traveled across rolling hills, bent on finding the King of
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Speaker 2: the Jews.
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Speaker 4: Herod's act was born of pride and paranoia. Having heard
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Speaker 4: from the Magi about a new born king, he saw
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Speaker 4: a threat to his power. His pride led to an
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Speaker 4: atrocious act of violence against innocent children. Pride blinds us,
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Speaker 4: binding us in a self centered prison where power and
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Speaker 4: prestige become the gods we serve. Herod pride, driven by
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Speaker 4: a need to protect his rule, resulted in destruction. The
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Speaker 4: biblical warning is clear, pride proceeds destruction and a haughty
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Speaker 4: spirit before a fall. Herod's tragic story is a cautionary
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Speaker 4: tale for all of us. We must examine our hearts
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Speaker 4: for traces of toxic pride that can lead this spiritual decay.
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Speaker 4: Herod was not the first ruler to fall victim to
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Speaker 4: paranoia and pride. The dark parallels between Herod and Pharaoh
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Speaker 4: are striking. Just as Herod sought to kill the children
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Speaker 4: of Bethlehem, Pharaoh ordered the death of Hebrew male children
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Speaker 4: in Egypt. Both rulers were driven by fear and a
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Speaker 4: desire to maintain control. Their horrendous acts were attempts to
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Speaker 4: suppress what they perceived as threats to their power. But
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Speaker 4: here's where the story of redemption unfolds. The connection between
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Speaker 4: Jesus and Moses comes in Moses was saved from Pharaoh's
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Speaker 4: decree and raised to lead the Israelites out of slavery,
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Speaker 4: becoming a symbol of liberation and law. In our next episode,
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Speaker 4: we'll see how Jesus escapes Herod's massacre. He would lead
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Speaker 4: people to the ultimate liberation from sin and death, fulfilling
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Speaker 4: the law. Jesus was the greater Moses. Both were protected
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Speaker 4: and preserved by God's sovereign hand, demonstrating that no human
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Speaker 4: power can ForwArt God's purpose and plan. The contrast between
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Speaker 4: the glory of the Magi's visit and the horror of
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Speaker 4: Herod's massacre can be jarring, but it's within this juxtaposition
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Speaker 4: that we see a powerful truth. Even in the wake
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Speaker 4: of hideous acts and evil rulers, God is working in
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Speaker 4: the margins. Herod's atrocity didn't derail God's plan for salvation.
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Speaker 4: In fact, it fulfilled a prophecy from Jeremiah chapter thirty one,
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Speaker 4: verse fifteen, showing that God's redemptive plan was in motion
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Speaker 4: even in the darkest moments. God's ways are not thwarted
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Speaker 4: by a human sin or failure. His redemption works through
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Speaker 4: and sometimes despite our brokenness. God's grace shines even in
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Speaker 4: the darkest places, offering hope and healing. As we celebrate Christmas,
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Speaker 4: let us remember the whole story, not just the joyful beginning.
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Speaker 4: Let us reflect on our need for a savior, the
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Speaker 4: cost of our redemption, and the amazing grace of a
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Speaker 4: God who works in the margins to bring about his
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Speaker 4: perfect plan. Romans chapter eight, verse twenty eight says, and
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Speaker 4: we know that in all things God works for the
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Speaker 4: good of those who love him, who have been called
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Speaker 4: according to his purpose. This Christmas, may we find comfort
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Speaker 4: in God's love and purpose, trusting that He is working
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Speaker 4: all things together for our good, even when life's circumstances
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Speaker 4: seem bleak or hopeless. May we relinquish our pride and
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Speaker 4: bow before the humble King Jesus, who came to set
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Speaker 4: us free. Join us for our final episode of the Nativity,
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Speaker 4: as Joseph is once again called in a dream to
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Speaker 4: participate in God's spectacular plan.
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