Herod's Wrath and Death Decree Matthew 2:16

Matthew shared what happened when the “wise men” were, “warned of God in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed into their own country another way. And when they were departed, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream, saying, Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and flee into Egypt, and be there until I bring you word: for Herod will seek the young child to destroy him. When he arose, he took the young child and his mother by night, and departed into Egypt. And was there until the death of Herod: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, Out of Egypt have I called my son.”, and in chapter two and verse sixteen of his book, Matthew shares how Herod, “sent forth, and slew all the children that were in Bethlehem...from two years old and under” where we read:

Then Herod, when he saw that he was mocked of the wise men, was exceeding wroth, and sent forth, and slew all the children that were in Bethlehem, and in all the coasts thereof, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had diligently enquired of the wise men.

The verse reads, “Then Herod, when he saw that he was mocked of the wise men, was exceeding wroth, and sent forth, and slew all the children that were in Bethlehem, ...” Matthew began with the words, “then Herod” which refers to “therefore and at the time Herod whose name means heroic and is the name of a royal family that flourished among the Jews in the times of Christ and the Apostles. Herod the Great was the son of Antipater of Idumaea. Appointed king of Judaea B.C. 40 by the Roman Senate at the suggestion of Antony and with the consent of Octavian, he at length overcame the great opposition which the country made to him and took possession of the kingdom B.C. 37”, “when he saw” or “at the time and moment Herod perceived, noticed, discerned and discovered” “that he was mocked” or “that Herod was trifled with, deluded and deceived” “of the wise men” which means “by the oriental astrologers who having discovered by the rising of a remarkable star that the Messiah had just been more and came to Jerusalem to worship him”, “was exceeding wroth” or “was greatly and beyond measure provoked to anger and incensed”, “and sent forth” which means “and ordered, appointed, set and sent”, “and slew” or “abolished, did away with, abrogated, killed and slayed” “all the children” which means “each, every, the whole and everyone of the infants and toddlers” “that were in Bethlehem” or “who were located in Bethlehem which means house of bread and was a village about six miles south of Jerusalem ”. Matthew shared how “king Herod” gave an order that “every one” of the children that were in “Bethlehem” should be killed.

The verse continues, “... and in all the coasts thereof, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had diligently enquired of the wise men.” Matthew added the words, “and in all” which means “and within each, every, the whole and everyone of”” “the coasts thereof” or “the boundaries, regions, districts and territories”, “from two years old” or “that were two years of age” “and under” which refers to “and below and downwards”, “according to” which means “down from, throughout and toward” “the time” or “the length and space of time” “which he had diligently inquired” which means “that Herod investigated to know exactly and accurately” “of the wise men” or “pertaining to the oriental astrologers who having discovered by the rising of a remarkable star that the Messiah had just been more and came to Jerusalem to worship him”. Because Herod learned from the “wise men” about the timing of the “star in the east” , he killed all the children who were “two years old” and younger.

When we consider Matthew's words in this verse, we discover just how paranoid and evil king Herod was. When he discovered the “wise men” avoided and deluded him, Herod was infuriated and had all the “children” who were “two years old and younger” killed. God was not without knowledge of this evil man Herod, and though this is a horrific event, it coincided with God's plan to “save” mankind eternally. Unless Jesus came, lived and was preserved as the “King of the Jews” and the Christ, man would be eternally lost and no one could be “saved”. May all who read these words consider the lengths to which God has gone to keep His Son from evil including the wicked king “Herod”.

Next time Matthew shares how scripture, “was fulfilled that which was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet”, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.

Until tomorrow…there is more…

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