Christmas Characters #5 – Herod - 16th December 2007 pm
Matthew 2:1-18
When the guiding star had brought the wise men Judea, the wise men headed straight for Jerusalem, the most likely place for a king to be born. Their question startled the city, “Where is he that is born King of the Jews?” – not a prince but a King! Herod’s appointment on the throne by the Roman Emperor was ignored in Heaven.
The words “Born King” must have sent shivers down Herod’s spine. You see, he was sitting on the throne of David, and he had no right to. He was not a descendant of David. The lineal heir to the throne was a humble village carpenter, and an Edomite was sitting on the throne. Herod was an Edomite, a descendant of Esau/Ishmael – Genesis 28:8-9 And Esau seeing that the daughters of Canaan pleased not Isaac his father; [9] Then went Esau unto Ishmael, and took unto the wives which he had Mahalath the daughter of Ishmael Abraham’s son, the sister of Nebajoth, to be his wife.
The long struggle between Esau and Jacob was about to come to a head as the serpent’s brood of the Edomite Herod’s set themselves against the Lord’s anointed one.
No man or woman was safe while Herod reigned. One by one he murdered his rivals. He murdered his wife’s brother because he was popular with the Jews. He murdered Mariamne, the beautiful Maccabean princess he had married, because ehe was suspicious of her, and he murdered both her sons. He murdered his own son and heir.
Herod hacked his way through life, slaughtering six to eight thousand of the best people in his realm. Caesar Augustus is reported to have cynically said, “I’d sooner be Herod’s swine than Herod’s son.”
I. Herod was Troubled (Conviction)
Verse 3 When Herod the king had heard these things, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him.
No wonder all Jerusalem was troubled. If Herod heard the news about this newborn King, the Jews knew how Herod would react. Blood would be shed before long. There would be yet another killing spree.
I wonder what went through Herod’s mind when the wise men came. I wonder if the mention of a star by the wise men had triggered a verse of Scripture in his mind?
Numbers 24:17-18 I shall see him, but not now: I shall behold him, but not nigh: there shall come a Star out of Jacob, and a Sceptre shall rise out of Israel, and shall smite the corners of Moab, and destroy all the children of Sheth. [18] And Edom shall be a possession, Seir also shall be a possession for his enemies; and Israel shall do valiantly.
I wonder if Herod knew that his time was up. Did he know deep down that this day would come?
Herod was troubled because God’s Word pierced his heart. Have you ever been there? You know God is speaking to you. You think the preacher’s been spying on you – how does he know so much about me???
It’s not the preacher it’s the Spirit of God convicting you… Conviction is a good thing.. It’s how we react to the conviction..
Verses 4-6
Herod wastes no time, he summoned all the chief priests and scibes and asks a theological question. In effect he said, “Okay, you people are expecting this Messiah – Where does the Scripture say He’ll be born?”
The answer to that question would enable him to know where to start looking for this unwanted King. He also questioned the wise men as to when the star first appeared. Based on their response, Herod would be able to know how far back he would need to go. He would not feel safe as long as anyone was alive who was born between the time the star first appeared and the time the magi showed up in Jerusalem.
Herod’s counsellors had no trouble telling him where to look for this King. According to Micah 5:2, He was to be born in Bethlehem.
II. Herod did not follow God (Disobedient)– Verses 7-8
Once Herod knew where to look for this rival, he resorted to guile. He had questioned the magi “diligently” (or accurately / exactly) and now he tells them to search “diligently” as they continued on their journey.
Herod urges the wise men to return to him and tell him the results of the search.
Why didn’t Herod obey God’s Word and go and worship Christ?
It’s the same when we know we are to obey God’s Word, and we don’t.. James 4:17 Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.
Did the wise men go to Bethlehem? We know that they did not arrive at the stable as Verse 11 tells us that it was a house and the Greek word for young child is pahee-dee’-on = infant
But was the house in Bethlehem? That is where Christ was to be born, that is where Herod sent them, but where did God send them? Verse 9-10
Verse 12
The wise men had one more duty to perform, return to Herod and tell him exactly where this newborn King was. Surely Herod would want to come and worship the Messiah, the Saviour, the Bright and Morning Star, the Lily of the Valley, the Rose of Sharon, the Bread of Life, the Way the Truth and the Life…
No Herod wanted Christ dead. The only gift he would bring was a sword. All Herod saw was a threat to his throne, he was protecting his crown, when Christ was born to offer a crown of life.
It is said that two kinds of birds fly over the California deserts: the hummingbird and the vulture. All the vulture can see is rotting meat because that is all he looks for. He thrives on that diet. But the hummingbird ignores the carcasses and the smelly flesh of dead animals. Instead, he looks for the tiny blossoms of the cactus flowers. He buzzes around until he finds the colourful blooms almost hidden from view by the rocks. Each bird finds what it is looking for.
What are you looking for? Better still-what are you finding? What you are finding tells what you are really looking for. Your expectations of life will determine your outcome.
III. Herod had the wrong reaction (Worldly) – Verse 16
Herod = Edomite = Esau
Jesus = Israelite = Jacob
Genesis 27:41 And Esau hated Jacob because of the blessing wherewith his father blessed him: and Esau said in his heart, The days of mourning for my father are at hand; then will I slay my brother Jacob.
A person is identified not only by his friends, but also by his enemies. Herod pretended that he wanted to worship the newborn King (Verse 8) when in reality he wanted to destroy Him.
Verses 13-15
God warned Joseph in a dream to take the Child and Mary and flee to Egypt. It was close and there were many Jews there. The treasures received from the wise men would be more than enough to pay the expenses for travelling and living there.
By sending Joseph to Egypt, another prophecy was fulfilled - Hosea 11:1 When Israel was a child, then I loved him, and called my son out of Egypt.
Verse 16
Herod’s anger was evidence of his pride. He could not permit anyone to get the better of him, particularly some Gentile star gazers!!! Wickedness grows as anger is allowed to control the life – Herod’s initial aim was to kill one child – now he kills every child 2 and under – (about 20)
The word “coast” is commonly applied now to the regions around the sea, as the seacoast. Here it means the adjacent places, the settlements or hamlets around Bethlehem - all that were in that neighborhood. We do not know how large a place Bethlehem was, nor, of course, how many were slain; but it was never a large town, and the number could not be very great. It is not probable that it contained more than one or two thousand inhabitants, and in this case the number of children killed was not over twenty or thirty
Herod had the wrong reaction, and he allowed the wrong person to control his life.
John 8:44 Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.
Herod lied to the magi and he killed the babies. But even this horrendous crime was a fulfilment of prophecy found in Jeremiah 31:15 Thus saith the LORD; A voice was heard in Ramah, lamentation, and bitter weeping; Rahel weeping for her children refused to be comforted for her children, because they were not..
In order to understand this fulfilment, we must review Jewish history. The first mention of Bethlehem in Scripture is in connection with the death of Jacob’s wife, Rachael (Genesis 35:16-20).
Rachael died giving birth to a son whom she named Benoni, “son of my sorrow.” Jacob renamed him Benjamin, “son of my right hand.” Both of these names relate to the Lord Jesus Christ. Isaiah 53:3 He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.
He is now the Son of God’s right hand Hebrews 1:3 Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high;
Jacob put up a pillar to mark Rachael’s grave which is near Bethlehem.
Jeremiah’s prophecy was given about 600 years before Christ was born. It grew out of the captivity of Jerusalem during the Babylonian invasion. Some of the captives were taken to Ramah in Benjamin, near Jerusalem; this reminded Jeremiah of Jacob’s sorrow when Rachael died.
However, now it was Rachael who was weeping. She represented the mothers of Israel weeping as they saw their sons going into captivity.
Jacob saw Bethlehem as a place of death, but the birth of Jesus made it a place of life.
Conclusion
History tells us that Herod died a horrid death. It is said that his crimes had affected his brain. After he murdered his wife he became insane, he contracted a disease from a harlot.
He ordered his sister to lock up all the noblemen in Judea and to execute them on the day of his death so that there would be mourning in Israel. When he died his sister released the prisoners.
The death of a child of God is completely different. We can learn a lot from Herod’s life and also his death.
