Herod’s fearful deviousness
Daily Scripture
Matthew 2:3-8
3 When King Herod heard this, he was troubled, and everyone in Jerusalem was troubled with him. 4 He gathered all the chief priests and the legal experts and asked them where the Christ was to be born. 5 They said, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for this is what the prophet wrote:
6 You, Bethlehem, land of Judah,
by no means are you least among the rulers of Judah,
because from you will come one who governs,
who will shepherd my people Israel.” [Micah 5:2]
7 Then Herod secretly called for the magi and found out from them the time when the star had first appeared. 8 He sent them to Bethlehem, saying, “Go and search carefully for the child. When you’ve found him, report to me so that I too may go and honor him.”
Daily Reflection & Prayer
Jerusalem was a crossroads city with many foreign visitors. In order to cause a stir in the city and attract Herod’s attention, the magi may have had quite a large entourage. (Matthew never said how many of them there were. The “three” magi tradition began 600 years later, based on the three gifts given to Jesus). Herod, an insecure man who held the title of “king” only as a puppet of the Roman Empire, hid his real intentions about the new king behind courteous, even religious words.
- Herod’s act likely fooled the magi (we’ll see tomorrow that God had to warn them in a dream not to go back to Herod). But it’s unlikely that his show of piety fooled many people in Jerusalem who knew his history, which included killing family members. As you read his smooth lie, ask yourself: is your approach to life and relationships genuine and honest? Are there parts of your life where you think honesty is “just not realistic”?
- Scholar Craig Keener noted, “These Bible experts know precisely where the expected king should be born: in David’s hometown of Bethlehem, as prophesied in Micah 5:2. Although everyone knows the Magi’s mission (vv. 2–3), there is no indication that the Bible experts join them in their quest. Knowing the Bible is not always the same thing as obeying it.” * What choices help you to move your Bible knowledge from your head to your heart to your actions?
Prayer
Lord Jesus, you came into a dark, dark world ruled more with fear, hate and paranoia than with love, joy and peace. Thank you for having the courage and compassion to come to us that first Christmas. Amen.
GPS Insights
Emily Stirewalt
Emily Stirewalt serves as Resurrection's Silverlink Pastor specializing in pastoral care of elderly adults. She is an ordained Elder in the Missouri Annual Conference and has served since 2007. She is married to Randall, a special education teacher. They have two daughters, Elliott and Marlowe. Emily enjoys binge watching "Friends" or "Golden Girls."
We celebrated my baby’s third birthday just five days after Christmas. Unfortunately, both I and the birthday girl are recovering from Flu A over the Christmas holiday, but we did not let that stop us from a quiet celebration at home. We unwrapped a few presents and had cake. The birthday girl and I stayed home while daddy and her big sister went to run some errands. All things considered, it was a sweet day, and I am grateful that in two weeks when we have her birthday party, we will all be better.
We did have one significant new challenge this year as we began our celebration. Her big sister (only 17 months older) was having her first realization that it is hard when someone else is having the birthday and opening the presents. She was really struggling with jealousy and some sibling rivalry. So, my husband and I asked the birthday girl to pause for just a moment. We gently reminded my oldest that her birthday is in July and that we will celebrate her then, and that today is about how thankful we are for her little sister. The day progressed well. I want to think it is because of our parenting choices–it is more likely because they were separated because of the flu.
With full recognition that comparing my girls to King Herod and Jesus is not a sustainable analogy, I do find it remarkable how much jealousy played a role in this story for Herod. He was the most powerful ruler in that part of the world (though subject to Rome’s support) and now the magi suggested that someone else had come along to take that place. Instead of taking a moment to pause and realize that to all human appearances there was no immediate threat to his power, he made menacing choices to terrorize people (not a recipe for winning his subjects’ affection).
None of us are Roman puppet kings. But I am prayerful that this story and insight gives you a moment to pause and consider what places you may be struggling with envy today. What decisions have you made to shore up your own power in a relationship? What changes could you make in this new year to remember that you are an individual valued by God right this moment? No one else’s existence threatens that truth. Thanks be to God.
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Scripture quotations are taken from The Common English Bible ©2011. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
References
* NIV, Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible (p. 8382). Zondervan. Kindle Edition.
