Over the last couple of weeks, we have looked at Old Testament prophecies indicating that angels and shepherds would worship Jesus.  This week we tackle a prophecy about how King Herod would react to the birth of Jesus.

Some 600 years or so before the birth of Jesus, the prophet Jeremiah recorded the words of the Lord:

Thus says the LORD: “A voice is heard in Ramah, lamentation and bitter weeping. Rachel is weeping for her children; she refuses to be comforted for her children, because they are no more.”  [Jeremiah 31:15]

This is one of the prophecies of the Old Testament where we need to look at the New Testament to understand its fulfillment.  Under the influence of the Holy Spirit, Matthew records what happened when King Herod realized that the wise men had not come back to tell him the location of the baby Jesus:

Then Herod, when he saw that he had been tricked by the wise men, became furious, and he sent and killed all the male children in Bethlehem and in all that region who were two years old or under, according to the time that he had ascertained from the wise men. Then was fulfilled what was spoken by the prophet Jeremiah: “A voice was heard in Ramah, weeping and loud lamentation, Rachel weeping for her children; she refused to be comforted, because they are no more.”  [Matthew 2:16-18]

Herod ordered that all boys in the region two years old and younger be killed.  The mothers of those children surely wept over the loss of their new born children.  Matthew is clear that this is in fulfillment of Jeremiah’s prophecy.

Some will argue that it is only the words of Matthew that “retroactively” made this prophecy.  However, as we continue with the Monday Morning Prophecy series, you will see that this is just one in the overwhelming number of prophecies fulfilled in the birth, life, death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Return to the Monday Morning Prophecy index page.

Image courtesy of Abby Reed