By Faith, Embrace the Heavenly Disruption of Suffering
Would You Trust God to Allow Your Child to Give His Life for Jesus?
“For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Rom 5:7-8, NKJV).
Think about it. Can you trust God for the eternal outcome of your children’s lives by committing to Him the unfolding details of their lives today –no matter how scary it is?
We must fortify our faith with Resurrection Hope. The scary parts are insurmountable by our natural strength and understanding; it is the spiritual wisdom of God’s promises that gives us overcoming faith in the face of our greatest fears. Consider these truths from the Word:
“The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned.” (1 Cor 2:14 ESV)
“We had the sentence of death in ourselves, so that we would not trust in ourselves, but in God who raises the dead.” (2 Cor 1:9 MEV)
My hope in this article is to arm us with the hope of the eternal promises of God no matter how difficult our situation is. As a backdrop for personal application, we will draw insight from one of the most difficult and unexplainable stories in Biblical history: the slaughter of the innocent children in Bethlehem. Let’s first set the stage and explore the events leading up to this horrific tragedy.
The Setting: The Little Town of Bethlehem
“But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.” (Micah 5:2)
Here is a marvelous heritage foretold! As a result of this prophecy, it seems quite possible that the inhabitants of Bethlehem had a quiet, yet genuine pride that Messiah would come from their Town! And it also seems possible that the townsfolk may have even anticipated that maybe this year might be the year that Messiah came as spoken by Daniel the Prophet (Daniel 9:25).
Imagine the excitement of the people of Bethlehem as they heard the account of the shepherds’ encounter with the baby Jesus!
“And when [the shepherds] had seen it, they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child. And all they that heard it wondered at those things which were told them by the shepherds.” (Luke 2:17-18)
The whole town and beyond were caught up in the excitement. Literally, it was the talk of the town!
I wonder if, after these extraordinary events, Mary would not have been surrounded by well-wishers from the small community? Remember that unlike Nazareth, these folks would have known nothing of Mary and Joseph’s unusual engagement, and seen them only as a young, married couple with a newborn. What stories Mary may have been able to tell them!
We also know that Joseph and Mary stayed in Bethlehem for some time (maybe as long as two years) after Jesus’s birth—enough time for those experienced mothers around town to not only come see the baby, but to also offer advice! Maybe Bethlehem was the site of a small, new mothers home-school co-op for all the children who were going to be Jesus’ special, life-long friends. However it may have happened, it seems very likely that Joseph, Mary, and Jesus connected into the Bethlehem community.
And then cam the stunning visit by the Wise Men:
“And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary His mother, and fell down, and worshipped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto Him gifts; gold, and frankincense, and myrrh. And being warned of God in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed into their own country another way.” (Mat 2:11-12)
Talk about an uproar! Never had such a caravan been seen in Bethlehem! There were camels and tents everywhere! The neighbors surely watched from a distance. But tomorrow, they would get all the news from Mary and Joseph as soon as the Magi were gone! But that neighborly follow-up visit never happened. For suddenly, by the next morning, the little family had disappeared:
“And when [the Wise Men] 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 thou there until I bring thee word: for Herod will seek the young child to destroy Him.’” (Mat 2:13)
You can imagine the shocked conversations of friends and neighbors.
“Joseph, Mary, and Jesus are gone?! Are you kidding?”
“Did those men from the East kidnap them?”
“After all we’ve done for them, and not even a goodbye?”
“Were they afraid to share all those gifts they got? Biggest baby shower I ever saw!”
“Are they coming back?!”
And then, perhaps only days later, the most dreadful turn of events took place.
The Unthinkable Tragedy
“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. Then was fulfilled that which was spoken by Jeremy the prophet, saying, ‘In Rama was there a voice heard, lamentation, and weeping, and great mourning, Rachel weeping [for] her children, and would not be comforted, because they are not.’” (Matt. 2:16-18)
Imagine what these grief-stricken parents would have thought and felt: “Did Joseph and Mary know this was going to happen? Is that why they left? What didn’t they tell us?”
A Hard Prophecy, a Hopeful Promise
What makes this story so hard is that the parents of Bethlehem were completely free of any fault in causing the massacre. Practically speaking, it’s the most paralyzing feeling of vulnerability a parent can have: nothing these fathers and mothers did or could have done would have prevented the harm that came to their children. Neither can we prevent much of the onslaught from the devil who is always on the prowl. We (and our children) will have to suffer through many unforeseen and uncontrollable circumstances, trusting God in them.
However, from the Lord’s perspective, He was in control and at work accomplishing His good redeeming purpose. Consider Jeremiah’s prophecy concerning the children of Bethlehem:
“Thus says the Lord: ‘A voice was heard in Ramah, lamentation and bitter weeping, Rachel weeping for her children, refusing to be comforted for her children, because they are no more.’
“Thus says the LORD: ‘Refrain your voice from weeping, and your eyes from tears; for your work shall be rewarded,’ says the LORD, ‘and they shall come back from the land of the enemy.’
“‘There is hope in your future,’ says the LORD, ‘That your children shall come back to their own border.’” (Jer. 31:15-17)
God took full ownership of the sorrows inflicted on these families, but He also forbid any morbid sorrow in light of the hope of His own accomplished, expected end for them. God raises the dead! We must never allow ourselves to permanently bemoan any earthly loss, even death. The Resurrection alone can declare the true value and meaning of our lives. (See also 1Thess 4:13- 14, “But I would not have you ignorant, brothers, concerning those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others who have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and arose again, so God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus.”)
In addition, God credits the people of Bethlehem’s involuntary participation in their loss as if they had chosen to do so: “for your work shall be rewarded.” God’s whole plan in our lives is that He is working out His redemption in us and all of those assets (rewards) are transferring to Heaven, not being accrued here on earth.
As Jeremiah’s prophecy continues, God identifies, what seems to be excruciating chastisement, as the highest level of loving care for His children:
“I have surely heard Ephraim bemoaning himself: ‘You have chastised me, and I was chastised, like an untrained bull; Restore me, and I will return, for You are the LORD my God.
Surely, after my turning, I repented; And after I was instructed, I struck myself on the thigh; I was ashamed, yes, even humiliated, because I bore the reproach of my youth.’
‘Is Ephraim My dear son? Is he a pleasant child? For though I spoke against him, I earnestly remember him still; therefore My heart yearns for him;
I will surely have mercy on him,’ says the LORD.” (Jer. 31:18-20).
Here God shows us how He turns the natural perspective into inspiring, joy-filled repentance that opens the afflicted heart to receive instruction in spiritual wisdom. He shows us how someone in the midst of great grief can even embrace being “ashamed, yes, even humiliated.” Otherwise, the natural, youthful outlook (without eternal perspective) brings reproach.
God disciplines (we may even say “chastises”) us through suffering to help us embrace a hope greater than any earthly blessing. This discipline is not directed at any particular wrongdoing of our own that needs correction. Rather it is directed at our general need to surrender the lesser loss for the greater gain. In that kind of discipline, God subjects us to the frustrations and trials of life to empower our spirit-man to abandon the expectations of the old-man (our flesh).
“For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of Him who hath subjected [the same] in hope.” (Rom 8:20 KJV)
It is imperative that we as parents embrace the heritage of redemptive suffering as our primary means of achieving the eternal goals we so desire for our children.
“Now no discipline seems to be joyful at the time, but grievous. Yet afterward it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness in those who have been trained by it. Therefore lift up your tired hands, and strengthen your weak knees. Make straight paths for your feet, lest that which is lame go out of joint, but rather be healed.” (Heb 12:11-13 MEV)
While Jeremiah’s prophecy (and its fulfilment) is hard, it also establishes the Scriptural standard of hope. We weep for our natural loss until such time that we realize that our natural man needs the chastening of the Lord in order to see the hope of God’s determined end for us. Suffering endured produces a change of expectations. After God turns us away from our natural expectations to His hope, we jump to repent (meaning we have a change of mind and direction) and begin to be instructed in God’s ways and bear the reproach otherwise unbearable.
The Rest of the Story
The children who were killed in Bethlehem have been referred to by some church historians as the first martyrs for Christ. In God’s Big Picture, they and their families became a part of the Gospel narrative, a foreshadowing of the even greater sacrifice that Jesus would make (and for which His infant life was spared) for all mankind.
Perhaps some, if not many, of those folks in Bethlehem ultimately trusted in Jesus. Perhaps we can imagine asking one of Bethlehem’s moms, in the twilight of her earthly years: “Was it worth it, enduring such agonizing loss for the sake of the Messiah?”
“Yes,” she answers, still with pain, but with perspective. “I learned to trust God and walk by faith in every present act of today, leaving the results to Him. I no longer measure the outcome by losses of today but by God’s promises for tomorrow. I was privileged to trust Him in allowing my child to give his life for Jesus.”
“Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit.” John 15:1-2 (NKJV)
“Not only this, but we also rejoice in sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance, character, and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.” (Romans 5:3-5)