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Romans 8:28 says, “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.” One may ask how King Herod’s slaughter of the first-born males in Bethlehem served His Purpose, and why did those first-borns have to be slaughtered in order to pave the way for Jesus. Some may answer that those who were slaughtered were collateral damage in the scheme of things, considering the big event of Jesus’ eventual coming of age to make a big impact on the western world’s religious views. Some may wonder why God would make sacrifices among the people who worshiped him to foster Jesus’ eventual stature. I guess a mitigating that would make sense is that those who were slaughtered would enter into God’s Kingdom where, compared to life on earth in the flesh, is eternal, among the green fields and streams and other accoutrements therein, so we need not feel sorry for them.
Some will just hold to what it says in the Bible, that a series of prophecies from the Old Testament were fulfilled as God wished, and that’s the end of story. The end of the story here, before going on, is that Jesus was baptized by John.
One by one, the prophesies were fulfilled. Jesus’ birth in Bethlehem was fulfilled by the prophecy of Micah 5:2 which says, “But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel, whose coming forth is from of old, from ancient days.” When Herod found out that Jesus was born in Bethlehem, and angel of the Lord appears in Joseph’s dream, warning him and saying to bring the Baby Jesus to Egypt. Joseph’s having done so was in fulfillment of the prophesy in Hosea 11:1 which says, “When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called my son.”
In the meantime, King Herod, believing he was tricked in some manner, slaughters the first-born in Bethlehem, according to Matthew 2:16. Vere 17 tells us that this was in fulfilment of another Old Testament prophesy, Jeremiah 31:15 which says, “Thus says the LORD: ‘A voice is the 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.’”
When Herod died, and it was safe for Joseph and Mary to leave Egypt with the Baby Jesus, an angel appears in Joseph’s dream in Matthew 2:20, telling Joseph to bring Jesus and Mary to Israel. And based on another dream involving an angel, in Verse 22, Joseph eventually settles in the District of Galilee, in the city of Nazareth according to Verse 23. And as they say, the rest is history.
Aside from the elements of prophesies, there’s an element of faith. That is, your belief in God through Jesus relies strongly on the element of faith. So who knows, if the people of Bethlehem end up believing in God through Jesus, as Jesus’ followers and disciples have done before them, their faith in God, perhaps within the framework of Romans 8:28, is despite the fact that God allowed for the firstborn in Bethlehem, some of whom may have been their own children, to be slaughtered. So, the residents there would perhaps accept that it is in God’s grand scheme of things, which in turn are for their benefit and ours.
Some will just hold to what it says in the Bible, that a series of prophecies from the Old Testament were fulfilled as God wished, and that’s the end of story. The end of the story here, before going on, is that Jesus was baptized by John.
One by one, the prophesies were fulfilled. Jesus’ birth in Bethlehem was fulfilled by the prophecy of Micah 5:2 which says, “But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel, whose coming forth is from of old, from ancient days.” When Herod found out that Jesus was born in Bethlehem, and angel of the Lord appears in Joseph’s dream, warning him and saying to bring the Baby Jesus to Egypt. Joseph’s having done so was in fulfillment of the prophesy in Hosea 11:1 which says, “When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called my son.”
In the meantime, King Herod, believing he was tricked in some manner, slaughters the first-born in Bethlehem, according to Matthew 2:16. Vere 17 tells us that this was in fulfilment of another Old Testament prophesy, Jeremiah 31:15 which says, “Thus says the LORD: ‘A voice is the 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.’”
When Herod died, and it was safe for Joseph and Mary to leave Egypt with the Baby Jesus, an angel appears in Joseph’s dream in Matthew 2:20, telling Joseph to bring Jesus and Mary to Israel. And based on another dream involving an angel, in Verse 22, Joseph eventually settles in the District of Galilee, in the city of Nazareth according to Verse 23. And as they say, the rest is history.
Aside from the elements of prophesies, there’s an element of faith. That is, your belief in God through Jesus relies strongly on the element of faith. So who knows, if the people of Bethlehem end up believing in God through Jesus, as Jesus’ followers and disciples have done before them, their faith in God, perhaps within the framework of Romans 8:28, is despite the fact that God allowed for the firstborn in Bethlehem, some of whom may have been their own children, to be slaughtered. So, the residents there would perhaps accept that it is in God’s grand scheme of things, which in turn are for their benefit and ours.
