Herod Becomes Furious: Demonstrating man’s evil
Bible Reading: Matthew 2:16-18
Herod Kills the Children
16 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. 17 Then was fulfilled what was spoken by the prophet Jeremiah:
18 “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.”
Reading Questions: Why did Herod become furious? What did Herod do when he realized the Magi had outwitted him? (16) What had Jeremiah the prophet said about this? (18) [Rachel was Jacob’s favorite wife. She was the mother of Joseph and Benjamin. From Joseph came the tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh, which were the two most prominent and powerful tribes of the northern kingdom of Israel. The use of the name Rachel would personify the nation of Israel.] Can you think of other rulers throughout history who were cruel like Herod? What drives men like Herod? What happened to him when he faced God in judgment? How can you relate what Herod was like as a person to the reason Jesus came to earth?
Journal Writing: What is an important truth from the Bible reading? Why do you need to know that truth?
Application Prayer: Write out a prayer for God’s insight and help into how you can apply the truth from the reading.
Week’s Memory Verse: John 3:19-20.
19This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. 20Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed.