PLEASE READ THIS FIRST: Matthew 2

What do you sense the Lord saying to you in this passage?

“Rachel weeping for her children… because they are no more.” (Matthew 2:18)
Imagine the horror of watching your child being slaughtered.
There really is no comfort in the moment, and seemingly no hope.
Matthew relates this terrible tragedy to what Jeremiah spoke about.
In Jeremiah 31:15, Rachel (Jacob’s wife) represents the mothers of Israel.
They weep as they see their children deported to Babylon.
But Jeremiah urges them to not give up hope.
“Your children will return to their own land.” (Jeremiah 31:17)
Matthew describes how the child Jesus returns to Israel from Egypt (2:21).
Jesus fulfills Jeremiah’s promise – God does restore his children!
Are aborted babies beyond hope, or those who die of SIDS or at childbirth?
Are those who suffer abuse, or are murdered beyond God’s reach?
This is no comfort in the moment as you see your children suffer.
But to me it keeps me hoping for all the children, whom Jesus loved.
There is hope beyond suffering and death… Jesus returned from there too!
PRAYER
Lord Jesus, we weep for the ‘innocents’ slaughtered in this tragic world. But we cling to the hope that you will come back, and you will bring them with you!