The Rival

Underneath all his external power and glory, Herod the Great was a weak and frightened man. He was hated by the Jews, whom he ruled, having been imposed on them by Rome. But the problem was: he wasn’t Jewish. He was from Idumea (Old Testament, Edom); and having a non-Jewish King rule over them was utterly unacceptable to them. He attempted to win them over through many wonderful building projects across the nation, but especially through his expansion and rebuilding of the magnificent Temple in Jerusalem. But that simply made people hate him more, since they believed it was wrong for a Gentile to build God’s House.

Herod became increasingly paranoid about possible enemies, and he built a string of palace fortresses on a line south to Idumea so he could flee there if ever he needed to. But fear is a poor guide in life, as this story shows.

When the Magi came searching for the newborn ‘King of the Jews‘, Herod’s alarm bells immediately rang, for here was a potential rival to his throne. He responded in his usual brutal way – mass murder. He had already murdered his wife, her two sons, her brother, her grandfather, and her mother, among many others. So ordering the massacre of every baby boy aged two and under in Bethlehem and the surrounding region to make sure this newborn king didn’t slip through the net was nothing to him. And all this out of fear.

Fear is a poor guide when it comes to making decisions. Let’s ensure we aren’t led by fear, but by faith – faith in, and obedience to, King Jesus, whom the Magi came to worship.