Here it is, my biggest pet peeve at Christmas. I hate to see Wise Men in a manger scene. If you have never read the story of Christmas in the bible, then you probably think The Wise Men came when Jesus was a baby. Not even close. The star shown down when Jesus was born, but travel back then, took much longer to get from point A to B. So, Jesus was about two years old, when The Wise Men finally arrived.
You say, but in the book of Matthew, Jesus birth is right next to the arrival of The Wise Men. So get over it already! The problem was, Herod didn't get over it. Herod's solution to another king being born, was to kill him. Since The Wise Men didn't tell Herod where to find Jesus, Herod had every boy two years and under in that entire region killed, in an effort to kill Jesus.
Think about this. You have one or more sons, under two years old. Male children mean, your family has someone to carry on the family name, provide if the husband becomes ill or unable to work, keep the land/home in the family, and care for aging parents. There weren't any nursing homes, Social Security benefits, workers compensation benefits, Aflac insurance, or life insurance policies. Also, women didn't generally own land, so they could be kicked out without a son, if their husband died. Now, take all that into consideration, as you ponder this. A soldier, comes to your home and rips your son, or sons away from you, then kills him before your eyes. Mathew 2:18 says “A voice was heard in Ramah, Lamentation, weeping, and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children, Refusing to be comforted, Because they are no more.”
So now, how many children may not have died, if The Wise Men had come when Jesus was a baby, instead of two years old? When looking at the whole story, details really do matter. I'm sure those parents who were deprived of their children, didn't easily get over it, so why should I?
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