Caleb watched as the family rushed through the evening meal, and hurried to gather. Seeing their anxiety, Caleb found himself hurrying along, and soon sat down for the night so he could continue the story of that first Christmas. Before he could even get positioned in his favorite chair, his grandson, Micah, quickly asked. “Saba(Hebrew for grandfather), I am curious to know, what happened after the Magi left?”
As Caleb smiled at his grandson, he began to tell the story where he had left off the night before. “As the Magi left Bethlehem, the Lord soon sent an angel to appear to Joseph in a dream. And the angel instructed Joseph that he had to act immediately, needing to take both Mary and Jesus and flee to Egypt with them. Then telling Joseph they needed to remain in Egypt until the Lord told him otherwise, as Herod would soon look to kill Jesus(Matthew 2:13). Immediately on hearing this during that night, Joseph got Mary and Jesus and prepared to depart as quickly as he could for Egypt. And Joseph did exactly as he was instructed, he remained in Egypt until after the death of Herod(Matthew 2;14-15).”
When Caleb’s daughter in law, Tamar, heard him speak, she suddenly said. “Abba, I must ask, why Egypt? Of all of the places in this world, why would the Lord send His Son there?” As Caleb heard her question, he smiled the biggest of smiles as he answered. “My daughter, I once asked Matthew the very same thing, as I also could not understand why the Lord would send them there. But after brother Matthew explained all to me, it made perfect sense, and I hope it will also for you. Egypt has a large Jewish community, about a million Jews were there at that time, and countless are still there to this day. They would have blended in well, and Joseph’s skills as a carpenter, would have fit in there well. Although Egypt was under the order of Rome, it was well outside of the jurisdiction of Herod, so they would have not been in danger there. And the trip from Bethlehem to Egypt would have been a quick one, as it was only about forty miles for them to get there, and out of the grip of Herod, making it much easier to accomplish with a young child.”
As Caleb spoke these words, he continued to speak, “One other thing in this played a key part. Do you remember why Joseph and Mary went to Bethlehem? The prophecy from Micah(Micah 5:2) that I told to you of how the Messiah would be born in the city of David. Just as the Lord sent Joseph and Mary to Bethlehem to fulfill His Word, He did the same with Joseph and Mary as he sent them to Egypt. The Lord spoke to Hosea telling us, ‘Out of Egypt I called My son(Hosea 11:1)’. The Lord sending Joseph, Mary, and Jesus to Egypt, fulfilled this promise as He would call them to return.”
As Tamar paused, smiled, and nodded that she now understood, Caleb continued to tell them all what happened next. “When Herod saw that the Magi had not reported to him, but left to return home another way, he became enraged, and sought the most extreme of measures in order to take matters into his own hands. Herod had determined from the words of the Magi that it had been about two years since they had first seen the star. So Herod ordered his troops to Bethlehem, and instructed them to kill every male child under the age of two years(Matthew 2:16-18). And as the families could be heard screaming and weeping in the streets, the words the Lord had spoken to Jeremiah were also seen fulfilled. Words that I still remember well. ‘A voice was heard in Ramah, weeping and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children; and she refused to be comforted, because they were no more(Jeremiah 31:15).’”
As Caleb heard the sighs from the family, he could hear his daughter in law, Sarah, speak through her forming tears. “He had them killed? I do not even know those mothers, and I ache for them today! How cruel was Herod that he could do such a thing?” As Caleb heard her words, he gave her a moment to compose herself before he replied. “My daughter, I can remember many speaking of Herod the Great, and each word they spoke could not begin to describe the cruelty of this man. Paul once told me of the human heart, ‘evil men and impostors will proceed from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived(2 Timothy 3:13).’ No words could have greater described Herod.”
As Caleb lowered his head, he described what Herod had been like. “Herod was a man who was beyond ruthless, a man who would use and abuse anyone or anything so he could get what he wanted. But through all his evil, Herod was also very clever, and he made sure he always stayed in the good graces of Rome. I know you all never saw it, but if you had seen the Temple that Herod built in Jerusalem, your eyes would have been amazed. It was beyond spectacular! But Herod did not have it built so the eyes of the world would be on the Lord God, Herod ordered it built so the eyes of the world would be on him. Herod loved power, and he inflicted heavy taxes on the people of Israel so he could always have whatever he wanted. In his later years, Herod became very paranoid, even more cruel, and always suspicious as he feared any potential rivals. Herod had his wife’s brother, the high priest, drowned in the pool at the palace. And with him, he also killed several of the other priests and leaders of the Sanhedrin. Herod killed his mother in law, as well as another one of his wives and their two sons. Other of his sons fled Israel because they feared Herod would do the same to them, and if he could have, he probably would have. Herod was so cruel, that when he learned his death was approaching, he ordered the arrest of many other Jewish leaders in Jerusalem. Herod knew that no one would shed a tear for him when he died, so he ordered all these that had been arrested to be put to death the moment he died, so mourning could be heard, and tears could be seen in Jerusalem at the time of his death. I was told that Augustus, the Emperor of Rome, once said of Herod, ‘It is better to be Herod’s dog than one of his sons.’”
On hearing about Herod, Caleb’s son, Uri, began to speak. “Abba(Hebrew for father), if I may ask. How did Herod meet his end? And could you please explain to me the words the Lord spoke to Jeremiah, how do they apply to what happened to those poor children in Bethlehem?” As Caleb heard his son’s question, he acknowledged him. “My son, Herod died as cruel of a death as the man he had been. It was said that Herod was eat up from the inside out, and suffered in great pain for many days. So painful that Herod tried to take his own life, but was stopped before he could stab himself to death.”
Caleb then went on to explain the words the Lord gave to Jeremiah. “You also mentioned the words spoken by our Lord God to Jeremiah(Jeremiah 31:15). Rachel was buried just outside of Bethlehem, as she passed giving birth to Benjamin(Genesis 35:16-20). As the descendants of Benjamin continued through the years to live all around and in Bethlehem, many there considered Rachel the mother of their town. So as the mothers of those young boys could be heard that day weeping, it was said that Rachel could be heard mourning for her son’s descendants. And although Bethlehem was just a small town, and only a handful of young males would have been killed that day, I am sure all of Israel could not have contained those mother’s cries.”
Watching as his daughters and daughters in law fought back the tears, Caleb realized it was his own tears he was in need of fighting. And as Caleb gathered himself, he again spoke to his family. “My loved ones, if you can bear with me for just one more night, I promise I will finish the story for you of that first Christmas!”
As Caleb and his family gather one last time tomorrow, I hope your family will join with us also.
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