"20 TRUTHS of CHRISTMAS" #12
. #12 Rahma is a place of weeping. How is this Prophecy?
Years after the awful shooting at SANDY HOOK Elementary, our nation still in shock as episodes of mass violence continue at an increasing rate, and we still ask, how can someone purposely murder all those children?
Yet in our Christmas story we see that Herod did just that. When he saw that the Magi had tricked him by returning home a different way he became out of control and in a rage. He set out to kill all the male children 2 and under in Bethlehem and its surrounding areas.
. Why 2 and Under?
Maybe he felt in his mind 2 and under would take care of any discrepancies. Maybe thought he was tricked by the Magi's account to him. Its not proof Jesus was 2 years old at the time. In fact he couldn't have been if Herod was dead before Jesus would've been 2. Facts lean towards that he was. . Regardless of why he did, it does fulfill 1 of 4 geographical prophecies associated with the birth of Jesus.
Matthew 2:17 tells us it was a prophecy of Jeremiah.
Let us take a look and unlock the HOPE in this message.
JEREMIAH 31:15. Thus says the LORD, " A voice is heard in Rahma. Lamentation and bitter weeping. Rachel is weeping for her children; She refuses to be comforted for her children. Because they are no more.
THE SETTING: .....Jeremiah's prophecy is perhaps the most tragic of all. It speaks of doom of a dying nation. Nobody would listen and doom was inevitable. BUT..There is great hope. In chapters 30-33, we see 4 chapters filled with comfort and joy to come. And THAT'S where we find this prophecy. These 4 chapters look ahead to the coming CHRIST. VS 15 we see the weeping but the very next vs. (vs 16) -(18) RESTRAIN FROM WEEPING because your work will be rewarded.They shall come again. There is hope for your future says the LORD. Your children will return to you again. Its a sad day but (the CHRIST) will redeem them back. (ROMANS 11)- refers to the followers of God as HIS people.
WHY RAHMA?
. Rahma is a border city between the northern and southern kingdoms. [1 Kings 15:17] 5 miles north of Jerusalem. On the main road to and from north and south. This is where foreign conquerors ordered the defeated multitude to meet before deportation. Rahma was THE deportation town. Because of its location it became a symbol of the north and south merging. Like the only place where all of Israel would come together. It was associated with a place of weeping.
WHY RACHEL?
. She was Jacob (Israel's) favorite wife. She was the mother of Joseph, who had 2 sons that split his land. Ephriahm and Manassa. They represent the Northern Kingdom. She also was the mother of Benjamin who is associated with the southern kingdom.
How is this Prophecy?
. So Jeremiah sees Rachel as a symbol, standing in Rahma, watching the Assyrians deport the northern and Babylon deport the southern into captivity. So she is weeping as a symbol (Jeremiah is using Hebrew poetry) as she watches both sides of her family carried off. The Christ is the one who will bring them back.
Matthew comes in and shows us that the Holy Spirit uses this as a picture to reveal the time of the birth of Christ. As Matthew sees the slaughter of Bethlehem's children he picks up this analogy of Jeremiah's. So that which Jeremiah uses as a symbol in his book, Matthew uses as a picture in his book.
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20 Truths of Christmas - #13. The trip back to Nazareth "fulfills that which was spoken by the prophets."
He shall be called a Nazarene." Matthew 2:23. Why is this not in the Old Testament?
Prophecy of predicted future isn't just hard it's near impossible.
Prophecies of Jesus birth are over whelming evidence that He is who He says He is, God born as man. It was long talked about since the beginning of the bible that He was coming. No one knew when, but the bible tells us how, 100's of years before He came.
WHY NAZARETH?
I say Back to Nazareth because Joseph and Mary's story starts in Nazareth.(Luke 1:26).
This prophecy is not anywhere in the Old Testament. Yet the context of the sentence is almost as a sarcastic REMEMBER...the prophets said it. Also note that there where no biblical prophets for 400 years. So the prophetS (plural), refers to those in the O.T. who at that point had credibility with the Jews.
You mean there are things the prophets said that weren't written in the bible? WHY YES !!!
Example: Jude (vs 14) Jude quotes Enoch yet Enoch didn't say that in the O.T. but it was still known that he said it. It had to be knowledgeable fact for the N.T. writer to draw from it and include it as truth. That wouldn't only confirm that the statement was made, but also confirms it as truth. Same in Matthews case, it's not in the O.T.
Matthew says the prophets said it and includes it in the 4 geographical prophecies associated with the birth of Jesus.
OK, BUT WHY NAZARETH?
Nazareth was a town in Galilee, low class full of the society outcasts. It became a synonym for someone despised, looked down upon. The O.T. tells us that of Christ. That He would be rejected and despised.
Isaiah. 49 & 53, Dan 9 , and lots of Psalms. Growing up in Nazareth sure helped that along.
Disinclusion Elimination. An example that Christ came for EVERYONE.
Romans 3:21-23 - John 3:16.
I'll show another example of Disinclusion Elimination as we get closer to Christmas day.
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Updated: Feb 27, 2020
