The LORD will comfort Rachel
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[SLIDE 1] Introduction
If you have your Bible, then please turn to Matthew 2:16-18
16 Then Herod, when he saw that he had been tricked by the wise men, became furious, and he sent and killed all the male children in Bethlehem and in all that region who were two years old or under, according to the time that he had ascertained from the wise men. 17 Then was fulfilled what was spoken by the prophet Jeremiah: 18 “A voice was heard in Ramah, weeping and loud lamentation, Rachel weeping for her children; she refused to be comforted, because they are no more.”
Illustration
Christmas is approaching very soon.
It is a season of joy, laughter, and gatherings.
Families will gather around tables, sharing meals, and exchanging stories.
However, sometimes, in the midst of the Christmas celebration, there’s an empty chair.
That empty chair is usually reserved for a loved one who’s now no longer with us.
It was someone who once brought laughter, but the chair is now filled with silence.
For some people, Christmas is anything but a joyful celebration.
It is a season of sorrow, grief, loneliness, and brokenness.
The reality is that we live in a fallen world wrought by sin.
The Apostle Paul said in Romans 5:12 that “just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned.”
Because of sin, we face suffering, death, and evil in this world.
In light of what we just read from Matthew 2, I will say that I have never experienced officiating a funeral service for a child, but I cannot imagine how I’ll do it and how I’ll comfort the grieving parents.
As the saying goes, “No parent should have to bury their child.”
It is abnormal.
It is excruciatingly painful.
What should be the normal order is the burial of your grandparents and then your parents.
When you see that, there is something terribly wrong with the world.
Ideally, we would hope that we’ll live at a ripe old age, but that’s not always the reality.
So, it is appropriate for me to ask you two questions:
First, are you suffering and sorrowful?
Second, who or what do you seek comfort and hope in the midst of your sorrow?
Bblical Theology
Today is the last message in our Christmas series: “Spoken By The Prophet.”
We just read a rather sombering text because we are faced with the reality of death, grief, and evil.
By God’s providence, it just so happens that this text lands on this Sunday just before Christmas.
But, I think this may be a fitting end to our series.
This text is filled with sorrow and lamentation.
But, we’re not going to end on a bad or depressing note.
There is actually hope and comfort on the other end of the tunnel.
There is a glimpse of light in the midst of overwhelming darkness.
That is because behind the scenes, God has a sovereign purpose for our sorrows and grief.
As we begin to expound this passage, I want to give you the main idea for you to remember:
[SLIDE 2] God will cure your sorrows through Jesus Christ so that you will experience comfort in Him.
Three questions we should ask ourselves:
1. What Is The Cause Of Your Sorrows? (v.16)
2. Are Your Sorrows Crushing You Under Their Weight? (vv.17-18)
3. Who Can Cure Your Sorrows (Jeremiah 31)
Context
Exposition
[SLIDE 3] First, What Is The Cause Of Your Sorrows? (v.16)
We see it clearly from this text that Herod was the one who caused sorrow for the women of Bethlehem by slaughtering their baby boys.
We need to unpack the historical and textual context that led up to this passage because it explains why Herod did what he did.
Herod is mentioned many times in the Bible from Matthew 2 all the way to Acts 26.
There are actually many different Herods in this family.
In the New Testament, there were four Herods, much like the various King Charleses in England.
This Herod in Matthew 2 was Herod I, who was also known as Herod the Great. He’s also called the King of the Jews.
At the beginning of verse 16, we are told that he saw that had been tricked by the wise men, and became furious.
He was very enraged.
In the KJV, he experienced an exceeding wroth.
The relationship between the wise men and Herod began at the beginning of chapter 2.
The wise men came from the east.
They saw the appearance of a star regarding the king of the Jews.
They came to Jerusalem and asked Herod:
2 saying, “Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.”
Of course, Herod and all Jerusalem with him were troubled to learn about the king of the Jews because that is a threat to his authority.
So, Herod assembled all the Jewish leaders (chief priests and scribe) to inquire where the Christ was to be born.
Based on the prophecy found in Micah 5:2, the Christ was to be born in Bethlehem.
After discovering where the Christ was, Herod summoned the wise men SECRETLY in Matthew 2:7 in order to ascertaine(or determine) from them WHAT TIME THE STAR HAD APPEARED.
In other words, when did this star appear so that Herod can know when the Christ was born?
That’s why at the end of Matthew 2:16, it tells us why he ordered two years old or under male children to be massacred in Jerusalem.
“According to the time that he had ascertained from the wise men.”
Why 2 years old or under?
It is because Jesus could have been a couple of months or a year old.
It is possible that Jesus was 2 years old by the time the wise men came to visit, although we cannot confirm.
To be extra certain, in case there is a margin of error in determining the timing of the star’s appearance, Herod decided to wipe out all odds starting from 2 years old and under.
You see, the wise men were to search the child diligently in Bethlehem so that Herod would “worship” him.
However, the wise men went back to their country and did not fulfill their duty.
Hence, in his perspective, Herod felt tricked.
To be tricked in the original language carries the idea of mocking.
Or, literally, it means to be played like a child.
Now, the wise men did not intend to trick or mock the king.
In Matthew 2:12, the wise men were warned in a dream not to return to Herod.
It’s unclear who warned them.
Most likely, an angel could have warned them in a dream.
Nevertheless, they interpreted the dream as a divine command not to return to Herod.
There was no reason given for why they should not return to Herod.
However, we’ll learn later, Herod was an evil man.
The wise men could have been killed by him.
So, they obeyed and departed to their own country.
Hence, Herod’s fury led him to do the unthinkable, which is killing all the male children in Bethlehem.
I would remind you that Bethlehem was a small, little, and insignificant town.
According to scholars, there may not have been more than 20 or so boys below the age of two years.
Either way, I cannot imagine seeing innocent, defenseless, and voiceless children getting massacred.
My son is just three years old, and if that were to happen to him, I would feel extremely grieved and angry at the injustice perpetrated by a tyrant.
We should ask ourselves: “How could a man like Herod do such an unthinking thing by ordering the killing of male children in Bethlehem?”
Why would Herod have such low temperment? Why is he easily irritated?
When you study the historical background of Herod the Great, you’ll learn that he has an extremely darkside.
Herod was known for being cruel and merciless.
He was incredibly jealous, suspicious, and afraid of potential rivals.
He lusted for power and authority, and would not allow anyone to come close to his throne.
So, he killed many people, including folks in his own family.
He had the high priest Aristobulus, who was his wife’s brother, drowned in the swimming pool in his palace.
Afterwards, he provided a magnificent funeral for him where Herod pretended to weep.
He also had the audacity to kill his wife, Mariamne, and his mother-in-law, and even two of his own sons.
Five days before his death, he had a third son executed.
In fact, he knew that no one would mourn for his own death, so he ordered many of the prisoners to be executed the moment he died in order to guarantee that there would be mourning in Jerusalem.
Caesar Augustus reported to have said, “It is better to be Herod’s dog than one of his children.”
So, understanding the historical background of Herod helps us see that his cruelty towards the children in Bethlehem were not out of character but consistent with his nature.
Herod wanted to make sure that he eliminates all potential threats as possible that would rival against his throne.
Therefore, when the wise men said, “Where is he who has been born king of the Jews...” Herod was troubled.
He’s evil and selfish.
His madness shows his utter rejection of the true King of the Jews.
His cruelty is even more vile and heinous because he knew that the Child he sought to destroy was the Christ.
He caused a lot of sorrows not only for the women in Bethlehem, but also for the people around him.
To us, what Herod did is unthinkable and unimaginable in our North American society.
How in the world can a man be this ruthless, heinous, wicked, and evil?
Herod wasn’t the only one in history who was capable of doing horrendous things.
In our recent history, Adolf Hitler and Nazi Germany probably killed about 1.5 million children along with their families in the concentration camp during the Holocaust.
In our Canadian society, there was no tyrant in the history of Canada who measures closely as Herod.
However, although I don’t think we have a tyranical government, the slaughtering of children still exists in North America.
It is not the slaughtering of young children, but the slaughtering of innocent and helpless infants in the womb.
As Christians, the Bible teaches that God is the One who formed us and knitted us in our mother’s womb.
And that babies are fearfully and wonderfully made by God in the womb.
They’re human beings at the moment of conception.
As we think about the cause of your sorrows, we have to understand biblical theology.
The root of all sorrows is because sin entered the world in Genesis 3.
Sin corrupted human nature, plunging us into a fallen state.
Apart from Christ, men and women are now totally depraved.
As a result, evil, death, and sorrow have become harsh realities in our world.
This is why our world is filled with brokenness.
Why families mourn the loss of loved ones...
Why relationships crumble...
Why experience pain and grief...
Why we long for peace but find conflict instead...
Why we struggle with fear, anxiety, disappointment and despair...
It all stems from that pivotal moment when Adam and Eve and the rest of humanity chose its own way over God’s.
Sometimes, the cause of your sorrows is due to your own sins.
You did something that displeased the Lord.
You feel guilty about making a regretful decision that plunges you into despair and grief and hopelessness.
Sometimes, your sorrows is not always because of your sins.
Rather, it’s caused by the sins of others.
Or, it is caused by the fallen world.
Whatever the cause may be, sorrows should remind us of the devestating effects of sin.
[SLIDE 4] So, we’ll ask ourselves the 2nd question: Are Your Sorrows Crushing You Under Their Weight? (vv.17-18)
Herod may have thought that he killed the Lord Jesus, but I don’t think he knew.
He didn’t know that the angel spoke to Joseph back in verse 13 to flee to Egypt.
He didn’t know that the family was not in Bethlehem.
Additionally, he did not know that what he did in slaughtering the boys in Bethlehem fulfilled what was spoken by the prophet.
17 Then was fulfilled what was spoken by the prophet Jeremiah: 18 “A voice was heard in Ramah, weeping and loud lamentation, Rachel weeping for her children; she refused to be comforted, because they are no more.”
This was referencing specifically to Jeremiah 31:15.
Once again, we’ll have to answer two questions if we want to understand Matthew’s intent for quoting the Old Testament.
First, what was the historical background of Jeremiah?
Second, what is Jeremiah 31:15 all about?
First, what was the historical background of Jeremiah?
Jeremiah wrote his prophecy about 600 years before Christ came into the world.
Jeremiah was a prophet in the kingdom of Judah.
He was in the prophetic ministry during the days of King Josiah, Jehoiakim, and Zedekiah.
At this point in time, the kingdom of Israel has already been conquered by the Assyrians, and now the kingdom of Judah was standing on its last legs.
Jeremiah witnessed the rule of the last few kings just before the destruction of Jerusalem by the Babylonians.
Jeremiah’s prophecy was about God’s judgment upon Judah because she forsaked the LORD.
There was also a prophecy against King Zedekiah, but Zedekiah was so angry because Jeremiah was not optimistic in his message.
Moreoever, Jeremiah was also dealing with false prophets in his days who were prophesying peace when there’s truly no peace.
Jeremiah faced a lot of persecutions in his ministry, such as being thrown down in the cistern and sinking in the mud.
Now, what is Jeremiah 31:15 all about?
Jeremiah 31:15 about the Israelite mothers who have watched their sons go off to battle.
Some have died. And some were carried away captive to distant lands, such as Babylon.
Jeremiah tells us that a voice is heard in Ramah.
We know the voice is all about the lamentation and bitter weeping.
Ramah was located about 10 kilometers north of Jerusalem, so the captives leaving the city would have passed through it on their way to the lands of the northern invaders.
Jeremiah then introduces Rachel.
Now, who was Rachel?
Jeremiah alludes back to the book of Genesis.
The Bible tells us that she was one of the wives of Jacob or Israel.
In fact, Rachel was Jacob’s favourite wife.
She was a mother of two children: Joseph and Benjamin.
However, she had a difficult labour in Genesis 35.
When she gave birth to Benjamin, she sadly died of child birth.
Just before she passed away, she was about to name him Benoni, which could mean “son of my sorrow.”
She actually died on her way to Bethlehem.
Her last words expressed deep sorrows.
And even a death in childbirth demonstrated the extent of Rachel’s motherly love and sacrifice.
After she died, Rachel was buried at the location near the border of Benjamin, which would have been very close to Ramah.
Jeremiah describes Rachel as a personification of the weeping and grieving mothers in Jerusalem as “Rachel weeping for her children.”
I think it’s an appropriate personification when you look at what happened to Rachel’s children in Genesis.
Rachel’s children, along with the sons of Jacob, also had to leave the promised land due to the famine, even though she’s already dead by that time.
The mothers in Jerusalem were weeping as the children of Israel were being deported to a foreign and pagan land known as Babylon.
It reveals the pain of exile for Israel’s mothers and their children.
Jeremiah tells us, “Rachel refuses to be comforted for her children, because they are no more.”
You can hear just how sad and broken it sounds.
Rachel was unwilling to accept comfort.
That’s because it reveals the crushing weight of her sorrows.
It is emphasizing the depth and intensity of her sorrow.
Her grief is so overwhelming that comfort feels impossible or inappropriate.
Yet, I think there is still the deep longing for comfort and consolation.
So, Matthew quotes Jeremiah 31:15 and draws the idea of mourning and sorrow into the context in Bethlehem.
Once again, just like Hosea 11:1, the text in Jeremiah is not a prophecy about the future.
It doesn’t even have a future tense...
Like Isaiah 7:14: “the virgin SHALL conceive and bear a son, and SHALL call his name Immanuel...”
Rather, again, there is a pattern here.
I didn’t mention this last week, but this is what theologians call, “Typology.”
Which simply means a pattern that foreshadows something in the future, and finds its fulfillment in the New Testament.
Matthew quotes from Jeremiah because this event is a fulfillment of pattern.
Namely, the lamentation of Rachel parallels and corresponds with the weeping mothers in Bethlehem, who are experiencing the crushing weight of sorrows due to the death of their baby boys.
Brothers and sisters, I wonder how many of you right now are like Rachel where you are feeling the crushing weight of sorrows.
You may have lossed a loved one recently, such as your parent or your grandparent.
You may know a family or friend who lost a child unexpectedly, whether through illness, accident, or tragedy.
This would be one of the heaviest sorrows a person can bear.
Again, “no parent should bury their own child.”
You may have experienced betrayal by a loved one, whether a family member or a close friend.
I personally experienced a broken family when I was a teenager.
My dad lost his business, and my parents consequently split.
I cannot tell you the pain that brought to my mother as I watch her grieved on a regular basis.
There’s a lot of brokenness in my family.
Broken relationships.
Broken trust.
Heavy burden on my mom to raise her children alone.
Perhaps, like Rachel, you’re grieving and weeping for your children.
They may have made a destructive choice, and you feel powerless to help them.
They may have walked away from Jesus, and you may feel embarrassed and shameful because you feel like you could have done more to teach them the Bible and demonstrate a godly lifestyle before them.
Perhaps, this Christmas season, there is no joy and no comfort because the pain is just too great.
And you’re trying to cope and survive just to get through this holiday season.
Brothers and sisters, if there are sorrows in your heart, then it’s okay to lament.
It’s okay to cry, even in the church service.
[SLIDE 5] However, I did say in in the beginning of my message that there is hope and comfort.
This gets to the third question: Who Can Cure Your Sorrows (Jeremiah 31)
I mean, the title of my message says, “The LORD Will Comfort Rachel.”
But, where do we see that in this text?
The answer to that question is in the entire context of Jeremiah 31.
We won’t have time to read that chapter, so I encourage you to read it by yourself at home.
Jeremiah 31 is actually a beautiful and hopeful chapter.
In the ESV, the heading would be called, “The LORD Will Turn Mourning To Joy.”
[SLIDE 6] Let me give you a general outline of Jeremiah 31.
Jeremiah 31:1-14 - The Restoration of God’s People
Jeremiah 31:15 - The Grief Surrounding The Exiles
Jeremiah 31:16-20 - The Promise Of Restoration
Jeremiah 31:21-22 - A Call To Return To Their Land
Jeremiah 31:23-30 - The Blessings Of Restoration
Jeremiah 31:31-40 - The New Covenant
Overall, Jeremiah 31 describes the future days of God’s new covenant with His people when He will restore them to their land, forgive their sins, and bless them with peace and prosperity.
Verse 15 is the only spot that is filled with darkness, but the rest of the chapter is filled with light, hope, and comfort.
So, Jeremiah 31:15 is not all about sorrow and grief.
Rather, the LORD speaks rather comforting and hopeful words.
[SLIDE 7] Just before Jeremiah talks about the sorrowful verse, hear these words:
1 “At that time, declares the Lord, I will be the God of all the clans of Israel, and they shall be my people.” 2 Thus says the Lord: “The people who survived the sword found grace in the wilderness; when Israel sought for rest, 3 the Lord appeared to him from far away. I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore I have continued my faithfulness to you. 4 Again I will build you, and you shall be built, O virgin Israel! Again you shall adorn yourself with tambourines and shall go forth in the dance of the merrymakers.
[SLIDE 8]
13 Then shall the young women rejoice in the dance, and the young men and the old shall be merry. I will turn their mourning into joy; I will comfort them, and give them gladness for sorrow. 14 I will feast the soul of the priests with abundance, and my people shall be satisfied with my goodness, declares the Lord.”
Israel will go to exile in Babylon because of her sin.
They will experience God’s judgment, though not completely.
However, God promises that He will restore Israel’s lives.
He will also restore its joy.
And He will comfort His people.
Even though Rachel weeps for her children who have gone to exile, God comforts Rachel that her children will return from exile.
[SLIDE 9] Listen to God’s promises in Jeremiah 31:16-17
16 Thus says the Lord: “Keep your voice from weeping, and your eyes from tears, for there is a reward for your work, declares the Lord, and they shall come back from the land of the enemy. 17 There is hope for your future, declares the Lord, and your children shall come back to their own country.
There is the initial fulfillment in God’s promises to Rachel.
Jeremiah prophesied that Judah’s time in Babylon is not permanent, but temporary.
They’ll only be in Babylon for about 70 years from about 586 to 516 BC.
Within a few generations, the LORD brought His people back to Israel from exile.
Moreover, later in the chapter, the LORD also promised that He will make a New Covenant with His people in the new age to come. [SLIDE 10-11]
31 “Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, 32 not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, my covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, declares the Lord. 33 For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people. 34 And no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the Lord. For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.”
Why is the New Covenant so signficant?
If you know anything about Israel’s history, you would know that they constantly sinned and rebelled against God.
Israel was under the Old Covenant, the Mosaic law.
The law did nothing to change the hearts of God’s people.
Even when Israel was before God at Mount Sinai, they still sinned against God by building a golden calf.
So, after returning from exile, how will Israel stop rebelling against God?
How can they not repeat the pattern of their forefathers?
Ultimately, it is not what man can do.
It is what God can do in the hearts of sinners.
The New Covenant is God’s solution to the human and depraved heart.
What the New Covenant does is that God will transform the hearts of His people so that they would desire to follow Him and joyfully obey Him from the heart.
Ultimately, Jesus Christ will be the One to establish and inaugurate the New Covenant by His blood.
And that those who repent of their sins and turn to Jesus Christ by faith will enter into that covenant relationship with God.
Now, returning to Matthew 2, Matthew may be emphasizing the tragedy of the massacre, but there is still hope and comfort.
We should ask, “How does God comfort Rachel, the mothers in Bethlehem?”
I think the answer lies in Matthew’s intent for writing his gospel.
Matthew wants to show us that Jesus Christ is the true King.
Just a verse later after quoting Jeremiah 31, Matthew 2:19 tells us that Herod died.
Brothers and sisters, what we need to remember is that evil will not win in the end.
Evil will not get the last laugh.
The true king of the Jews escaped death because it was not His time to die yet.
And Jesus and his parents return to the land of Israel.
So, really, the one who gets the last laugh against evil is the LORD Almighty: He who sits in the heavens laughts; the Lord holds them in derision.
Jesus would grow up and live to fulfill the will of His Father as the Saviour of the world.
We should also remember that our Lord Jesus Christ was a man of sorrows and acquainted with griefs.
He came to bore our griefs and carry our sorrows on the cross.
Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners by dying on the cross and being raised on the 3rd day.
He died so that He would atone for the sins of those who would trust in Him
He came to bring ultimate hope and comfort to all those who would turn to Him as Lord and Saviour.
He came to put an end to all the tears of Rachel’s in this world.
He will comfort Rachel.
D.A. Carson says that the tears of Rachel in Jeremiah “are climaxed and ended by the tears of the mothers of Bethlehem. The heir to David’s throne has come, the Exile is over, the true Son of God has arrived, and he will introduce the new covenant promised by Jeremiah.”
So, for the grieving mothers who lost their children in Bethlehem, there is hope and comfort for them.
If they have a saving relationship with God, I think they can see their children again in the life to come.
Application
[SLIDE 12] As we slowly wrap up, we recall this big idea: God will cure your sorrows through Jesus Christ so that you will experience comfort in Him.
These passages remind us of the weight of sorrow caused by sin, but it also points us to the God who sees our grief, promises restoration, and fulfills that promise in Christ Jesus.
Through His life, death, and resurrection, Jesus turns our mourning into joy and comfort.
He brings us into the eternal hope of His kingdom.
My friends, if you’re here this morning, do you truly have that ultimate hope and comfort?
The Apostle Paul told the believers in Thessalonica that they may not grieve as others do who have no hope.
You may grieve, yet have no hope.
My prayer and encouragement is for you to turn to Jesus Christ as your hope and comfort, not just in this life, but also in the life to come.
Brothers and sisters, what we also need to remember is the truth of God’s sovereignty and providence in the midsts of pain and suffering.
We are reminded of the words in Romans 8:28
28 And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.
Whatever suffering, hardship, and sorrow you may be going through, trust that God has a purpose for all of it.
We may not always know immediately why God permits evil and suffering to happen in our lives, but we know He has a plan to work it all out for His own glory and for our own good.
[SLIDE 13] Conclusion
Allow me to conclude this message by reading the words of Jesus.
20 Truly, truly, I say to you, you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice. You will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will turn into joy. 21 When a woman is giving birth, she has sorrow because her hour has come, but when she has delivered the baby, she no longer remembers the anguish, for joy that a human being has been born into the world. 22 So also you have sorrow now, but I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you.
Prayer
Our heavenly Father, perhaps, our hearts feel heavy with sorrow this week.
8 You have kept count of my tossings; put my tears in your bottle. Are they not in your book?
Father, you are near to the brokenhearted and collect every tear.
You show Your compassion and care towards us.
While we experience pain and devestation just like the mothers in Bethlehem, the resurrection of Christ guarantees that there is a future to come.
Jesus, You came to guarantee that all tears will one day be wiped away, and there will be no more mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore because the former things have passed away.
Benediction
May the Father of mercies and God of all comfort be with you in your sorrows, turning your mourning into joy through Jesus Christ so that you may be able to comfort those who are in affliction.
Announcement
Christmas Eve Service - 6:30 PM
The last day to make a financial contribution to the church and receive a 2024 receipt for tax purposes will be December 31. So, if you want to give your generously, Brian is ready to receive your offering. Or, you can give via e-transfer.
As you know, I’ll be on parental leave for three months. While I’m on leave, Pastor Keon Lum will be the interim during those months.
Before he officially begins his ministry, I want to invite our elder Garry, and also Keon to the stage.
We want to offer up a prayer for Keon to express our love and support to him and his family.
