The Daily Fountain Devotional of the Church Of Nigeria (Anglican Communion) 29 December 2023 – Our Sovereign Lord And The Terrors Of Men
TOPIC: Our Sovereign Lord And The Terrors Of Men
READ: Matthew 2:13-19(NKJV)
- Now when they had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream, saying, “Arise, take the young Child and His mother, flee to Egypt, and stay there until I bring you word; for Herod will seek the young Child to destroy Him.”
- When he arose, he took the young Child and His mother by night and departed for Egypt,
- and was there until the death of Herod, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying, “Out of Egypt I called My Son.”
- Then Herod, when he saw that he was deceived by the wise men, was exceedingly angry; and he sent forth and put to death all the male children who were in Bethlehem and in all its districts, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had determined from the wise men.
- Then was fulfilled what was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet, saying:
- “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.”
- But when Herod was dead, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt,
The MESSAGE
Today we see a gory picture of how far men are willing to go in order to achieve and retain power, and also how innocent people suffer when the wicked rule (Prov. 29:2). King Herod showed himself a megalomaniac, willing to take whatever measures necessary to secure his position, leading in the murder of many innocent children. But man, no matter how powerful and highly placed, can never be God. We are told in our text today that long before Herod conceived this murderous idea in his head, God already knew about it and had foretold it through the Prophet Jeremiah(v.17).
There is nothing that you will face in life that God, the Omniscient, is not already aware of! He knows the end of a matter from the beginning. If He chooses to allow it, it is because He has a purpose for it- trust Him. Furthermore, God did not allow the baby Jesus to be caught up in Herod’s murderous conspiracy. God knew ahead of time what Herod was planning and He directed that Jesus be moved to Egypt, out of Herod’s reach. Our God knows how to rescue His own from danger! “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will direct your path”(Prov. 3:5-6).
