“Glory to God in the Highest; and on earth, peace, and goodwill to those on whom
His favor rests.”
After being told that peace had arrived in
the form of a child in a local manger, the Jewish shepherds who received this message would have likely gone to the Migdal Eder, or 'watchtower of the flock,' a lookout and a
place of refuge for their flocks in case of attack. They were probably overseeing a
temple flock destined for sacrifice.
Shepherds brought ewes there to give
birth. The priests
maintained ceremonially clean stalls and carefully oversaw the birth of
each lamb. This special birthing place has been suggested as teh location where
Jesus, “the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world” (John 1:29) was born. As the
prophet Micah had noted years before, “
As
for you, O watchtower of the flock,(Migdal Eder)… kingship will come to the
Daughter of Jerusalem” (Micah 4:8)
But their watchtower was overshadowed by another tower.
Herod’s mountain fortress overlooking
the town of Bethlehem was more than 200 feet in diameter. It loomed seven stories high, with an eastern
tower that stood more than 40 feet higher.
It contained a garden, reception hall, Roman baths, and countless
apartments. The lower palace included an enormous pool, a colonnaded garden, a
600-foot-long terrace, and a building more than 400 feet long. Its
buildings covered forty-five acres of land and were surrounded by nearly two
hundred acres of palace grounds. The
Herodion’s circular upper palace literally overshadowed the surrounding
villages for miles.
The Herodian was built on top of an
artificial mountain that Herod had created specifically for him. According
to Josephus, there were originally two hills standing next to each other. Herod
paid thousands of workers (not slaves, yes he was that rich) for many
years to demolish one of the hills and level off the other. He built his
massive and grandiose palace-fortress on top of the remaining hill.
The shadow case over the land was not just
physical; Herod darkened the moral climate of the land as well. Herod made his
name when he broke the resistance of the rebels hiding in caves on the side of
a cliff near the Sea of Galilee. Herod commanded his troops to make platforms
with fires to be let down with ropes to the openings of the caves. The
smoked-out refugees were pulled out with long, hooked poles and dropped down
the sheer cliff.
At one
point, Herod laid siege to Jerusalem. The soldiers raped and slaughtered
the women and children, and the Jewish soldiers were tortured and chopped to
pieces. Herod executed 45 of the 70
Sanhedrin members who resisted him.
Herod also executed his brother-in-law;
his old friend Hyrcanus, who had given him his start; his wife; then his
mother-in-law. Hundreds of friends and
family members, along with supporters of these last of the Hasmonaeans, were
slaughtered on the slightest of accusations.
Countless members of his family and court were tortured, as were his two
sons.
Herod went to Jericho to die in agony,
hated even by his family. Truly mad and fearing that no one would mourn his
death, he commanded his troops to arrest important people from across the land,
lock them in the hippodrome, and execute them after he died; if people would
not mourn him, at least they would mourn.
Into this web of hatred and suspicion,
"Magi from the east came... and asked (the Roman appointed King of the
Jews), 'Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews?’” (Matthew 2:2).
According to prophecy, the Messiah must
come from Jacob (Israel) and must rule over Esau (Edom, or Idumaea). Herod was
a Gentile, an Idumaean (called Edomite in the Old Testament). To the follower
of God's Word, Herod could not be Messiah or God's king. No wonder that, when King Herod heard this
news, he was “disturbed,” and he had the Israelite babies under two years old
slaughtered.
The expected Messiah was
supposed to free the Israelites from this type of bondage.
Peace? That meant peace after a
revolution, right? I’m sure they were
encouraged when Jesus said, “I did not come to bring peace, but a sword”
(Matthew 10:34). That sounded more
promising. And yet….he didn’t bring the kind of sword they were expecting. Jesus’ spiritual sword of truth didn’t
displace the Romans; he didn’t come to bring that kind of peace. His message actually brought division between those who believed He was the Messiah
and those who did not.
When peace entered the world in the person
of Christ, it did not mean that all the sources of strife were suddenly
neutralized. Herod was still there; the taxation was still going to happen; the
Jewish community was still divided along political lines; even families would
be divided as some believed the message of Christ and some did not.
The Prince of Peace showed up to change the
world, but not in a way people expected.
When we talk about peace, we usually mean
the absence of strife; the absence of the shadows that cover our land. Certainly that is part of peace; one of the
greatest promises of Scripture is that one day the wolf will lie down with the
lamb (Isaiah 11:6). There will be no more predators and prey, no more users and used.
Meanwhile, Jesus entered a world full of strife to help us through it, not necessarily
to take us out of it.
Forgetting sounds amazing when we think of abuse or sin in our history. Remembering sounds great when we think of beauty and peace. So how do we honor both these commands? How do we "forget what lies behind" while remembering the wisdom of generations and the presence of God in our past? Is there a way God wants us to think about our past?
