The birth of Christ was so glorious, God must have wanted those details recorded in His Word. Even though December 25th is likely not the day Christ was born, I'm thankful for the reminder every year. To think that God sent His only Son as a tiny, helpless baby into this world through the womb of a young, virgin woman is beyond incredible! I would love to have heard that heavenly, angel choir sing over the skies of Bethlehem, Israel on the night that Christ was born!
There are several events in Scripture when I would have loved to have been a silent observer. The night of Christ's birth is one of those events.
I wish I could have been in Abraham and Sarah's tent when their promised son, Isaac, was born. I wish I could have observed their incredible joy, and even laugher, when 90 year old Sarah held her firstborn and only son, Isaac, in her arms. Another incredible event that really happened.
Watching Rebekah give birth to her twin boys, Jacob and Esau, after she and her husband, Isaac, waited 20 years for them would have also been quite something to observe. No doubt, joy filled their hearts!
I would’ve especially enjoyed witnessing Rachel give birth to her son, Joseph, after waiting such a long time for children. Even though Rachel was not as old as Sarah, her joy was likely the same as she held baby Joseph in her arms.
There are, of course, other events in Scripture that I would’ve loved to have been an eye witness to such as the children of Israel crossing the Red Sea and Christ's resurrection from the dead! Those events would have been something to observe!
Many of the events in the Bible that I wish I could have observed are around birth. Though painful (something I've never experienced), birth is a glorious thing! The Bible records many of them.
Perhaps I am drawn to these women in the Bible because I can relate and identify with them, especially Rachel. I am 40 years old and still have no children of my own.
Sarah, Rebekah, and Rachel all waited a long time to have children. However, Rachel is the only one the Bible records who wept for children of her own. Rachel not only wept to have children, but later, the Bible says she wept over the children she did have. Who is this woman who shed so many tears over her children?
The Bible doesn't tell us a lot about Rachel. We don't even know what Rachel looked like other than the Bible says she was beautiful. (Genesis 29:17)
Rachel was the second and beloved wife of Jacob in the Bible. Rachel was the mother of two sons, Joseph and Benjamin. Sadly, Rachel died giving birth to Benjamin. The Bible says that Jacob buried Rachel near Bethlehem.
Bethlehem is where the Lord Jesus Christ, our Messiah, was born.
Rachel is mentioned in the story of the birth of Christ.
In describing details about Christ’s birth, Matthew writes about Rachel:
"Then Herod, when he saw that he was mocked of the wise men, was exceeding wroth, and sent forth, and slew all the children that were in Bethlehem, and in all the coasts thereof, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had diligently inquired of the wise men.
Then was fulfilled that which was spoken by Jeremy the prophet, saying,
In Rama was there a voice heard, lamentation, and weeping, and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children, and would not be comforted, because they are not."
Matthew 2:16-18
These are familiar verses that I've heard and read many times. I cringe when I think of King Herod's attempt to kill baby Jesus, something he did not succeed in doing. Sadly though, Herod's soldiers did kill many baby boys in and around Bethlehem - a tragic part of this story. That also really happened 2,000 years ago. I can hardly grasp such horror.
What does the murder of those baby boys in Bethlehem have to do with Rachel weeping? I understand that the mothers of those boys would have wept tremendously. That's not hard to understand and is to be expected. But why is Rachel weeping over them? I confess, I've struggled to fully “connect the dots” in the past.
This year, in reading about Christ's birth, I decided to read the entire prophecy from the book of Jeremiah that Matthew was quoting:
"Thus saith the LORD; A voice was heard in Ramah, lamentation, and bitter weeping; Rachel weeping for her children refused to be comforted for her children, because they were not.
Thus saith the LORD; Refrain thy voice from weeping, and thine eyes from tears: for thy work shall be rewarded, saith the LORD; and they shall come again from the land of the enemy.
And there is hope in thine end, saith the LORD, that thy children shall come again to their own border." Jeremiah 31:15-17
Reading the original prophecy gave me a much deeper insight, and with that, the birth of Christ took on a much deeper meaning, more than it ever did before!
Allow me to share some brief history from the Bible. After King Solomon reigned over the twelve tribes of Israel, God separated the tribes. God separated ten tribes into one group and two tribes into another group. Ten tribes were in the north of Israel, and two tribes were in the south of Israel. The larger group was called the “House of Israel” and the smaller group was called the “House of Judah”. This is Bible truth. When reading my Bible years ago, I thought those were interchangeable names that God used for Israel, but years later, I discovered that is not the case. They are two distinct, separate groups. Having a basic understanding of that helps when reading God's Word.
As a girl, I remember hearing that story at church in Sunday school or at home in my Bible class for school, and I remember not liking that story. Israel was a family with many tribes, and I didn't like the idea of them being separated. Nonetheless, it happened, and God had a purpose in it.
The tribes of Joseph, Rachel's son, became the leading tribes of the larger House of Israel. Judah became the leading tribe of the smaller House of Judah. The Jewish people today come from the House of Judah. Jew is simply a nickname for Judah. The tribe of Benjamin, Rachel's other son, was with the House of Judah.
About 700 years before the birth of Christ, the larger House of Israel left their homeland, Israel, and went into captivity. Why? Because of their disobedience to God. That is the context behind what Jeremiah wrote about “Rachel weeping for her children”. Rachel had numerous offspring through her son, Joseph. The tribes of Joseph, namely, Joseph’s two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh (Rachel’s grandsons) were the “birthright” seed of Israel. Many of them were taken away into captivity away from the land of Israel. They were lost and scattered.
Rachel died many hundreds of years before that event happened. Could Rachel see her offspring from heaven to weep over them? Growing up, I was taught that people, after death, can’t see loved ones on earth from heaven. This passage of Scripture makes me wonder otherwise.
Rachel had other offspring, through her son Benjamin, still living in the land of Israel with the House of Judah during the time that Christ was born on earth.
Many of the baby boys who were murdered in Bethlehem would have been from the tribe of Benjamin, thus making them, indeed, Rachel's children. Understanding that, I was able to “connect dots” about Rachel weeping. Many of those baby boys were Rachel's offspring. Apparently, Rachel was able to see them and wept over her dead children.
I think any mother would cry if their child was lost or murdered, and rightly so.
What was God’s response to Rachel’s tears in the book of Jeremiah?
"Thus saith the LORD; Refrain thy voice from weeping, and thine eyes from tears: for thy work shall be rewarded, saith the LORD; and they shall come again from the land of the enemy.
And there is hope in thine end, saith the LORD, that thy children shall come again to their own border." Jeremiah 31:16-17
God comforted Rachel and told her that her children, lost, scattered, and dead, would one day return home to their border - the land of Israel. God filled Rachel's heart with hope.
How was God going to bring Rachel's children (her descendants) back home someday?
Through the birth of Christ, His Son.
Through the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ, God was going to bring redemption to Rachel's children, Rachel's numerous offspring.
Many of Rachel's children went into captivity because of their sin. Some of Rachel’s children died innocently, namely, those baby boys in Bethlehem.
The birth of Christ and His promised redemption is what gave Rachel hope in the midst of her tears.
I know there are many people today, men and women, who weep like Rachel did. We weep over lost loved ones. I have a friend who lost an 8 year old son to Leukemia this past Sunday. I can only imagine the grief that she and her husband and other children must feel. But they know their son is in heaven today with Christ. They have hope because of Christ.
The hope that filled Rachel's heart when she refused to be comforted was fully realized when Christ was born, and later, when He gave His life and shed His blood for the sins of His people, Israel, and the entire world.
Now I understand why Matthew shared that prophecy about Rachel weeping for her children when writing about Christ's birth. Rachel would finally be comforted.
Christ had come. Redemption had come.
Christ's birth gives us the same hope.
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