Characters at the Cradle: The Wise Men, Herod’s Demonic Wrath

by David Chadwick

Herod came to the realization that he had been tricked by the Wise Men. He found out that they had departed and gone home instead of coming back to tell him where the new baby king was located. Now, Herod did not know fully who this baby was, but he knew enough to make him afraid. His paranoia heightened as he knew his throne was threatened. Fear makes people do crazy things!

The most devastating part of this biblical account is that Herod, in his fury, sent out an edict to kill all male children in Bethlehem who were two years old or under. Herod’s genocide fulfilled the prophecy in Jeremiah 31:15 about the groaning of Rahab. Imagine the tears, sadness, laments, and broken hearts of parents.

The horror of Herod’s actions is incomprehensible. He calculated from the Wise Men’s arrival to the time of the child’s birth and landed at the age of two years. This was a Satanic act. Demonic to the core! Again, Herod’s actions were an attempt to destroy the seed of the woman who would crush Satan’s head, as prophesied in Genesis 3:15 after the Fall of humanity.

All evil in this world finds its ultimate source in Satan. Every child that dies, every genocide that occurs—especially against the Jews—but ALL EVIL, is caused by Satan. He tempts our fallen, selfish hearts by filling us with things like envy, jealousy, and selfish ambition. When we obey his temptations, anyone can be vulnerable to sinning in the worst possible ways.

These are the kinds of terrible situations that cause many people to step back and wonder how a “good God” could ever let such bad things to happen. Especially to innocent children! I fully empathize with this question.

We must go back to the reality of sin in these moments of questioning. When sin entered the world, brokenness became normal. Evil was unleashed on all of us. Outside of the grace and mercy of Jesus, there would be no hope for any of us. The moment sin came on the scene, destruction became everyone’s destiny, and nothing could be worked for good.

But God, rich in mercy, created a hope through Jesus (Ephesians 2:4). Now, for those who love Jesus, everything works together for good (Romans 8:28). Yes, even bad, horrific, catastrophic things. As you’ve heard me say many times, I looked up “all” in the dictionary, and guess what it means? It means ALL!

And always remember this as well: Jesus came as a baby to grow up, die on a cross, be raised from the dead to defeat the works of the devil (1 John 3:8). In you. In the world. Forever.

This baby born at a cradle would carry a message and live a life that would permanently alter Satan’s previously existing narrative that destruction is the end of the story! While we live in a broken world, believe that Jesus is coming back to permanently make all things new! Hallelujah!