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Never Forget

Words of Faith Final

Never Forget

Words of Faith 1-7-2021

Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy © 2020

Jeff.Hoy@faithfellowshipweb.com

Faith Fellowship Church - Melbourne, FL

www.faithfellowshipweb.com

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Matthew 2

    [16] When Herod realized that he had been outwitted by the Magi, he was furious, and he gave orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years old and under, in accordance with the time he had learned from the Magi. [17] Then what was said through the prophet Jeremiah was fulfilled:

    [18] "A voice is heard in Ramah, weeping and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children and refusing to be comforted, because they are no more."

 

       People often talk about the holocaust, the genocide of 6 million Jews in the last century, as though that were the only holocaust.  While the Nazi final solution may have been the most horrific and expansive crime against God's people, the truth is that massive slaughters of Jewish people have been a recurring nightmare going all the back to the book of Exodus.  Some may be tempted to brush such history aside as the Jewish people's unfortunate plight, but the reality is that the family of Jesus was caught in one such holocaust.  We must never forget.

     Joseph, Mary, and Jesus had lived in Bethlehem for two years.  We don't know exactly why they stayed and settled there. Many scholars believe that Mary and Joseph stayed in the home of their extended family.  Their long stay may have been because of family hospitality and available work.  Until the gifts of the Magi arrived, they may not have had any alternatives. 

     The years in Bethlehem were probably a joyous time in which Mary and Joseph grew close to family and friends who shared with them the joy of the birth of their baby.  But all that was shattered by the treachery of Herod.

      Imagine the anguish and grief that swept through this little town as soldiers rode through, killing every male child that looked to be about two years of age or less.  It is a scene too horrific for us to look at for long. Indeed, "a voice was heard in Ramah, weeping and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children and refusing to be comforted because they are no more." 

      Rachel was the beloved wife of Jacob, barren for many years, who died in childbirth when Benjamin was born.  Jacob never got over her death.  To this day, barren women pray at her tomb near Bethlehem.  How powerful the image of Rachel weeping and refusing to be comforted as the soldiers came that day.

      Our Lord was rushed out of town as a toddler followed by the clatter of swords and the wailing of grief-stricken families.  It is unlikely that He ever forgot that cry.  Neither did Joseph and Mary forget that cry.  Neither should we.  As the Jewish people say to this day: Never forget.

      If we are ever tempted to minimize the pogroms or injustices against the Jewish people, recall that the Lord Jesus was actually growing up in the midst of such horror and does not forget.  By not forgetting, we may not change history, but at least we will not participate in it or stand idly by.

 

        Lord, give me the courage to stand against injustice no matter what it may cost me.  Give me the grace to remember and the strength never to forget.  In Jesus' mighty name.  

 

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© Jeffrey D. Hoy 2021

Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy - Faith Fellowship Church (EFCA)       

2820 Business Center Blvd.

Melbourne, Florida 32940 (321)-259-7200

Jeff.Hoy@faithfellowshipweb.com

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The Words of Faith devotion is published five days a week by E-mail, excluding Federal holidays. Please feel free to forward this devotion to a friend who might be blessed by this devotion. Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture is quoted from the New International Version (R) of The Holy Bible. Copyright (c) 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved. Words of Faith (c) 1997, 2010 Jeffrey D. Hoy. All rights reserved. Permission is granted to forward this copyrighted material or use portions of it with appropriate notation of the source for non-profit purposes.