Celebrating the fourth day of Christmas: Marking Holy Innocents day

The Christmas season is for celebrating, but it doesn’t shy away from the horrors of this world, such as the slaughter of “holy innocents.” The day marks the killing of all the boys in Bethlehem under two by Herod, a jealous and volatile king:

…an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. ‘Get up,’ he said, ‘take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the child to kill him’… When Herod realised 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 (Matthew 2:13; 16a).

This massacre of around thirty boys (for Bethlehem was a small village) wasn’t outside of Herod’s character, for Herod also had his wife and her mother killed, as well as three of his sons. And when he was dying, he ordered that all the notable men of Jerusalem be killed in the hippodrome.

Herod may have been a powerful king, but his plans to eliminate Jesus were foiled. For Joseph again was warned in a dream, and he obeyed the angel’s direction, trekking into safe territory in Egypt.

But why did those sweet little boys have to die? Why all those mothers weeping for their slain children? We just don’t know, for it is wrapped up in the fall of humanity and the problem of evil. But we can stand on God’s promises that he will comfort the comfortless and bring hope to the hopeless. And we know that he too grieves at the loss of children so young.

Heavenly Father, we don’t understand why you sometimes allow innocent people to die. Strengthen our faith and help us to know more about your character, and comfort all those who mourn today.