Herod was not a nice man. But one thing I find interesting about Herod, for all his crime, terror and violations of God's laws, he still recognized the truth in prophetic scripture which foretold the coming of the Messiah.
However, Herod's killing of the children, in an attempt to destroy the new king and protect his reign and that of his sons, did not change a thing. Had Herod lived to see Jesus during His ministry (Herod died shortly after Christ's birth), he would not have felt any threat at all, and while he may have received some sharp words from the Lord concerning his sins and brutality toward his subjects, his earthly reign would have not been threatened.
Herod's decision to murder innocent people to protect himself shows the futility of sin. Sin never works regardless of the reasons for which we choose to use it.
God came to earth 2000 years ago in His only son, as a naked, poor baby to bridge the gap between our physical, temporal world and the kingdom of God. One of the first responses to this was a horrible sin against innocent children. Sin stands as a barrier to the bridge Jesus built for us to the Almighty. However, His death on the cross gave us the ability to be reconciled to God and to each other and to be forgiven for our sins. It is my hope and prayer that all Christians may be called to reconciliation with the Lord and with each other during this holy time of year.
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