Our Faithful God Is In Control

Sunday after Christmas                                                                          December 29, 2019
Text: Matthew 2:13-23                                              ILCW Series A                          19:2166
Theme: Our Faithful God Is In Control

If a prize would be given for the cruelest, most evil and jealous man that ever lived, I think Herod might receive the award. He had already killed many members of his own family, including several of his sons and his favorite wife, before this story took place. He killed them because he was jealous for his throne. He feared that they might plot against him to seize his rule over Israel. So, as talk of a new-born king arose when the Wise Men came to Jerusalem searching for Jesus, it threw aged Herod into a panic.
What a dastardly deed he committed, murdering innocent babies. It’s too horrible to think about. And it came after the beautiful news of the Messiah’s birth in Bethlehem, a divine child who had come to save wicked Herod as well. A cruel tyrant schemes; the happy family flees; innocent children murdered? Such a dark episode! What can we gain from this right after the joys of Christmas?
We gain much comfort for it assures us that although foolish men try to take on God, those who oppose Him only lose because God will triumph over them. Our Faithful God Is in Control. (CW 23;TLH 62)

I. As the story in our text began, the Magi set out for Bethlehem to see the new-born King. And then a wonderful thing happened. The same star that they had seen before, announcing the special birth, reappeared. It led them down the road to Bethlehem and stopped right over the house where Jesus, Mary, and Joseph now lived. The Wise Men went into the house and there they saw at last the new King they had come so far to worship. They fell down on their faces before Him and offered Him their gifts.
That night, before they started back home, the Wise Men had a dream. “Do not go back to Herod,” God told them. So they went home by another route. After they left, God’s angel appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Get up. Take the child and His mother and flee to Egypt. Herod is planning to kill the young boy.” So Joseph and Mary got ready, packed a few things, and in the darkness of night set out for Egypt. He was the King of heaven and earth, but He had to flee for His life in the middle of the night because a foolish man was trying to take on God and His plan of salvation. The baby Jesus endured such hardship out of love for you and me.
Herod waited for the Wise Men to come back. When he saw that they had fooled him, his anger burned hot. Sending his soldiers to Bethlehem, he ordered: “Kill every baby boy who is two years old and under.” Can you even begin to imagine what a dreadful day that was in Bethlehem? Nothing but broken-hearted weeping was heard all around. How wicked men can be, spurred on by Satan!
Yes, Satan. The act was carried out by foolish men taking on God, but Satan was behind it and Herod became Satan’s willing accomplice. Satan is always behind everything evil. And why? Because with the birth of Jesus all hell was in upset.
You see, the Christ had come. Just imagine the alarm that swept through hell when the Savior was born. All those in hell knew why the Christ Child had come. He had come to crush the head of the serpent (Gn.3:15). But Satan wasn’t going to give up without a fight. In a figurative way the book of Revelation describes his evil intent saying (12:9,4), “The great dragon, that ancient serpent called the devil and Satan who deceives the whole world stood in front of the woman who was about to give birth, so that when she did give birth he might devour her child.” In hellish rage he geared up for battle against the Lord’s Anointed One and he found a ready ally in foolish King Herod
The horror of it all had been foretold by the Prophet Jeremiah over 500 years earlier. It’s as though Jeremiah saw Rachel, Jacob’s favorite wife, watching from her grave and wailing (31:15f;40:1) over the senseless murder of Bethlehem’s little children.
Blood flowed, screams rose, tears fell that awful night in Bethlehem. An evil, brutal man seemed to have his day as he took on God in order to kill God’s Son and get rid of Him.
Sadly, a similar thing happens today when tiny children, created by God, are ripped from their mother’s wombs in abortion…when citizens of a country are slaughtered by their wicked rulers in the name of ethnic cleansing…when ungodly leaders stalk the earth seeking to override God’s will. It’s the clash of man’s will against God’s will…the desire of man to be master of his own life rather than to love, obey, and trust the Lord. And yes, we take Him on too, when we sin. Foolish men keep trying to take on God. As a result many are the times God’s people weep.
But never, ever forget, dear friend. Foolish men may try to take on God. But in the end they fail. God is God. He Is in Control. And He is Faithful. This is the reason Jesus came, to save us from such sin, when we, too, try to take on God. (CW 98; TLH 140 st.5,6)

II. Foolish men keep trying to overthrow Him. But God still triumphs for He Is In Control. He never loses His grip over all things. The psalmist writes, “The kings of the earth take their stand…against the Lord and His Anointed One…But the One enthroned in heaven laughs” (2:2f). God Is in Control.
He appeared to Joseph in a dream to warn him: “Get up, take the child and His mother and escape to Egypt.” Joseph did as the Lord had said and the Christ Child was spared. Several months, maybe even a year or two passed and the Lord again sent word to Joseph to return for He had ended Herod’s life and there was no longer a threat to the baby Jesus.
You know, the Lord Almighty could have prevented the flight into Egypt by ending Herod’s life even sooner. But instead, in His infinite wisdom, God chose this way to show that He was in control. He also chose this way to bring Jeremiah’s prophecy to fulfillment. And He chose this way for the sake of the little children who served their Lord by offering their lives in His place so that the Christ Child could live. That was an ultimate, unselfish sacrifice. Dare we say that He even did it this way to teach us something about His promises and protection for us?
When the battle with evil men is over and the smoke clears, we’ll always find a faithful God still standing, very much in control, triumphing over wicked men. Therein lies our comfort when we look at our own world in these days after Christmas.
Sometimes we feel that the Lord has lost control. When tragedies strike, sickness arises, and death overshadows us, could it be that He no longer looks out for us? The world scoffs, “Where is God? If He exists why doesn’t He do something?” Our prayers, at times, seem to go unanswered. But not even a sparrow falls without His knowledge. And there are wiser reasons behind His allowing things to take place in our world than we may ever realize.
So, as another year rolls around, we learn more and more to be still and know that He is God. He is our refuge and strength. He moves in mysterious ways His wonders to perform. Even though foolish men keep trying to overthrow Him, He still triumphs. They cannot thwart His efforts. Therefore, we will not fear.
And when we still can’t quite seem to see His hand at work, then it’s time to look again at the cross of His Son. There we truly see how much He cares and how faithful He is to all who believe in Him. Yes, God let His Son escape this time from the clutches of Herod. But He allowed Him to escape so that He could send Him to Calvary for us at just the right time that we might have life with Him in heaven. To that end, even the innocent children of Bethlehem gave their lives so that He could accomplish His redeeming work for all. Nothing can pluck us from His hand eternally because God has triumphed over sin, death, and the devil. Those who oppose Him only lose. Knowing that truth, we know enough. God grant us such a faith for Jesus’ sake. (CW 62; TLH 87)