2023_03_15 Insight Post- Rusty Coram
This week’s reading- Exodus 3, Matthew 2
This week in our reading, we get a picture of what happened at the time of Jesus’ birth. Bethlehem, where He was born, is a tiny village just 6 miles south of Jerusalem. While small, Bethlehem was known to be the birthplace of the coming Messiah. When the wise men from the East came searching for the baby King, they naturally went to the capital believing everyone would be excited about the birth of this King of the Jews. They were mistaken. When King Herod heard about the wise men and their search, he pretended to be excited. The truth is Herod was filled with jealousy and fear, “King Herod was deeply disturbed when he heard this, as was everyone in Jerusalem.” Matthew 2:3 (NLT).
Herod was known as Herod the Great for his grand projects and ability to control the population. He had reigned successfully for approximately 40 years. One of the ways he maintained his position and the peace was by eliminating any potential threats to his power – by any means he deemed necessary. His insecurity and fury were legendary. According to historian William Barclay, Herod “was insanely jealous,” to the point that when he suspected others of possibly looking to usurp his power, he had them killed. Among those he had murdered were his wife, mother-in-law, and three of his sons. When he was approaching his own death, Herod had a large number of prominent citizens arrested and imprisoned. They were set to be killed on the day of his death just to ensure there would be public mourning. (Because he knew no one would miss him!)
Now, back to the verse we read in Matthew 2 about everyone in Jerusalem being disturbed along with Herod… His attitude directly impacted everyone around him because of his anger, insecurity, and jealousy. I wonder what the impact of my attitude is in my sphere of influence… Is my attitude negative, complaining, distrustful or whiny? Or do I communicate realistic hope and confidence in God and trust in others?
Like it or not, we all set a mood that others notice and are impacted by. It would be worth thinking about the mood we set and aim to make it a blessing instead of a burden.
Rusty Coram
Senior Pastor