
Jeremiah 31:15
Today there are many women weeping for their children. Have you seen the suffering of the refugees around the world? It’s pretty hard to imagine what it would be like to be displaced from everything we once held dear, from our intimate families and friends. Some of us have held our little ones in our arms while they struggled, but most of us have no idea what it would be like to face death by hunger. Facing death by every other means is unfortunately common in certain areas of our world today.
Death! This is why Rachel was weeping for her children. Death had come to Ramah, just as the prophet had predicted. Ramah is a city in Benjamin’s tribal territory; Rachel was his mother. The prophet Jeremiah applied great sorrow to Rachel who would have wept if she had known that her children, her progeny would be swept into exile. Ramah was the city to which the captives were taken on their way to Babylon.
A second tragedy befell Ramah when Herod, sought to get rid of the baby “King of the Jews”, announced suddenly by the arrival of the Magi from the east. Babies under two years of age were slaughtered recklessly because of King Herod’s fear. Once again Matthew remembers how Rachel longed for children. She would prefer to die; in other words, life was not worth living if she did not bear children (Genesis 30:1). Now more of her descendants were being killed. We can just envision the pain in her heart had she known. We must be ready to leave the future in God’s hands, and praise Him for the gifts of the present.
However, in the present there are people who are grieving the death of their little ones. Are we feeling compassion in our hearts? Does God have compassion for these people? “This is what the Lord says: Restrain your voice from weeping and your eyes from tears….there is hope for your future” (Jeremiah 31:16-17). “I will turn their mourning into gladness; I will give them comfort and joy instead of sorrow” (31:13).
Comfort came through the very one that Herod sought to kill. Jesus Christ came to restore man’s relationship with God the heavenly Father. God has made good on His promise. Today as we weep it is not without hope. Certainly we weep. God even stores our tears in a bottle….but He has provided the means for us to hope. “And now these three remain: Faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love” (1 Corinthians 13:13).
Reflection:
What lessons can we learn from this portion of scripture about the force of fear?
Predicated on faith, the gift of God (Ephesians 2:8-9), God’s love flows through us to others. This is His plan for us who are His workmanship (:10). Are you conscious of being used of God to bring hope and love to others?








