Birthright Battle
If it ever enters minds at all, the last people think of when they think of Christmas is “threatening.” Being centered on the birth of a helpless baby born in a small town surrounded by animals is hardly a scene that conjures up bellicosity. The angels that heralded his birth, in fact, proclaimed “peace on earth among those with whom God is well-pleased.” However, peace comes at the price of war.
Herod the Great understood this war and knew that this baby was a threat. As he had done with so many others among the Jews and even among his family, Herod aggressively pursued this baby to destroy him. He was a threat.
Herod continues an old animosity that began in the Garden between the seed of the serpent and the seed of the woman, but was expressed in the story of history, particularly in the relationship of Jacob and Esau. Herod was an Idumean, which means he was an Edomite, of the family of Esau. Before Esau and his twin brother, Jacob, were born, they were already fighting in their mother’s womb. God told their mother, Rebekah, that there were two nations in her womb and that the older would serve the younger. Jacob was the God-ordained heir of the birthright to take up the mission of the seed of the woman, which included becoming king.
As Matthew showed in his opening genealogy, Jesus is the rightful heir of the birthright. He is the true seed of Jacob. As his father Esau did over a millennium previously, Esau seeks to kill his younger brother to keep him from his inheritance. As Jacob went into exile to escape his brother, so Jesus went into exile to escape Herod.
Herod had a better understanding of Christmas than many do today. Though it ought to be a time of joy and celebration, it is a celebration of victory through war. The shadow of the cross falls over the manger. The “King of the Jews” was always destined to suffer the ultimate exile of death. He endured this exile so that he could bring us out of exile through the forgiveness of our sins.
The war with the serpent and his seed has been won, but battles continue. There will be peace on earth among those with whom God is well-pleased, but it will come through the battles, not in spite of them.
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