The Voice of Ramah Echoes Again

“A voice was heard in Ramah, weeping and loud lamentation, Rachel weeping for her children; she refused to be comforted, because they are no more.”

(Matthew 2:18 ESV)

Catching a glimpse of today’s headline brought a chill down my spine. I have read and reread several articles in disbelief. My heart breaks for the families of that school in Connecticut who woke up thinking this would be like any other day and sent their child off to school, only find that they will never see their child alive again. I cannot comprehend the grief and pain that they must feel at their loss and how overwhelming this must seem. Or the questions they will live with forever all because of one man’s malicious actions.

What would possess a person to go into a school and shoot children? The answer to this question will never be known in full. The media will jump to psychological disorders and need for medication. Some will quickly turn this into political gun control discussions. Yet they will miss the heart of the issue. As Pastor Mark Driscoll said, “’Evil’ and ‘demonic’ are words we have to keep in our vocabulary.” What was done today is purely evil and rests in the sin sick heart of the attacker.

No amount of medicine or political maneuvering will rescue us from the reality of sin in this world. When our first parents, Adam and Eve, first chose themselves over obedience to God, their selfish act brought sin and to all of us (Romans 5:12). My heart is broken for this young man that he has been swept into eternity not knowing the true hope and forgiveness that Jesus can bring.

I find myself also thinking “why this time of the year?” This is the Christmas season. It is supposed to be filled with expectations of hope and joy. We are supposed to be celebrating with our friends and family the baby born in Bethlehem over 2000 years ago. Yet these families will forever look at Christmas time as a reminder of when their child was ripped from their arms.

Taking a moment to read the Christmas story in the book of Matthew shows that tragedy and suffering were just as much a part of that story as they are to today’s headlines. In Chapter 2 we see an evil and demonic man, king Herod, killing dozens to hundreds of babies. To which Matthew quotes Jeremiah’s prophecy “Rachel weeping for her children; she refused to be comforted, because they are no more.”  

This is the world Jesus entered. A world where wicked men will slay the young for their own evil intent. This is a world that would be utterly hopeless if left on its own. Yet God didn’t leave us alone, He sent His Son, Jesus, to come to our rescue! “For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost” (Luke 19:10 ESV).

The beauty of the Christmas story is not freedom from trials and adversity, but the promise that Christ has overcome sin! Jesus said, “I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world” (John 16:33 ESV). One day Jesus will do away with sin and evil and make all things new (Revelation 21:5).

Until then, He has left to us the ministry of reconciliation (2 Corinthians 5:8). That means as ambassadors for Christ, we need to live in such a way that demonstrates the hope and forgiveness of Jesus. We need to take the Gospel to the streets. We need to celebrate the Christ of Christmas in a way that reflects the Jesus of the Bible. We need to passionately plead and pray to God for these families and others like them around the world. We need to put hands and feet to the Gospel and care for these families. We need to love our families and see that every day is a gift from God and not to take them for granted. We cannot allow anger and bitterness to reign in our hearts, but must ask God for the strength to forgive. Remembering always that God has forgiven us so much.

Looking back to the prophet Jeremiah we see the hope that we do have in our God as we live a life of faith.  When He finally makes things right, “Then shall the young women rejoice in the dance, and the young men and the old shall be merry. I will turn their mourning into joy; I will comfort them, and give them gladness for sorrow” (Jeremiah 31:13 ESV).

Today as our hearts are broken and spirits are sick at seeing the heinous display of sin and the voice of Ramah echoes once again in our streets, may we remember that God has not sat idly by as a spectator. No He jumped into the melee of this world to provide a way for us to be reconciled to Him. He has given us hope and His promise that all will be made right one day. Until then, let us be comforted in His Word and encourage one another to stay faithful to it.

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God” (2 Corinthians 1:3-4 ESV).