Innocent Children

Matthew 2:16-18 (NRSV)

When Herod saw that he had been tricked by the wise men, he was infuriated, and he sent and killed all the children in and around Bethlehem who were two years old or under, according to the time that he had learned from the wise men. Then was fulfilled what had been spoken through the prophet Jeremiah:

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

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Because Hell, Hell is for children
And you know that their little lives can become such a mess
Hell Hell is for children
And you shouldn't have to pay for your love with your bones and your flesh

"Hell Is for Children" by Pat Benetar from "Crimes of Passion" (1980)

The passage is about a King being so insecure that he forces "the slaughter of the innocents." Yes, this passage is commonly called, "the slaughter of the innocents." The song is about child abuse. In an interview Pat Benetar was asked if this song was written about an experience in her life. She said "No, thank God."

King Herod was the Praetor, the Chief Magistrate, of Judea and he had been in power for over thirty years and you didn’t accumulate and keep that kind of power in the Roman Empire without knowing how to quell a rebellion or two. But Herod was more. On top of his winning personality Herod was angry, vengeful, and brutal.

So when the three wise men tricked him by returning to the east along a different route, Herod knew there was only one thing to do. Kill 'em all. So he consulted his advisors and they figured out the maximum age of the new-born king. He then sent a detachment to Nazareth where any child who even remotely close to the decided upon age was massacred. This is the slaughter, the slaughter of the innocents.

Before he could walk, even before he could take food from beyond his mother’s breast, Jesus of Nazareth, Son of God and Son of Man is surrounded in blood and death.

There are many who walk wounded in life. They are victims of abuse. They are hurt, they are uncertain. Literally, they are gun shy. But we can take one piece from this, even our Lord lived in a time when child abuse existed. Even our Lord lived when children were treated so very poorly that slaughter was possilbe.

This may make no immediate difference, but as Christ was living when this was happening in Judea, He lives today. In this, there is truth.