In the Old and New Testament of the Christian Bible, there were three different times that innocent children were killed - by the Creator during the institution of the Ten Plagues, by the Pharaoh during the time of Moses' birth and by King Herod around the time of the birth of Jesus.
In the Old Testament book of Exodus, there are various signs recorded which were meant to persuade Pharaoh to release the Hebrews (also known as the Israelites) from captivity. These signs came in the form of ten plagues which affected the great Egyptian kingdom.
A plague is defined in scripture using the Hebrew word maggephah (mag-gay-few). The Biblical definition of maggephah is a “stroke of affliction or disease”, sent as chastisement or judgment from God. Other uses for the word maggephah include a ‘fatal blow’ and a ‘slaughter’. Maggephah is used numerous times to describe a plague in the books of Exodus, Numbers, 1 Samuel, 2 Samuel, 1 Chronicles, 2 Chronicles, Psalms, Zechariah.
The Creator sent nine horrid afflictions upon the Egyptian kingdom during the days of Moses when the king of the land (Pharaoh) hardened his heart and refused to set the Creator's people [the Hebrews] free from bondage. Each time Moses parlayed the message of the Creator to Pharaoh for the freedom of His people, the haughty king of Egypt continued to refuse the request of the Hebrew god and thus a new plague was invoked by the same Israelite god. The last (#10) plague was let loose on the Egyptian kingdom in the form of a slaughter of all firstborn Egyptian sons.
Some believe this was a horrid incident the Creator performed, while others defend the hideous plague inflicted upon Egypt by pointing out the God of the Hebrews was only enacting retribution for the same horrendous slaughter Pharaoh had applied upon the Hebrew nation when he killed all the Hebrew sons during the era when Moses was born.
By the Pharaoh
Most biblical scholars agree Thutmose I (1525-1508 BC) was the Pharaoh of Egypt during the era of Moses' birth, while other theologians believe it was Seti I. Regardless, this particular king called in the midwives (the women who helped babies being born) and ordered them to kill all the male babies born to the Hebrew women. The Hebrew nation (also known as the Israelites) were slaves in the Egyptian kingdom during this epoch of time. Pharaoh thought that by killing all the male slave babies, he could reduce the strength and the number of Hebrews. He intended to make sure there were never enough young men to fight in an army against the Egyptians. Another reason this king killed the infant sons was the rebellion among the growing Israelite slave population during that time. When the Egyptian king discovered the midwives were not carrying out his orders, the pharaoh met this challenge with an edict to throw the infants into the River Nile whenever they were discovered. His faithful soldiers carried out the order.
Moses survived the edict by first being hidden for three months. Only after he could not be kept secret was a plan devised to save the young child. He would indeed be placed into the Nile, but first a sealed basket was prepared that would float to a place where Hatshebapsut (1504-1583 BC), daughter of Thutmose, regularly bathed with her attendants. Miriam, Moses' sister, stood watch to assure his safety and direct the princess to the services of a nurse -- Moses' own mother, Jochebed.
The pharaoh's daughter indeed felt sorry for the child, and having no children of her own, had elected to adopt him. Through this, it was assumed, the child would grow up Egyptian, and be of no danger to the grand empire. Groomed in the court for a life of ease (Hebrews 11:25), he grew up to be 'son of Pharaoh' after his mother declared herself ruler upon the death of Thutmose (by means of marriage to half-brother Thutmose II). It was under her successor, her step-son Thutmose III, that Moses became aware of the treatment of the slaves. Never having rejected his heritage, Moses defended his kinsmen, killing one of the Egyptian slave drivers. This abruptly ended his career as a nobleman. And, not long afterwards, Moses' was groomed by the Hebrew god himself to help to free the Hebrew slaves from a 400 year bondage.
By King Herod
In the New Testament book of Matthew, King Herod I was the culprit behind slaughter of the innocent male children under two years old. Unlike Thutmose I who was worried about a future army rising up against his kingdom, Herod was concerned with a new king threatening to take the kingdom from him.
Also known as Herod the Great, a Roman client king of Judea, referred to his empire as the Herodian kingdom. While the massacre story is only recorded in the Christian's Holy Bible, Herod's atrocities were well recorded by early historians, such as Josephus in the Wars of the Jews, definitely making him a candidate to commit a horrendous murder of innocents.
According to scripture, Herod learned of a future king through the Magi (foreign kings) when they came seeking for a male child that had been born near Bethlehem, claiming he was a future king of the Judaic kingdom. The future king was Jesus of Nazareth, a simple carpenter's son. Yet, Herod never saw the Christ as a 'simple' adversary. Herod had persuaded the timeline of when the child was born from these foreign kings, but never received the exact location of this birth when the Magi - who was instructed to leave by a heavenly messenger - did not return with the information.
Not long after the Magi disappeared, the king of Judea ordered the slaughter of all innocent male children under the age of two throughout Bethlehem and all nearby vicinities in the Herodian kingdom. The massacre is reported in Matthew 2:16. The Prophet Jeremiah predicted this horrid massacre would happen (Jeremiah 31:15).
Wikipedia summed up King Herod and the probability of such devious actions occurring: He eliminated any threat to his sovereignty. Most estimates put the number of murdered children at fewer than 20. While a horrible tragedy, the slaughter of a few children in a small, unimportant village seems unlikely to make the pages of many histories compared to Herod's other atrocities. One should also remember that much of our extra-biblical knowledge of Israel at the time comes from Josephus, a Jewish historian and likely a Pharisee. To include this event would require an explanation of why the children died. Given his beliefs and desire to please Rome, little wonder he should avoid references to this massacre.
By the Modern World - Abortion
It has been over 2,000 years since Herod the Great took it upon himself to slaughter innocent male children of the Judaic race to appease his own lustful desires of remaining the greatest king during that epoch of history. According to the
CDC surveillance reports, the dawning of the 21st century [the year 2000] saw over 850,000 babies aborted. This year [2020] so far has reported over 740,000 babies being killed in the United States of America alone!
In 1973, Roe vs Wade was a landmark decision of the U.S. Supreme Court in which the Court ruled that the Constitution of the United States protects a pregnant woman's decision to choose to have an abortion without excessive government restriction. This was the beginning of a fourth "slaughter of the innocents" during mankind's 6,000 year history. Today, a baby [from conception to birth] can be murdered up until the ninth month of pregnancy, and in some cases, during birth. The following data is the current statistics of abortion:
Abortions Performed | Number of Abortions |
Worldwide today (11 Nov. 2020) | 79,030 |
In United States today (11 Nov. 2020) | 1,704.8 |
Worldwide this Year (2020) | 34,147,350 |
United States this Year (2020) | 744,009.7 |
By Planned Parenthood since 1970 | 8,955,969.2 |
By Planned Parenthood this year (2020) | 308,864.6 |
Worldwide abortions since 1973 | 1,720,100,000 |
US since 1973: Roe vs Wade | 62,372,596.5 |
US this Year after 16 weeks gestation (2020) | 35,712.4 |
US this Year due to rape or incest (2020) | 7,216.9 |
Just like the Pharaoh, whose army was drowned in the Red Sea in pursuit of the Israelite nation, the wrath of God soon fell upon Herod himself and he died a horrid death. As abortion continues around the world, the wrath of the Creator will surely be inflicted upon the nations once again for taking these precious, innocent lives.
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The plagues recorded in the book of Exodus 7-12 were specifically designed to unsettle the hardened heart of Pharaoh. The plagues of Egypt glorified and exalted the Creator and showed the enslaved Israelites a miraculous sign of mercy and protection (which set forth the symbolism of
Passover).
And Moses said, Thus saith the LORD, "About midnight will I go out into the midst of Egypt: And all the firstborn in the land of Egypt shall die, from the first born of Pharaoh that sitteth upon his throne, even unto the firstborn of the maidservant that is behind the mill; and all the firstborn of beasts." ~ Exodus 11:4-5
While Pharaoh ordered his midwives to kill all male babies born unto the Hebrew slave women, the midwives gloried the Creator by countering the king's command with an acceptable excuse of not being able to fulfill such a task. In the end, Pharaoh ordered his army to enact the slaughter of the innocents.
The king of Egypt said to the Hebrew midwives, whose names were Shiphrah and Puah, “When you are helping the Hebrew women during childbirth on the delivery stool, if you see that the baby is a boy, kill him; but if it is a girl, let her live.” The midwives, however, feared God and did not do what the king of Egypt had told them to do; they let the boys live. Then the king of Egypt summoned the midwives and asked them, “Why have you done this? Why have you let the boys live?” The midwives answered Pharaoh, “Hebrew women are not like Egyptian women; they are vigorous and give birth before the midwives arrive.” So God was kind to the midwives and the people increased and became even more numerous. And because the midwives feared God, he gave them families of their own. Then Pharaoh gave this order to all his people: “Every Hebrew boy that is born you must throw into the Nile, but let every girl live.” ~ Exodus 1:15-22
In the narrative of King Herod's slaughter of children, the foreign kings exalted the Creator by not returning to Herod with information of the Jesus' whereabouts. Yet, with the prior information the Magi provided, the Herodian king was able to pinpoint a time and location of Jesus' birth and set forth a decree to slaughter all Judean males under the age of two. These slaughtered children thus became the first martyrs for Christ.
When Herod realized that he had been outwitted by the Magi, he was furious, and he gave orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years old and under, in accordance with the time he had learned from the Magi. ~ Matthew 2:16
There is no exaltation of the Creator in the abortion scenario of murdering children. Biblically classified as a wicked deed to perform, there are 35 million+ babies becoming continued martyrs of Christ as each year progressively passes into the next year. Many religious theologians find such an act in our modern world can be classified as an unconscionable and selfish decision-making process.
“Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne? Though she may forget, I will not forget you! ~ Isaiah 49:15
