Hope for our children – 20 January 2020

Neville Turley

(Di)temana ya Bibele

JEREMIA 31

₁₅Hle, homola,

o phumole meokgo.

O tla putsetšwa tše o di diretšego bana ba gago;

ba tla boa ba etšwa nageng ya manaba.

JEREMIA 31:15NSO00Bula go Mmadi wa Bibele

MATEU 2

Go bolawa ga bana

₁₆Ge Heroda a seno lemoga gore boradinaledi bale ba mo forile, a tuka bogale. A laela gore bašemanyana ka moka ba Betlelehema le tikologong ya gona ba mengwaga ye mebedi goba ka fase ga fao ba bolawe, a lekanya ka nako yela a bego a botšišitše boradinaledi gore naledi e bonagetše neng.

₁₇Gwa napa gwa phethega se se boletšwego ke moprofeta Jeremia mola a re:

MATEU 2:16-17NSO00Bula go Mmadi wa Bibele

MATEU 19

Jesu o šegofatša bana

₁₃Batho ba bangwe ba tliša bana go Jesu gore a ba bee diatla a ba rapelele, eupša barutiwa ba gagwe ba kgalema batho bao. ₁₄Jesu a re: “Lesang bana bao ba tle go nna, le se ke la ba thibela, gobane mmušo wa Modimo ke wa ba babjalo.”

MATEU 19:13-14NSO00Bula go Mmadi wa Bibele

This is what the Lordsays: ‘A voice is heard in Ramah, mourning and great weeping, Rachel weeping for her children and refusing to be comforted, because they are no more.Jeremiah 31:15 (NIV)

Rachel and Leah, the wives of Jacob, are recorded in Ruth 4:11 as being the matriarchs of Israel – the mothers of the nation. In our verse for the day, Rachel is personified as Israel, the bride of God weeping for her exiled son – the tribe of Ephraim.

In the Gospel of Matthew we read that this prophesy of Jeremiah was fulfilled when Herod ordered all boys of two years and under, who lived in Bethlehem and its neighbourhood, to be killed. (Matthew 2:16-17)

Nothing cuts more deeply into one’s heart and leaves one with feelings of shock and anger than when we hear of vulnerable children being callously abused and mistreated. It was with utter abhorrence one read of the one hundred and forty eight children massacred in Peshawar, Pakistan a few years ago. It was not an isolated incident in a distant land. Not much has changed since the “Massacre of the Innocents” by Herod.

Child abuse is worldwide. Innocent children are often the victims in our broken, sin-stained world.

Parents, and those to whom children are entrusted, have an onerous responsibility. They need to take every precaution to safeguard their charges. It is a duty they dare not take lightly.

Sometimes children are harmed by the very persons responsible for their care. Instead of enjoying a happy, safe environment, they find themselves in a nightmare of suffering and pain.

In a society where women had little status under Jewish Law and children none at all, Jesus made his attitude towards children very clear. “Then people brought little children to Jesus for him to place his hands on them and pray for them. But the disciples rebuked them. Jesus said, ‘Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” (Matthew 19:13-14)

From the cradle to the grave Jesus is the hope and refuge for all who come to him.

Prayer: Heavenly Father, thank you for the hope our children have in you. We pray for your protecting power over them. Keep them safe and happy, Lord. Make them ever aware of your loving kindness. This we ask in Jesus name. Amen

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