This is
what the Lord says:
“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
mourning and great weeping,
Rachel weeping for her children
and refusing to be comforted,
because they are no more.” Jeremiah 31:15
Jeremiah
31:15 is quoted in the book of Matthew 2:18.
It was recognized as containing information proving the reliability of
Jesus as the Messiah.
When
Herod heard that a king would be born in his kingdom, he demanded that all
children be executed who fit that age description in the city of
Bethlehem. Rachel gave birth to her son Benjamin
there (Genesis 35:19), the last one of the twelve tribes. Rachel died after giving birth. So the prophecy turns Rachel into a metaphor
for the mothers of Bethlehem saying they will cry and mourn one day as they cried and mourned for her.
Herod’s
death wish on the population caused that pain in Bethlehem like nothing before
it or since, so it fit the prescribed event and gave one more piece of evidence that Jesus was the Messiah they were waiting for.