January 01, 2025 | Be God's Family
Mary, Joseph and Jesus Flee to Egypt
Scripture: Matthew 2:1-18(NIV)
1 After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem 2 and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.”
3 When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. 4 When he had called together all the people’s chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Messiah was to be born. 5 “In Bethlehem in Judea,” they replied, “for this is what the prophet has written:
6 “‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;
for out of you will come a ruler
who will shepherd my people Israel.’”
7 Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared. 8 He sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him.”
9 After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen when it rose went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. 10 When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. 11 On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. 12 And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route.
13 When they had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. “Get up,” he said, “take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the child to kill him.”
14 So he got up, took the child and his mother during the night and left for Egypt, 15 where he stayed until the death of Herod. And so was fulfilled what the Lord had said through the prophet: “Out of Egypt I called my son.”
16 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. 17 Then what was said through the prophet Jeremiah was fulfilled:
18 “A voice is heard in Ramah,
weeping and great mourning,
Rachel weeping for her children
and refusing to be comforted,
because they are no more.”
Devotional
Just as there was “no room in the inn” at Jesus’ birth, we learn from this passage that, now, there was no room for Jesus in Bethlehem. Herod was furious and felt threatened by the message the Magi brought of a new King and now Jesus was in danger. Herod had ordered the deaths of all children under the age of two. But God warned Joseph in a dream to flee to Egypt.
This could be seen as a test of faith for Mary and Joseph. Would they obey God’s command to leave? It was a long journey – about 75 miles just to reach the Egyptian border. And it was unknown, dangerous territory. And how would they, as a poor family, pay for this unexpected journey? But Mary and Joseph both knew the power and importance of dreams and were faithful to God’s call. And so, Joseph packed up his wife and son IMMEDIATELY, that very night, with no hesitation whatsoever. They became refugees and began the long journey to Egypt.
Egypt – a foreign country with a reputation for cruelty, idolatry and where Mary and Joseph’s ancestors had been oppressed for hundreds of years. Were they going from one danger to another? In the 1st century, there was a Jewish presence there. Some estimate there were around 1 million Jews in Egypt. The population of Alexandria alone was approximately 1/3 Jewish. And being outside Herod’s authority, the family would be able to find safe harbor there and “blend in”. Some would even say that the gifts of the Magi – gold, frankincense and myrrh – could have been used to finance their long journey. God DOES provide.
For Matthew’s Jewish audience, the connection to Egypt would have been strong. They would recall Joseph – who, having been sold by his brothers as a slave, rose to power in Egypt. They would recall Jacob and his entire family – who, through Joseph’s actions, were saved from death by famine and settled in Egypt. And they would certainly recall Moses – who was saved from death in Egypt by Pharoah’s daughter after Pharoah demanded the killing of the infants, just as Herod had demanded.
Joseph, Jacob, Moses. Their stories would all set the stage for the Exodus. “Out of Egypt I called my son.” (Hosea 11:1) The old prophecy is now given new meaning. Jesus is now being called out of Egypt. And just as Moses led the Israelites from bondage in Egypt, Jesus would lead ALL people to freedom and usher in the Kingdom of God. Moses was the Lawgiver - Jesus is the Lifegiver. God truly DOES provide!
What do you think you learn from this passage about faith, obedience and listening to God?
Poem
O Heav’n, My Counsel
Psalm 19, Micah 5:2
“The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they reveal knowledge. They have no speech, they use no words; no sound is heard from them. Yet their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world.”
Psalm 19:1-4a
O Heav’n, my counsel, shing bright
Displaying glory through the night
Declaring wonders yet to come
Hidden from most revealed to some
You speak without an uttered word
You speak, and yet, your silence, heard
By those who gaze into your night
Thus guided by your prophets’ light
O Heav’n, my counsel wondrous view
May Beth’lem star lead straight to you
Where Word of Love descends to land
Where I may kneel with gift in hand
Where King of all His gift to me
From wooden manger, cross planked tree
My Bridegroom coming faithfully
May this my meditation be
