Matthew 2:13-21 ERV 13 After the wise men left, an angel from the Lord came to Joseph in a dream. The angel said, “Get up! Take the child with his mother and escape to Egypt. Herod wants to kill the child and will soon start looking for him. Stay in Egypt until I tell you to come back.” 14 So Joseph got ready and left for Egypt with the child and the mother. They left during the night. 15 Joseph stayed in Egypt until Herod died. This gave full meaning to what the Lord said through the prophet: “I called my son to come out of Egypt.” 16 Herod saw that the wise men had fooled him, and he was very angry. So he gave an order to kill all the baby boys in Bethlehem and the whole area around Bethlehem. Herod had learned from the wise men the time the baby was born. It was now two years from that time. So he said to kill all the boys who were two years old and younger. 17 This gave full meaning to what God said through the prophet Jeremiah: 18 “A sound was heard in Ramah-- bitter crying and great sadness. Rachel cries for her children, and she cannot be comforted, because her children are gone.” 19 While Joseph was in Egypt, Herod died. An angel from the Lord came to Joseph in a dream 20 and said, “Get up! Take the child with his mother and go to Israel. Those who were trying to kill the child are now dead.” 21 So Joseph took the child and the mother and went to Israel. 22 But he heard that Archelaus was now king in Judea. Archelaus became king when his father Herod died. So Joseph was afraid to go there. Then, after being warned in a dream, he went away to the area of Galilee. 23 He went to a town called Nazareth and lived there. This gave full meaning to what God said through the prophets. God said the Messiah would be called a Nazarene. Many years ago I heard the phrase- "Where the finger of God points, the hand of God provides." I will never forget this saying. I see it in today's passage. God sends Joseph, Mary and Jesus to Egypt until Herod dies but doesn't send them penniless. The gold, frankincense, and myrrh they received from the wise men sustained them during their time away from home and family.
Have you ever wanted to be given clear direction from God? As good as that sounds it doesn't mean things were easy for Joseph and Mary. We often choose what is best and even easiest for us but that may not be what God has planned. An angel of God told Joseph exactly where he was to go and when to return. This did not mean it would be easy for Joseph and Mary. They moved to Egypt [about 400 miles away] where they didn't speak the same language and they had no family nor friends to support them. Not to mention Jesus could have been up to 2 years old by this time as our passage indicates today. Although the choice to move to Nazareth seems to have been made entirely by Joseph and even out of fear. Either way God was in even that choice. Three times Matthew makes it clear that what was happening was told beforehand by God. Herod was a very nasty evil individual. This is written of him in gotquestions.org- He had his wife’s brother Aristobulus, the high priest, drowned in the swimming pool in his palace. He put to death 46 members of the Sanhedrin. He killed his mother-in-law. He also had his wife Mariamne murdered along with two of their sons, as he considered them potential rivals with legitimate claim to the throne because of their Hasmonean lineage... Augustus Caesar is reported to have said, “It is better to be Herod’s dog than one of his children.” When placed in this context, the incident in Matthew 2 does not seem out of character. To read more click here > www.gotquestions.org/Herod-the-Great.html Whenever I read about the slaughter of the innocent back in Moses day as well as in today's reading, I am a puzzled as to why God would allow that to be. I am not God and do not want to put words in His mouth or make excuses for Him so rather than trying to explain why I just thank Him for His amazing grace. He preserved His servant Moses through whom He delivered His people Israel from Egypt. It was through those preserved people that God would provide the world that Snake Crushing King. Ask Yourself:
Allow that question to sink in a bit. What may God be preserving you for? Count your blessing today and recognize the hand of God on your life. Have a great Loved Ones and God bless you real good!
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