December 20 – Escape from Terror
By Audrey Bauman
Matthew 2: 13 – 23 (NLT)
The Escape to Egypt
13 After the wise men were gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. “Get up! Flee to Egypt with the child and his mother,” the angel said. “Stay there until I tell you to return, because Herod is going to search for the child to kill him.”
14 That night Joseph left for Egypt with the child and Mary, his mother, 15 and they stayed there until Herod’s death. This fulfilled what the Lord had spoken through the prophet: “I called my Son out of Egypt.” (Hosea 11:1)
16 Herod was furious when he realized that the wise men had outwitted him. He sent soldiers to kill all the boys in and around Bethlehem who were two years old and under, based on the wise men’s report of the star’s first appearance. 17 Herod’s brutal action fulfilled what God had spoken through the prophet Jeremiah:
18 “A cry was heard in Ramah—
weeping and great mourning.
Rachel weeps for her children,
refusing to be comforted,
for they are dead.” (Jerimiah 31: 15)
The Return to Nazareth
19 When Herod died, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt. 20 “Get up!” the angel said. “Take the child and his mother back to the land of Israel, because those who were trying to kill the child are dead.”
21 So Joseph got up and returned to the land of Israel with Jesus and his mother. 22 But when he learned that the new ruler of Judea was Herod’s son Archelaus, he was afraid to go there. Then, after being warned in a dream, he left for the region of Galilee. 23 So the family went and lived in a town called Nazareth. This fulfilled what the prophets had said: “He will be called a Nazarene.”
God instructed Joseph in a dream to leave Bethlehem after the wise men left, and Joseph got up and the family headed out to Egypt. It doesn’t sound like they had a chance to pack their belongings up. This wasn’t a carefully planned family move. We don’t hear much about Joseph after the stories about the birth of Jesus. We know he was on the trip to Jerusalem when Jesus was twelve years of age. We know Jesus had brothers and sisters, so again, Joseph was present for some time. He wasn’t there at the crucifixion. According to InterVarsity Press online Commentary, males were usually married around 20 or older; girls were married as young as 13 if they had begun menstrual cycles. Mary was likely a widow by the time Jesus was crucified. But, at the time of his birth, Joseph was the older caretaker of the family. He shows up as the righteous, compassionate, strong man all through these two chapters in Matthew’s account. He is a real example for men today – listen to God and be caring and protective of your wife and family.
The slaughter of the baby/toddler boys in the area of Bethlehem was horrendous. Intervarsity Press online commentary tells us more about Herod’s cruel reign:
“When Herod's young brother-in-law was becoming too popular, he had a "drowning accident" in what archaeology shows was a rather shallow pool; later, falsely accused officials were cudgeled to death on Herod's order. Wrongly suspecting two of his sons of plotting against him, he had them strangled, and five days before his own death the dying Herod had a more treacherous, Absalom-like son executed.”
But God protects his sovereign plans despite what happens in this broken world. Remember back in Moses’ time when the people of Israel were living in captivity in Egypt? Moses should have been killed as the current Pharaoh decided all the baby boys should be killed because he was worried that the number of Israeli men were becoming threatening to his own people. Yet God protected Moses because God’s plan was for Moses to lead his people out of Egypt to the promised land. I think it’s interesting that God protected Jesus by sending Joseph and Mary to Egypt. No matter where you might be, we can be reassured that God’s plans in our world will happen. Difficult situations might happen in places you consider to be dangerous, or they might happen in places that you might have thought were safe. No matter where, God is supreme.
Jesus suffered right from the time of his birth. He was born in a manger in a cattle shed or barn. He lived as a refugee in Egypt as a child. When he returned to Israel, he lived in Nazareth, a town that was looked down on by the rest of the country. We know that when he began his ministry, life became difficult most of the time. He had no home – “Jesus said to him, “The foxes have holes and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.” (Matt. 8: 20) His death was horrific beyond our imagination. He understands completely the difficult times we go through. When we pray and ask him for strength to face our hard times and sorrow, we know he understands.
There is a passage in Isaiah that describes this wonderful Saviour of ours Read it slowly and carefully as you thank him for all he has done for you.
Isaiah 53: 3 – 12 (NLT)
“He was despised and rejected—
a man of sorrows, acquainted with deepest grief.
We turned our backs on him and looked the other way.
He was despised, and we did not care.
4 Yet it was our weaknesses he carried;
it was our sorrows that weighed him down.
And we thought his troubles were a punishment from God,
a punishment for his own sins!
5 But he was pierced for our rebellion,
crushed for our sins.
He was beaten so we could be whole.
He was whipped so we could be healed.
6 All of us, like sheep, have strayed away.
We have left God’s paths to follow our own.
Yet the Lord laid on him
the sins of us all.
7 He was oppressed and treated harshly,
yet he never said a word.
He was led like a lamb to the slaughter.
And as a sheep is silent before the shearers,
he did not open his mouth.
8 Unjustly condemned,
he was led away.
No one cared that he died without descendants,
that his life was cut short in midstream.
But he was struck down
for the rebellion of my people.
9 He had done no wrong
and had never deceived anyone.
But he was buried like a criminal;
he was put in a rich man’s grave.
10 But it was the Lord’s good plan to crush him
and cause him grief.
Yet when his life is made an offering for sin,
he will have many descendants.
He will enjoy a long life,
and the Lord’s good plan will prosper in his hands.
11 When he sees all that is accomplished by his anguish,
he will be satisfied.
And because of his experience,
my righteous servant will make it possible
for many to be counted righteous,
for he will bear all their sins.
12 I will give him the honors of a victorious soldier,
because he exposed himself to death.
He was counted among the rebels.
He bore the sins of many and interceded for rebels.”
Our song for today is Until You by Danny Gokey.