Advent: 9 Days to Go
In this installment of our Christmas adventure, Joseph, Mary and Jesus flee from Bethlehem to Egypt...
13 And when they were departed, behold, the angel of the Lord appeareth to Joseph in a dream, saying, Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and flee into Egypt, and be thou there until I bring thee word: for Herod will seek the young child to destroy him.
14 When he arose, he took the young child and his mother by night, and departed into Egypt:
15 And was there until the death of Herod: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, Out of Egypt have I called my son.
--Matthew 2:13-15 KJV Bible
After the magi had gone, Joseph received a warning from God in a dream: King Herod wanted to find and kill the child. According to God’s instructions Joseph immediately gathered is family and began the roughly 50-mile journey to Egypt. There the family would wait until God told Joseph that it was safe to return.
Egypt was the nearest of the Roman provinces that was independent of Herod’s influence. Thousands of Jews were living there at the time. It is both ironic and poetic that while Egypt had been a place of bondage for the children of Israel, it was a place of refuge for the Christ Child. Matthew makes reference to the words of the prophet Hosea, who foretold in one statement that while God had called his spiritual children out of Egypt, God would also call His own Son out of Egypt (Hosea 11:1).
Next time, Herod’s wrath is unleashed...
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13 And when they were departed, behold, the angel of the Lord appeareth to Joseph in a dream, saying, Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and flee into Egypt, and be thou there until I bring thee word: for Herod will seek the young child to destroy him.
14 When he arose, he took the young child and his mother by night, and departed into Egypt:
15 And was there until the death of Herod: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, Out of Egypt have I called my son.
--Matthew 2:13-15 KJV Bible
After the magi had gone, Joseph received a warning from God in a dream: King Herod wanted to find and kill the child. According to God’s instructions Joseph immediately gathered is family and began the roughly 50-mile journey to Egypt. There the family would wait until God told Joseph that it was safe to return.
Egypt was the nearest of the Roman provinces that was independent of Herod’s influence. Thousands of Jews were living there at the time. It is both ironic and poetic that while Egypt had been a place of bondage for the children of Israel, it was a place of refuge for the Christ Child. Matthew makes reference to the words of the prophet Hosea, who foretold in one statement that while God had called his spiritual children out of Egypt, God would also call His own Son out of Egypt (Hosea 11:1).
Next time, Herod’s wrath is unleashed...
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