Matthew 2:13-18 They Escape to Egypt
13 After they had gone, Joseph had another dream. An angel of the Lord appeared to him and said, “Get up now and flee to Egypt. Take Mary and the little child and stay there until I tell you to leave, for Herod intends to search for the child to kill him.”
14 So that very night he got up and took Jesus and his mother and made their escape to Egypt 15 and remained there until Herod died. All of this fulfilled what the Lord had spoken through his prophet: I summon my Son out of Egypt.
16 When Herod realized that he had been tricked by the wise men, he was infuriated. So he sent soldiers with orders to slaughter every baby boy two years old and younger in Bethlehem and throughout the surrounding countryside, based on the time frame he was given from interrogating the wise men. 17 This fulfilled the words of the prophet Jeremiah:
18
I hear the screams of anguish,
weeping, and wailing in Ramah.
Rachel [Israel] is weeping uncontrollably for her children.
And she refuses to be comforted,
because they are dead and gone.
In our lesson today, Joseph receives a second dream from the Lord involving Jesus. The first dream was to reveal to Joseph that Mary would be the mother of the Messiah—Jesus the Christ. The second dream was to reveal to Joseph how to protect the Christ child; they must flee to Egypt. We must never forget how Joseph followed the guidance of God and participated in the plan of salvation.
The reason Joseph had to take his family to Egypt is because Israel’s king, Herod, was having all the male children under the age of two killed as a way to kill Jesus. Herod was afraid that Jesus would take over his throne, but Herod could not overthrow God’s plans. Actually, God was trying to get a great Gift to Herod, the Jews, and the world; not trying to take things away from them. How many times are we more concerned about what we may have to give up in our relationship with God rather than being excited about what God may be trying to get to us?
Prayer: Father, thank you for the freedom, peace, and joy you are always trying to get to me. I want you to be the Lord of my life each and ever day. Thank you for the blessings you always bring my life. In Jesus’ name. Amen.