Matthew 2:12 – 14 “And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they withdrew to their country by another route.
The Flight to Egypt (Hosea 11:1-7) 13When the Magi had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. “Get up!” he said. “Take the Child and His mother and flee to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the Child to kill Him.” 14So he got up, took the Child and His mother by night, and withdrew to Egypt, 15where he stayed until the death of Herod. This fulfilled what the Lord had spoken through the prophet: “Out of Egypt I called My Son.”
The Wise Men had come and gone, avoiding Herod after God warned them in a dream. Mary and Joseph were probably still stunned by that amazing visit! But there wasn’t much time to bask in the glow left behind by the glittering cavalcade from the East, for danger was threatening. An angel appeared in a dream and warned Joseph to get out of the country quickly before Herod could kill the baby Jesus. By this point, Joseph had already lived with the miraculous so much that one more angelic visitation probably seemed normal. And Herod had a terrible reputation! By the time Herod was pursuing the Baby Jesus, he had already murdered numerous members of his own family, including his favorite wife. Herod was spiraling deeper and deeper into paranoia and madness. When the angel warned Joseph to pack up his family and leave the country, Joseph didn’t need any urging! Even though moving to Egypt meant leaving everything that was familiar, it was far better to move than to die! So, the little family plunged into the unknown just ahead of Herod’s soldiers.
Sometimes transitions are easy. And sometimes transitions are really rough! When I was fifteen years old, my family had to move from the farm they had farmed for 19 years to another farm. My dad made all the arrangements for friends from the church to come help us move from the huge farmhouse we had occupied to a far smaller one. But Dad just neglected to inform my mother or the three of us kids! When we went to school that morning, we had no idea that we would be in a different house by nightfall! Someone else packed up all of our books, toys, clothes, etc. When we got off the school bus, my grandfather picked us up and took us to our new house. It was months before we found some of our things, and when a tornado hit the garage where much of our stuff was stored two years later, we lost everything in that building. And the “new” house was not new at all! The house to which we moved consisted of two old houses that had been put together, neither of which was worth saving! (One morning, a large truck went by on the road outside and the noise caused all the plaster to fall from my bedroom ceiling onto me while I was still in bed!) My mother struggled for weeks to find her pots and pans, the dishes, etc.
We like to talk about God doing “new things” in our lives, but sometimes like Mary and Joseph, we can find ourselves running for shelter. But no matter what happens, the one thing we CAN count on in the midst of upheaval is the fact that God will never leave us or forsake us. (Hebrews 13:5)
PRAYER Father God, today we are scared! The things we counted on have disappeared and we find ourselves facing new challenges. But Lord, you have promised that you will be with us and that you will never leave us. Help us to find the new paths you want us to take. And help us to remember that just as you protected Mary and Joseph and the Baby Jesus, you will also protect us. In your mighty and precious Name. Amen.
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