Matthew 2:19 After Herod died, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt. 20“Get up!” he said. “Take the Child and His mother and go to the land of Israel, for those seeking the Child’s life are now dead.”
21So Joseph got up, took the Child and His mother, and went to the land of Israel. 22But when he learned that Archelaus was reigning in Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. And having been warned in a dream, he withdrew to the district of Galilee, 23and he went and lived in a town called Nazareth. So was fulfilled what was spoken through the prophets: “He will be called a Nazarene.”
Shortly after ordering the slaughter of all the baby boys two years old and under in Bethlehem, Herod died. By this time, Joseph and Mary were in Egypt. And now for the last time that we know about, Joseph has another angelic visitation in a dream. Herod is dead, and it is safe to return to Israel. But Herod’s son Archelaus was little better than his father, so the angel warns Joseph to stay away from Judea and instead to go to Galilee. In those days, Galilee was a backwater, and Nazareth was considered a “trashy” town. Ghanaians would say that Nazarenes were “ignorant people from the bush.” But there were big advantages to such a location.
Nobody in his right mind would consider that any kind of a king could come from Galilee or particularly from Nazareth. In John 1:46, when Philip is trying to convince Nathaniel to come meet Jesus, Nathaniel scathingly remarks “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?’ Philip replies, “Come and see.” Later on, when Nicodemus was defending Jesus to his fellow Pharisees, they mocked him and told him, “Search and see that no prophet arises from Galilee.” Actually, these religious snobs were quite wrong! Micah, Elijah, Jonah, and possibly Nahum and Hosea were all from Galilee. This general disdain for Galilee and its inhabitants served to protect Jesus as He was growing up and maturing. And the experiences that Jesus had during those years would later become the raw material for the parables He told so vividly.
Perhaps today God has placed you in an obscure location. Don’t feel alone! Many of us work in small out of the way places; yet, each one of us has the opportunity to serve faithfully wherever we are. All of us are familiar with the stories of those who began in small places and who fell from great heights once they reached fame and fortune. Proverbs 30: 7 – 9 says “Two things I request of You (Deprive me not before I die): 8 Remove falsehood and lies far from me; Give me neither poverty nor riches— Feed me with the food allotted to me; 9 Lest I be full and deny You, And say, “Who is the Lord?” Or lest I be poor and steal, and profane the name of my God.”
PRAYER: Father God, today some of us are ashamed. We feel that we are not progressing or keeping up with others who began before us and are now wildly successful. But Father, you have called each of us to a specific task in a specific place. Help us to realize that if we are faithful to your calling, that is Your measure of success. Thank you that you continue to love us and care for us, that you will never leave us or forsake us, and that you are calling us to a bright future. In the matchless Name of Jesus. Amen.
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