THE FLIGHT INTO EGYPT

Matt 2:13-15 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. When he arose, he took the young child and His mother by night, and departed into Egypt: 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. (See Luke 2:39-40)

The previous verse tells us that it was the wise men that had departed into their own country another way, that is, without returning to revisit King Herod. They had been warned of God in a dream not to return and advise Herod of where Jesus could be found as he had asked them to do. After their departure an angel of God warned Joseph in a dream to immediately take Jesus and His mother, and flee into Egypt, which was a journey of at least eightymiles, or more. They were told by the angel to remain there until I bring thee word. The reason for fleeing to Egypt was because Herod wanted to find the young child, Jesus, and destroy Him. Secular history tells us that many Jews had fled to Egypt and made it their homeland at this particular time. Although Egypt was now a Roman province, it was out of the jurisdiction of King Herod. From Barnes' Notes we are reminded that, "The very land which was the land of bondage and groaning for the Jews, became now the land of refuge and safety for the new-born King of Judea."

After Joseph was warned by an angel of God in a dream, he arose and obediently took the young child and His mother by night, and departed into Egypt. They fled immediately, from the threatening attempt of King Herod to slay Jesus, before the day dawned in order to safely conceal their escape. There in Egypt they lived until the death of Herod. According to biblical historians, Herod died of a horrible disease not long after they arrived in Egypt. This, Matthew records, was the fulfillment of a prophet of the Lord, and probably refers to Hosea where it says that God called His Son out of Egypt (Hos. 11:1b) However, immediately after Mary, Joseph, and Jesus fled into Egypt, Herod realized that the wise men had mocked him by not obeying his wishes. In his fury, Herod slew all the children that were in (and around) Bethlehem, from two years old and under (Vs. 15). Again, Matthew tells us that this slaughter was the fulfillment of the prophet, Jeremiah (Jer. 31:15), who, by inspiration of the Holy Spirit, wrote of great lamentation, and weeping, and great mourning over the senseless, indiscriminate killing of young children of Israel by Herod (Vss. 17-18).

But when Herod was dead, behold, an angel of the Lord appeareth in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, saying, Arise, and take the young child and His mother, and go into the land of Israel: for they are dead which sought the young child's life (Vss. 19-20). Herod the Great died. He was the ruler that sought the death of the promised Messiah, because he thought his kingship would be threatened by Him. At his death, the kingdom of Herod the Great was divided among his sons, with Archelaus, his eldest son, becoming the ruler over Judea. Historians tell us that rioting broke out during a Passover celebration and thousands of Jews were slain. Therefore, there was much dissension by the Jewish people against Archelaus becoming governor over this portion of the land of Israel.

It was probably because of this that Joseph was hesitant on returning to Bethlehem. With God's guidance, Joseph, Mary, and Jesus went into Galilee, ...and dwelt in a city called Nazareth (See Vss. 21-23). Galilee was governed by another son of Herod the Great, named Antipas. Not only was he much less militaristic and vengeful toward the Jewish people, but he also was hostile toward his brother, Archelaus. Because of this and because of being warned of God in a dream, Jesus, and His family, returned to Israel anddwelt in the Galileancity called Nazareth. It was there that Jesus liveduntil He was approximately thirty years of age and began His earthly ministry. Living in this city in Galilee is said by Matthew to fulfill that, which was spoken by the prophets, He shall be called a Nazarene. This seems to refer to a number of prophecies, however, the particular wording here cannot be attributed to any specific Old Testament prophet. A Nazarene was a Jewish word describing one that was despised and rejected. Certainly Jesus, in His life, persecution, and death on the cross of Calvary, fulfilled this prophecy.