Eyewitness to Christmas: Joseph is Warned of Herod’s Treachery

King Herod sent the Magi to Bethlehem to find the Messiah. He makes them promise to return to him and let him know where to find the child, as he wants to worship the child. While the Magi may believe this the Lord God knows better and outsmarts him.

^“When they had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. “Get up,” he said, “take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the child to kill him.”  {Matthew 2:13}

An angel tells Joseph to take his family and flee to Egypt. We have a foretelling of what is to come as Herod searches for the Messiah.

“It is probable that the Magi were led by the star to Bethlehem, offered their homage, departed, Joseph was warned, and the holy family started to Egypt, all the same night… Egypt has a very intimate connection with Bible history. It was the nearest of Roman provinces independent of Herod, was the home of thousands of Joseph’s countrymen, and was convenient for a return at the proper time.”  {Johnson’s Notes on the New Testament}

Joseph was an obedient man and did as the Lord directed.

^“ So he got up, took the child and his mother during the night and left for Egypt, where he stayed until the death of Herod. And so was fulfilled what the Lord had said through the prophet: “Out of Egypt I called my son.”  {Matthew 2:14-15}

Joseph and his family stayed until he received word of Herod’s death and it was safe to return. His fulfilled the prophecy of “out of Egypt I called my son”.  One again, we see a bookend to events in the old testament where the Israelites are let out of Egypt.