THE UNKNOWN UNKNOWNS
Opening Prayer
Infinite God, I praise You that You see and care about each detail of my life.
Read Matthew 2:13–23
The Escape to Egypt
13 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.”
14 So he got up, took the child and his mother during the night and left for Egypt, 15 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.”[a]
16 When Herod realized that he had been outwitted by the Magi, he was furious, and he gave orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years old and under, in accordance with the time he had learned from the Magi. 17 Then what was said through the prophet Jeremiah was fulfilled:
18 “A voice is heard in Ramah,
weeping and great mourning,
Rachel weeping for her children
and refusing to be comforted,
because they are no more.”[b]
The Return to Nazareth
19 After Herod died, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt 20 and said, “Get up, take the child and his mother and go to the land of Israel, for those who were trying to take the child’s life are dead.”
21 So he got up, took the child and his mother and went to the land of Israel. 22 But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning in Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. Having been warned in a dream, he withdrew to the district of Galilee, 23 and he went and lived in a town called Nazareth. So was fulfilled what was said through the prophets, that he would be called a Nazarene.
Footnotes:
a Matthew 2:15 Hosea 11:1
b Matthew 2:18 Jer. 31:15
New International Version (NIV)
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Reflect
“God holds the key of all unknown, And I am glad” (Joseph Parker, 1887). How does it make you feel to know that God knows?Joseph learned to take his dreams seriously. Three times here he has significant dreams which direct him and his family to safety (13, 19, 22). Each time he unquestioningly does what he is told. Then on two occasions Matthew points out how the prophets’ words were fulfilled (15, 23). You may have experienced God’s clear guidance in a similar way. Sometimes, however, guidance is far from clear and we have to walk by faith not by sight (2 Corinthians 5:7).
Powerful rulers sometimes do dreadful things. Herod responded deviously (8) to the news of the birth of a Jewish king (1). But realizing that the Magi had outwitted him, he responded brutally (16). The number killed – possibly about twenty given the size of Bethlehem – was small by Herod’s standards. But for those families it was devastating. Jeremiah’s prophecy summed it up completely (18).
This story is of a small family, living in small towns, in a small country. Nevertheless it has huge significance. Joseph may not have realized why it mattered for them to live in Bethlehem and Nazareth, but God did and he guided them. If we are open to God’s guidance, we can trust him to take us safely on the right path.
Apply
Are you facing decisions about the future: job, home, relationships? What if each step is the next stroke of the masterpiece? Can you trust God even when it doesn’t make sense?
Closing prayer
God, please show me the way forward. Help me to trust You even when things are unclear.
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