#10 Flight to Egypt; Herod Slays Innocents; Return
from Egypt
Please first read:
Matthew 2:1-23
JST Matthew 3:2-6,
13, 14, 19, 22
Timeline
of events:
Flight to Egypt
After
the Wise Men leave, an angel of the Lord comes to Joseph in a vision and tells
him to flee to Egypt “until I bring thee word” for Herod will try to find and
destroy the Child. Joseph promptly leaves by night for Egypt and remains there
until the death of Herod, fulfilling the prophecy “out of Egypt have I called
my Son.”
Babes and Children Slain
Herod
realizes the Wise Men have tricked him ... he is furious and orders all
children in and around the coasts (area) of Bethlehem, two years old and under,
slain. Herod used the time of his seeing the Wise Men and the time the star
appeared to them to reckon from.
Return from Egypt
After
the death of Herod, the angel comes again in a vision to Joseph in Egypt and
tells him to take Mary and Jesus “into the land of Israel” as it is now safe.
Joseph does so, but then he learns that Herod's son, Archelaus, is reigning in
his father's stead in Judea, (Bethlehem and Jerusalem are both in this province.)
Joseph is afraid ... he receives another vision from God telling him to go into
the province of Galilee instead as Archelaus has no authority there. (There is an ancient prophecy that “He shall
be called a Nazarene.”)
Nazareth to Egypt
As
we reflect on the first few years of Joseph and Mary as a newly married couple,
and then as a family with a child, we easily see numerous difficulties and
hardships which they faced.
When
Mary returns to Nazareth from her visit to Elizabeth, she is obviously with
child. The betrothal is completed in marriage, and in the next few years they
travel:
·
from
Nazareth to Bethlehem; Jesus is born
·
from
Bethlehem to Jerusalem; to the temple
·
from
Jerusalem to Nazareth
·
from
Nazareth to Bethlehem
·
from
Bethlehem to Egypt
·
from
Egypt to Bethlehem and on to Nazareth
Considering
the normal range of age (mid-teens) in which Jewish girls were betrothed into
marriage, Mary would be in her late teen years when they at last settle as a
family in Nazareth. Among other things,
they faced financial and logistical problems, hazards of travel, security, and,
it would appear, with only a small support group. God certainly made sure that
the necessary events would take place, but it must not have been easy for the
young couple.
At
this time Egypt was a Roman Province but outside of Herod's jurisdiction. It
had been a place of refuge for Jews since the time of the house of Jacob. A
million or more Jewish people lived there at this time. Joseph would have found
work, friendship, and hospitality in these communities. It is unknown how long
the family may have lived in Egypt, maybe weeks, or months, or possibly, up to
several years.
Herod Orders the Slaying of Innocents
Herod
lived in constant fear of anyone that might be a threat to him as king. The
forthcoming of a Messiah, a Deliverer, had been prophesied and anticipated for
many years throughout these middle-east nations. Stories of such a possible
arrival had caused fear and hostility among powerful people in the past. When
the wise men came to Herod asking where the newborn king was it threw him into
a frenzy.
Herod
was a very cruel and evil tyrant ... merciless to any family, friend, or enemy
that might be a threat to his reign. He was not unlike many other tyrannical
rulers of that time (and since) whose regimes existed on the lives of those
slain. Infanticide was a crime dreadfully rife in the days of the Roman Empire
and the ancient world. Those Herod had ordered murdered included priests,
nobles, his wife Mariamne, several sons, uncles, a father-in-law, mother-in-law,
and various ‘friends.’ Of Herod, Augustus Caesar said, “It is better to be
Herod's pig than his son.”
Herod
is now ill and near his death. When the wise men fail to return and tell him
where the Child is, he orders the slaying of all male children two years old
and under. This means those born in and around the area of Bethlehem within a three-year
period. The total population was small in number and historians believe
probably as many as 20 children were slain ... a maximum number of 40. No
historical record exists outside of the Bible that tells of this event of
murder.
Return from Egypt
The
time arrives when Herod and others who “sought the young child's life” are
dead. An angel comes to Joseph in vision and tells him it is safe to “take the
young child and his mother, and go into the land of Israel.” They find that
Herod's son, Archelaus, now reigns over the area of Bethlehem so for this and
other reasons Joseph and Mary do not settle there. They make their home again
in Nazareth.
Other Items of Interest
When
the wise men visited Jesus, they may have hinted to Joseph their misgivings
about Herod's inquiry as to the location of the child.
Ancient
Jewish prophets had foretold of various things about the Messiah when He would
come: He would be of the line of David ...
He would be born in Bethlehem ... “He shall be called a Nazarene” ... “I have
called my Son out of Egypt"... “He shall be a Galilean.” There is no
record of Jesus ever being challenged as to not fulfilling any of these.
Fleeing
to Egypt for a period of time and then returning to a small village away from
Jerusalem gave time for the excitement and opposition surrounding His birth to
subside.
The
rich gifts of the wise men could have helped make the trip to Egypt possible.
Glenn
R. McGettigan
January
2012; Revised March 2014
References:
“Our
Lord of the Gospels.” Clark
“Life
and Teachings of Jesus Christ.” Brown, Holzaphel, Wayment
“Doctrinal
New Testament Commentary.” McConkie
“The
Mortal Messiah.” Volume 1. McConkie
“Jesus
the Christ.” Talmage
