Notes: July 15, 2009

“Let’s go to Egypt”

What does it cost for a trip to northern Africa? Well, it costs a lot more today than it did 2,000 years ago. And if you’re already in Israel, it costs less than if you have to travel from Singapore. In today’s reading we learn that Joseph took Mary and Jesus to Egypt. Was it a vacation?

Matthew 2:13-18

  • Herod’s plot to kill the baby was revealed to Joseph by an angel of the Lord (v.13).
  • Thus warned, Joseph took Mary and Jesus and fled to Egypt (v. 14).
  • Their staying in Egypt until the death of Herod (v. 15) was fulfillment of Hosea 11:1.
  • Eventually Herod realized that the wise men weren’t coming back, so he ordered the slaughter of all male children under the age of two in that region, hoping to kill Jesus with such a broad stroke of death (v. 16).
  • The great mourning for lost children (v. 17-18) was fulfillment of Jeremiah 31:15.

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