Seeking a safer home…migration of people…
Now when they (the Magi) had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Rise, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you, for Herod is about to search for the child, to destroy him.”
And he rose and took the child and his mother by night and departed to Egypt and remained there until the death of Herod. This was to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet, “Out of Egypt I called my son.”
Then Herod, when he saw that he had been tricked by the wise men, became furious, and he sent and killed all the male children in Bethlehem and in all that region who were two years old or under, according to the time that he had ascertained from the wise men.
Then was fulfilled what was spoken by the prophet Jeremiah: “A voice was heard in Ramah,weeping and loud lamentation,Rachel weeping for her children;she refused to be comforted, because they are no more.”
But when Herod died, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, saying, “Rise, take the child and his mother and go to the land of Israel, for those who sought the child's life are dead.”
And he rose and took the child and his mother and went to the land of Israel.
But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning over Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there, and being warned in a dream he withdrew to the district of Galilee.
And he went and lived in a city called Nazareth, so that what was spoken by the prophets might be fulfilled, that he would be called a Nazarene.
Matt.2.13-32
(History tells us that Herod killed his own son, so he apparently had no regrets to kill all the male children of others to retain his place as ruler…)
Reading through these few verses, not all of us get directions from angels to move or leave our homes…but over the thousands of years there have been migrations of people for a better, safer land for our families…where more opportunities exist or we think they do…better land, safer communities, freedom of religion, food, better education, etc, etc, etc,….
I know in my ancestry, some came to America for freedom, fought in the American revolution….others left Europe in a time of unrest in the 1860’s…seeking safety for their families, a new life…forging new lands, new agriculture, farming, supplying for their families… that wasn’t available in their old countries…
It continues to this day…people movement for various reasons…worldwide…
When you look at this young family, Joseph, Mary and their tiny new bundle, Jesus…moving across the desert to Egypt and finally back again to Nazareth…Joseph was following God’s orders…obediently…keeping his family safe from oppressive world leaders…
God entrusted this young couple with a precious gift to later give to the world…He led them to safety…no matter who the leaders were…to keep His promise to the world of a Savior…
God is interested in the details of lives, both theirs and ours…He has a plan…He sees the whole picture…
Thank YOU….
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