Matthew 2:13-18 Out of Egypt
Format for Your Devotions
Instructions: Do not read my example devotion until you have completed your own devotional time in the scriptures. Reading my thoughts first may limit your own understanding. Let the Holy Spirit speak to you alone before looking to see what anyone else has to say, whether it is me, a Bible commentary, or a friend. Let God speak to you before you let another person speak to you. I have provided a format, but modify it to fit your needs. For example, I usually combine my application and prayer together talking to God about the application to my own life. You can go through this devotion process mentally, speaking out loud, or in writing as you wish. Don’t worry if you are not following this process exactly. Sometimes, I add extra information and sometimes I emphasize one part more than others. However, you should always think about what you learn about God from this passage.
Step 1: Pray–Ask for the Holy Spirit’s guidance first of all and that God may reveal the lessons that He wants you to have that day. Request that God protect you from Satan’s distractions (and the devil will try to distract you whether it is pinching the baby or putting you to sleep). Ask to see God more clearly as you read and think about the passage.
Step 2: Read the passage–Read to get an overview of the information first. Then start looking at specific parts after the first reading. You may read a larger or smaller section than I have here because you do not have to follow my organization at all.
Step 3: Understand the passage–You can summarize, ask and answer your own questions about the passage, visualize the story, analyze the characters, and relate this passage to other scriptures and personal experiences.
Step 4: What does this reveal about God?–What do you learn about the Father, Son, and/or Holy Spirit from this passage?
Step 5: Apply this to your own life.
Step 6: Prayer
My Example Devotion: January 11, 2019, Matthew 2:13-18
Note: In the devotion examples, I leave my questions and thought processes in the text because I am trying to demonstrate that a devotional time is a dialogue with God about what you are reading from His word. As such, any questions or ideas that you have should be explored by talking it out with God. These example devotions are not my attempts to teach you what the meaning of a particular scripture is. They are an attempt to teach you the process of devotions, which is a combination of prayer and Bible study where you explore ideas with God as you read His word.
Now when they 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.”
(Understanding the Text) Here Matthew presents Evidences 4 & 5: Out of Egypt I called my son (Hosea 11:1) & 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 (Jeremiah 31:15). I would not have called these Messianic prophecies. The Hosea verse was speaking of the first exodus from Egypt. The context of Jeremiah’s prophecy is that the Jews were going to be going into captivity in Babylon. That was the grief of Rachel weeping for her children. Maybe, I shouldn’t call this evidence. It seems more like applying Old Testament vocabulary to present situations. I guess this is part of the basis for why the Lightbearers say that Jesus’ life acted out the history of God’s people from Genesis to Malachi. Were there rabbinical traditions that Matthew was referring to?
(NOTE: I have since understood that for Matthew, Jesus and Israel were equivalent, so it is understandable that he applied verses that were originally written about Israel to Jesus. As we study, we learn more and find answers for our questions.)
Evidently Herod had thought that it would be difficult and take a long time for the wise men to find the child. In verse 8 he had told the wise men to search diligently. Thus, Herod probably didn’t expect such quick action on the part of the wise men. He probably thought that he had a few days to a week. His actions against the children may have had as much to do with his fury at being thwarted as with his fear of competition for the kingship. Speaking of which, the SDA commentary suggests that Joseph may have been the heir to the Davidic throne through his bloodlines.
The wise men had left the house and baby Jesus was sleeping peacefully between them as Mary and Joseph lay on their sleeping mat discussing the events of the day. Their faith was renewed, and they had a small fortune laying next to them. They may have discussed what they should do with the treasures and made plans for the future before they finally fell into an exhausted sleep. In his sleep, Joseph was startled to see the angel who had spoken to him before. He was shocked as the angel told him it was time to run fast and run far to Egypt for safety, that Jesus was in danger from Herod. He hurriedly woke up Mary and told her that they had to leave right away because Herod would soon be there to kill Jesus. There was not a lot to pack. They threw their few possessions into bundles and within an hour or two, they were on the road south to Egypt. As they walked, they must have realized the purpose of the treasures they had received.
The SDA commentary says that as a Roman province, Herod had no influence in Egypt. The border to this province was at a river southwest of Bethlehem called Wadi el-Arish. They had 100 miles to travel to reach it. Tradition says that they settled in Heliopolis. There would have been many Jews and synagogues in Egypt at this time. Joseph would have worked to support his family, but it would have taken funds to start over in a new country without any preparations ahead of time, so the treasures would have been sold bit by bit for the trip to Egypt, the stay there, and for the trip back. They may have stayed in Egypt for less than a year. I think that Jesus was probably 2-3 years old when they returned to Nazareth.
The town of Bethlehem never suspected that it had become the home of the King of the Jews, nor did they suspect that they had been targeted by Herod. The day following the departure of Joseph and Mary seemed like any other day. Little did the mothers of Bethlehem know that they would soon be in mourning. Was it that day or the next that the sound of soldiers’ feet were heard on the road entering Bethlehem? As soon as the soldiers entered the gates, they began systematically entering houses, searching them, checking the sex of any babies and killing the boys leaving them on the floor of the house as they went to the next house. The first few killings were done in relative quiet, but soon screams and shrieks and shouts and fighting were heard throughout Bethlehem. Some probably grabbed their babies and started running, but they were trapped inside the city. Others hid. Did any escape the soldiers? Maybe. Just because Herod gave the order doesn’t mean that it was completely successful. It is ironic that Herod was so worried about competition for his kingship that he slaughtered innocent baby boys in Bethlehem and yet within a year or two, he was dead. His power could not hold up against death.
(Application / Revelation of God) My application for myself is that life can change in an instant, and all my plans can be destroyed or altered. There is no security in this world, and when we get too comfortable and cozy with the world, we are living a fantasy. We live on a world at war. The enemy’s side uses violence and hurt and terror to fight. Jesus uses love and transformation and healing and endurance to win. Jesus asks us to be ready to move as He directs in order to avoid the enemy’s harm. He gives us the necessary supplies to survive the moves and the means necessary to accomplish what He directs, but His ways may not seem like fighting a war as this world sees it. Healing and transformation are not always visible and endurance doesn’t always feel good.
(Prayer) I pray for the sustaining presence of the Spirit in my life. I pray to see You and not all the pain and harm. Help me because I cannot help myself.