A Time to Flee

Introduction: Is there a time to flee? Of course, there is. Consider the following case scenarios:

· A building is on fire. What are you going to do? You would flee to a much safer place outside the building.

· A hurricane is about to make landfall. What are you going to do? You would flee the coast and go inland.

· A Tsunami alarm begins to sound. What are you going to do? You would flee to higher ground.

· A shooter is in the building. What are you going to do? You would flee to a safer location.

· A temptation is knocking at our door. What are you going to do? Hopefully, flee (1 Corinthians 6:18; 2 Timothy 2:22).

Well, there are times in life when the best recourse is to flee a situation, and this is what we discover in our text today. Joseph is going to take his family, and they are going to flee from the madman King Herod.

Let’s jump into our text and pick up the event before us. What do we discover? We have…

1. A Message from God – v. 13

13 Now when they had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream, saying, “Arise, take the young Child and His mother, flee to Egypt, and stay there until I bring you word; for Herod will seek the young Child to destroy Him.”

There are three things that take place here in this verse. Let’s look at them together. They are:

A. A Dream

13 Now when they had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream, saying, “Arise, take the young Child and His mother, flee to Egypt, and stay there until I bring you word; for Herod will seek the young Child to destroy Him.”

When we sleep, we dream! Do you like to dream? I do! I have some amazing dreams. I dream in color. Do any of you dream in color? Pretty cool huh!

One night I dreamed I ate a giant marshmallow. Now, that was a crazy dream. When I woke up my pillow was gone. (That was a joke!).

One thing I will tell you is that I have never had God speak to me in a dream that I am aware of or remember. However, the verse before us tells us that while Joseph was asleep that an angel of the Lord spoke to Him in a dream.

One truth we do know is that God often spoke and revealed His plans to individuals in dreams. We see this throughout both the Old and New Testaments. Consider all these cases:

1. Abimelech’s warning – Genesis 20

2. Jacob’s ladder – Genesis 28:12

3. Joseph grain – Genesis 37:1-10

4. Pharaoh’s cows/stalks – Genesis 41

5. Gideon’s barley – Judges 7:13

6. Nebuchadnezzar’s statue – Daniel 2

7. Daniel’s four beasts – Daniel 7

8. Magi warning – Matthew 2:12

9. Joseph’s warning – Matthew 2:13

10. Pontius Pilate’s wife – Matthew 27:19

Now, how does God speak today? Primary God speaks and reveals His plan for our lives through His Word. How does God primarily speak today? Through His word.

The next thing we find in our text is…

B. A Message

13 Now when they had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream, saying, “Arise, take the young Child and His mother, flee to Egypt, and stay there until I bring you word; for Herod will seek the young Child to destroy Him.”

The angel of the Lord gave Joseph a message from God. Are you aware that the word “angel” in Greek “aggelos” means, “messenger, one sent to announce or proclaim”? Angels then, are God’s messengers.

Important point: Angels do not create the message; they only deliver God’s message.

Warning:Be careful about those who tell you that they are receiving messages from angels.

· Mohammad, the founder of Islam claimed to receive a message from the angel Gabriel.

· Joseph Smith, founder of Mormonism claimed to receive a message from the angel Moroni.

· Pastor Roland Buck back in 1979-80 claimed to have angels visit him in his home and provided him with new revelation. (A very popular book was written about his encounters titled: Angels on Assignment).

· Canadian Evangelist, Todd Bentley that led the Lakeland, Florida revival often preached about his encounters with angels. He preached about being visited by a shirtless “financial angel” in a dingy hotel room and another in his home where the angel wrestled him in bed. (christianpost.com).

The Apostle Paul warns us about this in Galatians 1:8-9,

8 But even if we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than what we have preached to you, let him be accursed. 9 As we have said before, so now I say again, if anyone preaches any other gospel to you than what you have received, let him be accursed.

Now, the message that Joseph received from the angel of the Lord was to flee Bethlehem and go to Egypt. This was a very simple and direct message.

The final thing we discover in our text is…

C. A Warning

13 Now when they had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream, saying, “Arise, take the young Child and His mother, flee to Egypt, and stay there until I bring you word; for Herod will seek the young Child to destroy Him.”

The warning from the angels was that King Herod sought to destroy the young child. Herod wanted the real King of the Jews dead. Remember he was a very wicked person.

Herod sought to kill anyone who got in his way. Ambition will often blind a man, and he will convince himself that no matter what he does it’s okay – even murder.

Let’s move along in this story. Next, we have…

2. A Husband who obeys – v. 14

14 When he arose, he took the young Child and His mother by night and departed for Egypt,

A. He arose (action on Joseph’s part)

14 When he arose, he took the young Child and His mother by night and departed for Egypt,

Please note that I didn’t call this second point, an action from a father, but I called it, an action from a husband. Joseph was acting out of his role as Mary’s husband and was protecting her and her child.

· What if Joseph thought he could stand up against Herod himself? What would have been the result? Death!

· What if Joseph thought he could have hidden his family from Herod’s henchmen in Bethlehem? What would have been the result? Death!

· What if Joseph would have hesitated and waited, instead of responding immediately? What would have been the result? Death!

Joseph didn’t think he could handle Herod, nor could he hide his family, or hesitate and wait. No, he knew he needed to obey the guidance and direction of the angel. Joseph knew that the message ultimately came from God.

What we discover here is Joseph’s unquestioning obedience.

What does Joseph do? We read…

B. He took the young child and His mother

14 When he arose, he took the young Child and His mother by night and departed for Egypt,

Our text tells us that Joseph “arose” and acted upon the message he received immediately. Underline the words, “He took…” Joseph did what God revealed to him by the angel. Also, note that Joseph didn’t wait until morning. He departed in the night. Through the cover of darkness, they departed Bethlehem.

How important is obedience? Do we give obedience only lip service, or do we put shoe leather to our obedience? God wants us to put shoe leather to our obedience. This is what Joseph did!

Delayed obedience often causes some terrible consequences.

This message is directed to all of us. Obedience is not only for the children in this service, those under 18 years of age. No, obedience is a message for all the children of God. All of us from birth to death need to learn obedience. Joseph sets a great example for us all to follow.

C. Departed to Egypt

14 When he arose, he took the young Child and His mother by night and departed for Egypt,

Egypt was located about 75-100 miles from Bethlehem. And we know the result. Joseph. Mary and Jesus all arrived safely in Egypt.

In his book, The King Among Men, John L. Benson writes, “Egypt was the logical place of refuge, it was located near the southern frontier of Judea. It lay just beyond the jurisdiction of King Herod, and the road to Egypt was frequently traveled. Moreover, Joseph and Mary would find in Egypt large and sympathetic communities of Jews who enjoyed the protection of a civilized government. According to tradition, Jesus stayed at Matarea in Egypt, in the vicinity of Leontopolis, where later the Jewish temple of Onias stood.

I have also read that there was a Roman colony in Egypt where over a million Jews lived, so Joseph and his family would fit in quite nicely.

Finally, we discover…

3. A Prophecy that is fulfilled – v. 15

15 and was there until the death of Herod, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet,

saying, “Out of Egypt I called My Son.”

A. Stayed in Egypt until the death of Herod

15 and was there until the death of Herod, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying, “Out of Egypt I called My Son.”

How long did Jesus, Mary, and Joseph stay in Egypt? They were there until the time Herod died. Herod died somewhere between March 29 and April 11, 4 B.C.

Jewish Historian Josephus records Herod's death. He wrote, “a loathsome disease descended upon the ruler as a judgment from God on account of his sins. He describes the horrible details —burning fever, ulcerated entrails, foul discharges, convulsions, stench, etc. (Antiquities 17.6.5).

B. That it might be fulfilled

15 and was there until the death of Herod, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying, “Out of Egypt I called My Son.”

We read in verse 15,

“Out of Egypt I called My Son”

Bible teachers believe that verse 15 is taken from Hosea 11:1, which reads,

“When Israel was a child, I loved him, And out of Egypt I called My son.”

What is interesting is that this prophecy first relates to Israel coming out of Egypt but has a second-fold prophecy in the person of Jesus Christ. As God called Israel out of Egypt, now God calls His Son out of Egypt.

I think what we discover here is that Israel’s deliverer comes out of Egypt. Deuteronomy 18 speaks of a greater prophet than Moses to come. Well, that is fulfilled here in the person of Jesus Christ – the Son called out of Egypt.

Conclusion: Throughout these three verses there have been nuggets of truth that we can allow to slip by without notice. I don’t want that to happen. I want to reiterate them for us as I wrap up. Here are the truths:

1. God used angels to bring messages. Know this but be careful with this information.

2. God speaks to us in dreams and visions. This too is good to know, but I encourage all of us to stick with His Word first.

3. God expects us to obey His word. We must act on what God reveals. Like Joseph, we need to obey immediately.

4. God does protect His people (especially His Son).

5. Bad people will die – Herod died! People probably threw a party when that evil character passed away.

6. Prophecy will be fulfilled (every one of them).

7. There is a time to flee, especially when something bad is about to happen.