Flight to Egypt
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13 And when they were departed, behold, the angel of the Lord appeareth to Joseph in a dream, saying, Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and flee into Egypt, and be thou there until I bring thee word: for Herod will seek the young child to destroy him. 14 When he arose, he took the young child and his mother by night, and departed into Egypt: 15 And was there until the death of Herod: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, Out of Egypt have I called my son.
Introduction
Introduction
Have you ever known someone who was overly cautious about most things in life?
If you just thought, you can never be too cautious then you are the person we are all thinking about.
I tend to be that person.
I can always imagine the worst situation happening.
These people always get a lot of attention.
What about those people who can always find a silver lining?
They don’t get as much attention because they are annoying and we avoid them.
Spiritually speaking, though, there are some people who can always see God’s hand at work in a situation.
Others struggle with feelings of abandonment or doubts that God will come through for them.
This morning’s message, I hope will help all of us to have a biblical view of life’s situations.
Joseph is warned.
Joseph is warned.
One of the key events surrounding the birth of Jesus is the visit from the Magi, the wise men from the east.
We are familiar with their discovery of the star.
We know that they followed it to Jerusalem and that Herod directed them to Bethlehem.
This where the sermon usually start to run out of time.
So we quickly say that God directs the Magi to return to their country a different way.
Sometimes we don’t even cover the fact that God also appears to Joseph.
This morning we are going to give this part of the story more time than usual.
Herod was a liar and a murderer.
He lied to the Magi.
He sought to to kill Jesus.
As powerful as Satan’s efforts may seem at times, he is no match for God and His sovereign power.
Before Herod could his plan into action, God has his own plan in place.
As we will see, it was a plan he had envisioned hundreds of years earlier.
In order to protect the baby Jesus, God sent another messenger to Joseph in a dream.
God had already spoken to Joseph in a dream once before.
He had directed Joseph to not be afraid to take Mary as his wide.
Joseph had acted with obedience to that dream.
He would need to do the same with this dream too.
In his dream, the angel of the Lord warns Joseph of what the future holds.
The angel tells Joseph that Herod WILL seek to kill the baby.
You know how I challenged us not to just read right through this story without really thinking about it?
Here is a chance for you to practice this.
Imagine you are asleep in your rental house with your wife and your very young baby is sleeping in a crib at the foot of your bed.
As you sleep, you have a dream where an angel comes to you and tells you that Donald Trump is going to come to your house to kill your baby.
That sounds pretty ridiculous.
They did just host a group of very rich men who had traveled from Persia to see their baby.
So maybe the idea of Herod hunting their baby doesn’t sound so outlandish.
But that’s not all.
The angel also tells Joseph that he needs to take his family and flee to Egypt.
You are familiar with Jews and their past relationship with Egypt right?
They fled there when there was a famine one time and they didn’t get to go home for over 400 years.
Egypt didn’t seem like the ideal place for the new-born king of the Jews to run to.
On top of all this, you have the whole middle-of-the-night fog that you’re dealing with.
What is Joseph going to do?
How will Mary react to all of this information?
We see the answer in verse 14.
The family flees in the night.
The family flees in the night.
The angel had told Jospeh to arise.
So, when he arose, he immediately went about taking action in relation to the news he has received.
We see a decisiveness in Joseph’s actions as he moved to protect his family.
I have almost zero knowledge about carpentry work.
I do know that it requires careful planning and preparation.
What is the old saying? Measure twice, cut once?
I’ve watched enough of you guys around the church that know what you’re doing, to have witnessed the male-planning stance.
I have to think that maybe Joseph was usually this way.
A plan and prepare kind of guy.
There is no time for that in our story here.
Matthew records the actions Joseph took with a sense of urgency.
Joseph arose…gathered up his wife and child…and got out of Bethlehem.
Notice a few things that are necessary for this to happen.
Joseph’s obedience to God.
Mary’s faith in Joseph.
Both of them trusting God.
To provide for them on their journey.
To protect them in Egypt.
So many things could go wrong.
But a long trip and relocation such as this, wouldn’t that be expensive?
How would poor Mary and Joseph pay for this?
Any ideas?
Could God have maybe sent someone to them to give them some very valuable gifts like maybe just before they had to leave?
The Magi, of course!
God perhaps used their gifts to provide for His Son and HIs family to make it to Egypt.
What did they find in Egypt?
Egypt provides a safe haven for the family.
Egypt provides a safe haven for the family.
Joseph and his family were able to find shelter in Egypt.
As long as Herod was alive, Joseph and his family stayed put.
History tells us that Herod died in 4 B.C., so they could have only been there a few months to 2 years.
The miracle in this story is the protection and provision of God for the family.
He gave them resources before they needed them.
He warned Joseph before Herod decided to hunt to kill Jesus.
God was always a step ahead of any threats that Joseph might face.
Well, maybe more than a step ahead.
Matthew tells us that Jesus going to Egypt was actually the fulfilment of a prophecy given by Hosea the prophet.
Hosea 11:1 “1 When Israel was a child, then I loved him, and called my son out of Egypt.”
Hosea ministered around 700-750 years before the birth of Christ.
God is never unprepared.
He had known and seen every circumstance that would surround Jesus’ birth.
There was nothing that Satan or the world could do that would catch God off guard.
Omniscience is a core principle of God’s being.
Joseph and Mary may have felt like things were precarious, but God was never out of control.
God IS never out of control.
Application
Application
Omniscience means that God is all-knowing.
He knew everything about Jesus’ life.
He knows everything about your life too.
He has known all about you for centuries.
This ought to fill us with confidence.
What will you face next year? God knows.
He has a plan to protect and provide for you.
You see the preparation God had in place for the family in our passage.
What has God been already preparing you for in your life?
Could there even be things that God set in motion years or decades ago because he knew what you would face today?
Yes. I believe it.
What should this confidence, then, motivate us to do?
It should motivate us to be like Joseph.
Swift, faith-filled obedience.
Not a haphazard life, but an informed, fully trusting life.
Can you obey God without all of the information?
Can you trust Him even when it doesn’t all make sense to you?
Yes.
Conclusion
Conclusion
Joseph demonstrates total trust in God’s protection and provision.
You and I can live with this same confidence.
When we have that confidence in God, we will find him trustworthy.
We can obey him fully with trust that He will never leave us or forsake us.