FLIGHT TO EGYPT
Forecast: Hosea 11:1 I…called my Son out of Egypt. (KJV)
Fulfillment: Matthew 2:14-15 14So he got up, took the child and his mother during the night and left
for Egypt, 15where he stayed until the death of Herod. And so was fulfilled what the Lord had said
through the prophet: “Out of Egypt I called my son.” (NIV)
As the time drew near for Jesus to be born, a mandatory Roman census made it necessary for
Joseph to return to his ancestral home of Bethlehem. There Mary gave birth to Jesus, and later,
wise men from the east came to worship him. The wise men’s recognition of a new King, however,
troubled King Herod and the ruling establishment in Jerusalem, and Herod sought to kill Jesus.
Joseph and his family escaped to Egypt and remained there until Herod died. If you read the
preceding verses in Matthew, you will learn that an angel was sent by God to warn Mary and Joseph
of the plot to kill the infant boys. Egypt was a logical place to find refuge, as it was outside the
dominions of King Herod, but both Egypt and Palestine were part of the Roman Empire, making
travel between them easy and relatively safe. When they returned to Palestine, they settled in
the remote district of Galilee, where Jesus grew up in the northern village of Nazareth, to avoid
the attention of the rulers in Jerusalem. Just like yesterday, this brings us much HOPE that all of
Scripture will be fulfilled. Every prophecy surrounding the Messiah’s birth that was given in the Old
Testament was fulfilled and every prophecy in the Bible that has not been fulfilled yet will one day be
fulfilled!
PRAYER and MEDITATION
1. God’s hand was upon every detail of Jesus birth, even down to where they would escape to
and eventually settle as a family. In what areas of your life do you need to see the hand of
God?
2. Are you willing to follow God’s will and plan for your life or are you fighting Him, begging and
pleading for your own way?
3. Ask the Lord to soften your heart to accept all circumstances that He brings your way and to
see His great work in the midst of them.
