Seventh Day Baptist
Christian Education Council
PO BOX 1678
Janesville, WI 53547
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.”
(ESV)
—Matthew 2:13-18
by: Andrew J. Camenga.
Herod could not cope with the idea of a competitor for the throne. A true rival could only mean his loss of power-his death. So, he plotted to rid the world of this threat. His plot was horrible. Are there times when we refuse to see the action of God in this world? Do we, instead, see the potential loss of power, influence, and position?
Joseph did not say, "God is on my side. Let me show Herod how things are." Instead, he obeyed God and fled. Let us learn from these verses-God does not measure strength by the power of arms or the ability to kill. He measures strength by the ability to obey.