Matthew 2:13–16

The unbelief that refused the word of God is now allowed to show how completely it was under the power of Satan. He proves himself, as from the beginning, to be a liar first, then a murderer. But God revealed Herod's purpose; and Joseph, in obedience to His word, takes the young child and His mother by night and departs into Egypt.

No doubt it was the devil who, knowing well Who it was that had been born, moved Herod to commit such an atrocity (Revelation 12:4). Its purpose fails.

God had appointed Him to be a King in Judea; man makes Him an exile in Egypt.

It is an intensely solemn fact that Christ is not wanted by the very people who need Him most, unless the Holy Spirit has raised the question of sin in their souls. At the very outset of His course He was rejected. That is why we read in the opening chapter of John's Gospel: "He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him" (John 1:10-11).

In the record inspired by the Holy Spirit, "the young child" always takes precedence over His mother. Five times in chapter 2 we read of "the young child and His mother," in striking contrast to that blasphemous system, Rome, which paints its pictures of "Madonna and Child." But if He had not been greater than the mother who bore Him, the Spirit of God would not have given Him this precedence. It was He who established the law that said, "Honor your father and your mother."

How simple the story is here in Matthew. The child is dependent upon Joseph, who is now mentioned, and in poverty, under great danger, at night, they had to flee.

God would not use supernatural power to defeat Herod's wicked scheming. Instead He would do it through the humbling experience of Joseph and Mary fleeing to another country. It was lack of faith that led Abram to Egypt (Gen. 12:10), and stubborn rebellion against God's word that led the remnant of Judah there in Jeremiah's day (Jer. 43:1-7). But in Gen. 46:2-4 God told Jacob to go there, and here Joseph goes by the word of God. This is our one safe guide at all times.

Just think: the Son of God came here to save man, yet He had to flee the land of His birth to escape man's murderous intent... Christ retraces in His own Person the pathway of Israel, and He begins that history in Egypt, out of which He comes when Herod was dead. You then find Him at the Jordan, which Israel also crossed. And in the fourth chapter of Matthew we find Him in the wilderness, where Israel utterly failed, but He did not fail.

As Joseph began, so he continued. Look at the journey into Egypt with the young Child and His mother, their stay there, and their return to the land. In each we see the same simple obedience and trust. He did what he was told to do, never going ahead of the heavenly vision nor lagging behind it.

Christ Himself is carried into the very place that had been the furnace of Israel. There it is that He finds His refuge from the false king of Judea. What a picture! Because of the false king then reigning in Jerusalem, the true King must flee, and flee into Egypt.

God had appointed Him to be a King in Judea; man makes Him an exile in Egypt.

God would not use supernatural power to defeat Herod's wicked scheming. He would defeat it instead by the humbling experience of Joseph and Mary fleeing to another country. It was lack of faith that led Abram to Egypt (Gen. 12:10). It was stubborn rebellion against God's word that led the remnant of Judah there in Jeremiah's day (Jer. 43:1-7). But in Gen. 46:2-4 God told Jacob to go there, and here Joseph goes by the word of God. This is our one safe guide at all times.

When he is warned of danger to the holy Child, he takes the Child and mother to Egypt at once. He shelters and protects them through the long, dangerous journeys. He puts all his own interests below their care and safety. It was a manly and honourable charge to protect a woman and child. When it involved great and unceasing danger, it was quite as honourable as leading the front of an army — though it may receive neither notice nor applause.

Note how the angel too is careful to put the words in that special order. It emphasizes the wonder of our Lord's incarnation. By night Joseph took the young Child and His mother, and departed into Egypt.

How simple the story is here in Matthew. The child depends on Joseph, who is now mentioned. They were poor, in great danger, and had to flee at night. God could have transported His Son by a miracle. But the Son of God had become man, and now it was for Him to enter into all. He has to go the long, weary road.

In the darkness of night, to avoid being seen, they set out for Egypt. But why Egypt? So that what the Lord had spoken by the prophet might be fulfilled: "Out of Egypt I called my son." Christ retraces the pathway of Israel in His own Person. He begins that history in Egypt, and He comes out of it when Herod was dead. You then find Him at the Jordan, which Israel also crossed. And in the fourth chapter of Matthew we find Him in the wilderness, where Israel utterly failed, but He did not fail.

It matters not what may be the place of His people: in all their troubles or deliverances, Christ must enter into all… Christ goes through the history of His people, and on that principle such scriptures as these are applied to Him.

Notice: it is not only that the prophet's saying was "fulfilled," which shows how divinely true it was. It was "spoken by the Lord." Could anything show more clearly that the prophet Isaiah spoke it by inspiration? In the next chapter we find the same expression (v. 15): "that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet" — the prophet Hosea.

It had been said that Israel was God's son, God's firstborn, in Egypt... How is it that God's taking Israel out of the land of Egypt should be so illustrated in Christ's history? Because Christ is the object of the Holy Spirit in Scripture. It does not matter what the situation of His people is: in all their troubles or deliverances, Christ must enter into all... Christ goes through the history of His people, and that is why scriptures like these apply to Him. Christ Himself is carried into the very place that had been Israel's furnace. There He finds His refuge from the false king of Judea. Because of that false king reigning in Jerusalem, the true King must flee into Egypt. Christ was the true Israel.

And yet the application of the first verse to the Lord is no mere application... The way it is quoted is far too precise for that: the Lord goes down into Egypt definitely to fulfil what Hosea spoke. Clearly there is something deeper in the way of fulfilment here than we are used to. People often say this is an example of typical prophecy. But we must understand what we mean if we say that.

Christ retraces in His own Person the pathway of Israel, and He begins that history in Egypt, out of which He comes when Herod was dead. You then find Him at the Jordan, which Israel also crossed. And in the fourth chapter of Matthew we find Him in the wilderness, where Israel utterly failed, but He did not fail.

The first man in the garden of Eden had every sign of God's care around him, and he showed his perfect independence. The second Man in the wilderness, with no support at all, is perfect in dependence... They were in the wilderness; He was in the wilderness: only they broke down and failed everywhere — He was perfect in it all. Christ recovered everything for God and secured every blessing for His own.

But God works in His providential ways, and He is carrying out His purpose to deliver His people. So the very scene of forfeited life became the place where the deliverer of His people was sheltered and cared for... How powerless the enemy is! For all his boasted power and authority, he cannot frustrate God's kind intentions toward His people. The enemy is never so completely defeated as in the moment of apparent victory.

Hosea's prophecy, "Out of Egypt I called my son", applies to this true beginning of Israel in grace, as the beloved of God, and according to God's counsels. The people had failed completely, so without this God must have cut them off... Christ is morally the new stock from which they spring.

Herod, however, angry because the wise men did not return to him, gave orders for the murder of every boy up to two years of age in Bethlehem and the surrounding area... One might ask why he even included newborn babies. No doubt he was determined to allow no margin of error at all. How foolish, ignorant and empty is the enmity of man against God! History from that period also reports that Herod was a dying man at this time. Yet his self-centred pride could tolerate no thought of a rival, though only a child!

The king questioned the wise men closely, and from that he settled in his own mind when the Child must have been born. God warned them, so they kept away instead of returning to Herod. Then he sent out his cruel command: kill the children in Bethlehem and all the region around it, "two years old or under." He naturally concluded that a long stretch of time had passed between the birth of Christ and his wicked order.

Bethlehem belonged to the tribe of Judah, and Benjamin lay right next to it. A strip of land belonging to the tribe of Benjamin dipped down into the land of Judah. Herod was so determined to sweep the whole area clear that he killed the children not only in Bethlehem, but in "the region around it" — the parts of Benjamin just mentioned.

Herod's cruelty was calculated. By aiming his blow at the children he meant to put an end to the One who threatened his throne. No doubt the devil moved Herod to carry out such an atrocity, and the devil knew well who it was that had been born (Revelation 12:4). Its purpose fails. Joseph is warned of the danger and takes the young child and His mother and flees into Egypt. Still the blow falls, and who can tell the sorrow it must have brought? ... The very next verse in Matthew 2 records the death of Herod. He was soon called from his seat. He will stand before the great white throne for judgment, as Revelation 20:11-15 describes.

Herod had claimed to be a worshipper, yet his heart was full of enmity. It worked in him so strongly that after a time he issued a decree. He ordered all the children from two years old and under in the land of Israel to be killed, and he thought this would include the infant Saviour. However, he did not succeed... So God overrules man's wickedness to carry out His own purposes. If we do not see that, my Christian friends, we shall be at a loss to understand much of the Scriptures... Did He not do so at the cross? There man put to death the Son of His love, and God overruled that wickedness to carry out His own blessed purpose of eternal redemption.

Nothing can exceed the wickedness of Herod. He held the throne at Jerusalem at that time, and he will not part with it, even though another's claim is divine. If he can keep it, he will not give it up even to God Himself. That is the language of his actions. And like ruler, like people. Jerusalem is troubled at the word of the men of the East, just as Herod is. At his command, men stand ready to do the work of death... the children of Bethlehem shall die now, because David's Lord may be among them.