But Herod having died, behold, an angel of [the] Lord appears in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, saying,
Joseph had taken the Child and His mother to Egypt to escape a king who wanted Him dead. Now word comes that the danger is over. The verse turns on two small facts: a king dies, and God speaks. Commentators see in that pair how easily God deals with those who fight Him, and how surely He guides those who obey Him.
Herod was not fighting Joseph. He was fighting God. One writer shows how quickly that ended.
Herod, however, was fighting against God, who defeated his purpose by sending His angel to Joseph in a dream for the second time... God frustrated Herod's wicked plan with ease, and not long after He dealt with Herod himself just as easily. Matthew does not waste words on his end. He simply tells us that "when Herod died," the angel of the Lord spoke to Joseph in a dream for the third time. The angel told him to return to the land, because death had removed the would-be murderer.
Herod was no son of Israel. One writer traces his line, and the old hatred that ran in it.
He was an Idumean, a descendant of Edom — that is, of Esau. Esau struggled against Israel before they were born, and tried to kill him when they were grown men. Esau's descendants tried to stop the march of the Israelites through the wilderness, and attacked them again and again in the land. Now they were making a last desperate effort to destroy the Messiah, the true Israel. This Herod ordered the murder of his own wives and sons. He planned a general massacre of the nobles "to make the people mourn," and he slaughtered the poor little infants of Bethlehem. All the while he advertised his piety and patriotism by making the people build the most splendid temple in the world.
He kept killing to the end, and named his heir with his last breath.
He died under the unmistakable judgment of God, like his grandson Herod Agrippa. As he lay dying, he raised himself up in his bed. He gave the order for the execution of Antipater, named Archelaus as his successor to the throne, then fell back and died.
The angel comes to Joseph, not to Mary. One writer shows what hung on Joseph's legal place in the family.
Notice that only Matthew records the appearances of Jehovah's angel to Joseph (Matthew 1:20; Matthew 2:19). In Luke 1:26-38 God sent the angel Gabriel not to Joseph but to Mary... Joseph's legal position as His reputed father was far from unimportant. Until Joseph passed away, no one could view Him beyond dispute as the promised Son and Heir of David's throne.
Egypt was not a detour. One writer sees the Lord walking Israel's own road again, stage by stage.
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. In all this pathway of Jesus you are on truly historic ground.
Herod dies; the angel speaks; Joseph moves. One writer points to the hand behind that order.
But he dies, called away to face the righteous judgment seat of the God he has defied. Then once more an angel directs Joseph to return to Israel. The calm, measured control of God's hand shows beautifully in every step.
Not everyone who went down to Egypt went at God's bidding. The same writer sets three earlier journeys beside Joseph's.
Lack of faith led Abram to Egypt (Genesis 12:10). Stubborn rebellion against God's word led the remnant of Judah there in Jeremiah's day (Jeremiah 43:1-7). But in Genesis 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.
- Threat. Herod came from Edom's line. One writer calls his attack on the Messiah the last desperate move in a family feud that goes back to Esau.
- Removal. God broke Herod's plan with ease, and dealt with Herod himself just as easily. Matthew gives his end in a phrase: "when Herod died."
- Word. With the threat gone, the angel speaks a third time — and speaks to Joseph. Joseph's legal fatherhood secured the Child's claim to David's throne.
- Path. Herod's death brings the Lord up out of Egypt. There He starts retracing Israel's history — Egypt, Jordan, wilderness — and does not fail where Israel failed.
- Guide. Abram went to Egypt through lack of faith, and Judah's remnant through rebellion. Joseph moves only at God's word — the one safe guide at all times.
Arise, take to [thee] the little child and its mother, and go into the land of Israel for they who sought the life of the little child are dead.
God's word to Joseph in Egypt does more than clear the way home: the men who wanted the Child dead are gone, and the Child lives. Three questions follow — how God guards His Son, why the angel words the message this way, and what "the land of Israel" means while foreign rulers hold the country.
Herod plotted to destroy one Child, and God stopped him. Matthew spends only a few words on the death of the king who filled the earlier verses with fear.
Herod, however, was fighting against God, who defeated his purpose by sending His angel to Joseph in a dream for the second time. How easily God frustrated Herod's wicked design! And just as easily, not long after, He dealt with Herod himself. Matthew does not waste words in describing his end. He simply tells us that "when Herod died," the angel of the Lord spoke to Joseph in a dream for the third time. The angel told him to return to the land, for death had removed the would-be murderer.
The angel speaks of "those who sought the child's life," in the plural. God had used almost the same words once before, when He sent Moses back to Egypt.
Moses now returns to ask permission to go back into Egypt, and God had prepared the way. The Lord watches over His servant. He notes the feelings of his heart. He even anticipates his fears by saying, "Go back to Egypt, for all the men who were seeking your life are dead." (Compare Matt. 2:20.)
The angel does not name the country the way people around them named it. Kelly shows how much that title carries.
It is sweet to find the words "the land of Israel" here. It was not just the country as people knew it, where poor Jews lived by the permission of their Gentile rulers. How few look on it as "the land of Israel" now! But God's thoughts are toward His people in connection with the glory of His Son. If Jesus had His earthly link there, if Emmanuel had now been born of the virgin, why not call it the land of Israel? God's purpose was to drive out completely the Gentile power that was now trampling it down.
The call home is also a call out of Egypt. Jesus walks His people's road in His own Person, and here He leaves Egypt as they did.
Christ retraces the pathway of Israel in His own Person. He begins that history in Egypt, and He comes out of it when Herod died. 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. In all this pathway of Jesus you are on truly historic ground. He was the true Israel.
The angel names the Child before His mother, and Joseph keeps that order when he obeys. Commentators treat this as deliberate, and trace God's calm hand through each step.
God's calm, measured control shows beautifully in every step. So Joseph takes the young child and his mother (notice that the child is again mentioned first), and returns to the land.
That order is not a small detail.
Does not inspiration shine brightly on the sacred page? Is it not beautiful to see the careful way in which Scripture guards the honour of Jesus? Here we see the reverence of heaven's messengers. We also see the inspiration of the Holy Spirit in the sacred record, and that is so very striking.
Joseph waits in Egypt until the word comes, then moves the moment it does.
He did what he was told to do. He never ran ahead of the heavenly vision, and he never lagged behind it. So he fulfilled his great mission, and he glorified God and justified Him in His choice and training of him.
- Dead. The men who hunted the Child are in the grave; the Child they hunted is on His way home. God dealt with Herod as easily as He had defeated his plan.
- Called. The same words once sent Moses back to Egypt. Here they call the Son out of it, so He walks Israel's road as the true Israel who does not fail.
- Land. God sends Joseph not to a country named by its rulers but to "the land of Israel." He names it by His promise, not by who occupies it.
- Guarded. In the angel's word and in Joseph's act, the Child comes before His mother. Scripture's careful order guards the honour of Jesus.
- Obeyed. Joseph neither runs ahead of the word nor drags behind it — at every step his guide is what God has said.
And he arose and took to [him] the little child and its mother, and came into the land of Israel;
Herod is dead, and the same angel who sent the family into Egypt now sends them back. It is one short line of obedience, but it carries the promised King home — and it raises the question of what welcome waits for Him.
The verse records no debate and no delay. Joseph hears the word and moves, as he had from the first.
As Joseph began, so he continued. Consider the carrying of the Young Child and His mother into Egypt, 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. He never went ahead of the heavenly vision, and he never lagged behind it. So he fulfilled his great mission, and he glorified and justified God in His choice and training of him.
The angel names the Child before His mother. Joseph keeps the same order when he obeys.
Note how the angel, too, is careful to put the words in that special order. It emphasises the wonder of our Lord's incarnation. By night Joseph took the young Child and His mother, and departed into Egypt.
Matthew does not say Judea or Galilee. He uses the name that ties the country to God's own people and His promises. It fits, because the King has come.
It is sweet to find "the land of Israel" occurring here. It was not just the country as men knew it, a place where poor Jews lived by permission of their Gentile masters. How few look on it as "the land of Israel" now! But God's thoughts are toward His people in connection with the glory of His Son. If Jesus had His earthly tie there, if Emmanuel was now born of the virgin, then why not call it the land of Israel? God's purpose was to drive out completely the Gentile foot that was now treading it down.
The journey out of Egypt is more than an escape reversed. Writers see a whole nation's history repeated in one Person.
Christ retraces in His own Person the pathway of Israel. He begins that history in Egypt, and He comes out of it when Herod died. 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. In all this pathway of Jesus you are on truly historic ground. He was the true Israel.
The reason the family can return is that the men who wanted the Child dead are gone. God never had to struggle with Herod.
How easily God defeated Herod's wicked plan! And just as easily, not long after, He dealt with Herod himself. Matthew does not waste words in describing his end. He simply tells us that "when Herod died," the angel of the Lord spoke to Joseph in a dream for the third time. The angel told him to return to the land, for death had removed the would-be murderer.
One steady hand runs through each move of the family — the going, the staying, the coming back.
Then again an angel directs Joseph, by God's power, to return to Israel. Every step beautifully shows the calm, measured control of God's hand.
He comes back to His own land, yet no throne waits for Him. The next verses turn Him aside to Galilee.
Can the Son of David, in entering it, approach the throne of His fathers? No: He must take the place of a stranger among the despised of His people. God directs Joseph in a dream, and Joseph carries Him into Galilee. The Jews looked on the people of Galilee with deep contempt.
The homecoming happens in silence, unmarked by the nation it concerned most.
And Israel sent no swift messenger to bring Him back from Egypt. But God called His Son out of Egypt. As none had noticed when He fled, so no one seems to have noticed His return.
- Word. God speaks, and Joseph moves — no questions, no delay, never ahead of the guidance and never behind it.
- Care. The angel names the Child before His mother — word order that marks the wonder of who He is.
- Control. Death removes Herod, not a battle. God's calm hand shows in every step — the going and the returning.
- Land. He comes back to "the land of Israel." That name recalls God's promises, and it fits because His Son has an earthly tie there.
- Welcome. None. He returns unnoticed and takes the place of a stranger among a despised people. He walks Israel's own road as the true Israel who did not fail.