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.
F. B. HoleHerod, 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.
Edward DennettMoses 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.
William KellyIt 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.
W. T. P. WolstonChrist 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.
Leslie M. GrantGod'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.
A. J. PollockDoes 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.
J. T. MawsonHe 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.
J. T. MawsonAs 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.
A. J. PollockNote 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.
William KellyIt 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.
W. T. P. WolstonChrist 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.
F. B. HoleHow 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.
Leslie M. GrantThen 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.
J. N. DarbyCan 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.
Boyhood Scenes of ScriptureAnd 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.