I remember as a child having nightmares. One that scared me so badly, I stayed awake for fear of dreaming it again. I was running for my life. I do not know why I was being chased, but it was a horrible feeling. In my mind, if I were caught, that would be it. I would not survive. In scripture, we have accounts of people running for their lives. Saul sought to kill David because he was consumed by jealousy. He feared David would be the next king, and he was right. However, seeking to find David and kill him was not the answer. Repentance and humility would have saved his own life. It was in pursuit of David that Saul lost his life.
Another account of someone running for their lives was in Matthew 2:13. Herod had heard that a new king had been born. Just like Saul, he was in a rage. He had sent out Magi who were astrologers, who had seen a star to find the baby. They had no idea at the time why they were going to find the baby. In verse 8, Herod gave them a job. “And he sent them to Bethlehem, and said, Go and search diligently for the young child; and when ye have found him, bring me word again, that I may come and worship him also.” His pretense was so he could go worship Jesus. These men were excited to find this baby. They obeyed the king. “ When they had heard the king, they departed; and, lo, the star, which they saw in the east, went before them, till it came and stood over where the young child was.” In verse 10, we find that they were rejoicing because they saw the star.
Matthew 2:10 “When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy.”
It had been almost 2 years since His birth. No longer in a cave used as a stable for animals, but verse 11 tells us they were in a house. These men fell down to worship Him. They brought Him gifts fit for royalty. These were gold, frankincense, and myrrh. After they left the home where Jesus was, they were warned in a dream not to reveal to Herod where Jesus was.
Matthew 2:11 “And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense, and myrrh. And being warned of God in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed into their own country another way.”
In Matthew 2:13, God sends another angel to speak to Joseph. “And when they were departed, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream, saying, Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and flee into Egypt, and be thou there until I bring thee word: for Herod will seek the young child to destroy him.”
Joseph, Mary, and baby Jesus were on the run for their lives. They left their home in the darkness so that no one would see them. They fled to Egypt and lived there until Herod’s death. While this was an unexpected event for Mary and Joseph, they obeyed the angel to spare the baby’s life. Their obedience to God was a leading characteristic of their lives. It was not easy ride a donkey or walk to Bethlehem when you are ready to deliver a baby. It was not easy to flee in the night for safety, but it was much easier to obey God and trust their lives to His care than to disobey and wonder what would happen next.
Matthew 2:14-15 “When he arose, he took the young child and his mother by night, and departed into Egypt: And was there until the death of Herod: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, Out of Egypt have I called my son.”
Herod was angry that the wise men had not brought him word of where the child could be found. His anger caused him to send out a decree that all the baby boys under the age of two should be murdered. He was a mean, ungodly man who took the lives of many boy babies, but no one could thwart God’s plan. God sent His Son to live, die, and rise again, and nothing could change His plan. Jesus would live as any other Jewish boy, but He would not live or die as any other Jewish man. He was the only Godman, and He would pay the price for mine and your sins.
Matthew 2:16 “Then Herod, when he saw that he was mocked of the wise men, was exceeding wroth, and sent forth, and slew all the children that were in Bethlehem, and in all the coasts thereof, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had diligently enquired of the wise men.”
What can we learn from this encounter of the Magi and the baby Jesus? First, we see Jesus’s earthly parents. Mary and Joseph chose to obey God. Obedience was not convenient, nor was it easy. It was not understandable to them at times, but they trusted God and obeyed. Second, God’s plan is always the right plan. We do not need to think that we must figure things out and do them the way they make sense to us. God’s ways are always higher than ours. In Isaiah 55:8-9, the writer emphasizes the vast difference between divine understanding and ours. His divine perspective will always be superior to anything we can do or imagine. Choose obedience, and God will take care of the rest, even if it means running for your life. In the journey God will protect and lead.
Isaiah 55:8-9 “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.”
