The common things God speaks to all people are
forever written down for us. But the individual things God speaks to us – that
are just for us – are also part of His Word to our lives. Matthew records this
as happening over and over again to Joseph son of Jacob. In 1:20, Joseph has a
dream where an angel counsels him to not be afraid to take Mary as his wife.
The angel returns in a dream in 2:13, telling him to escape to Egypt. While
they are gone, the Massacre of the Innocents takes place, and at some point
Herod dies. Now the angel comes again to Joseph, and God speaks to him in a
dream once again after that.
“After Herod died, an angel of the Lord
appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt and said, “Get up, take the child and
his mother and go to the land of Israel, for those who were trying to take the
child’s life are dead.” So he got up, took the child and his mother and went to
the land of Israel. But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning in
Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. Having been
warned in a dream, he withdrew to the district of Galilee, and he went and
lived in a town called Nazareth.”[1]
The angel tells Joseph he should return
to Israel. No doubt glad for the end of his personal Egyptian exile, Joseph
does return. But there is a problem. Although “the land of Israel” includes the
whole, some parts are significantly more dangerous than others.
Herod’s will had appointed
his son Archelaus – a fact disputed by Herod Antipater (Archelaus’ brother). While
these matters were in the process of being sorted, Archelaus ordered the army
into the temple to quell a minor uprising started in Herod’s last days over the
installation of a gold eagle on the temple. History tells us that ~3000 people
were killed in the resulting chaos. Caesar Augustus later confirmed Archelaus, although
Caesar gave him the title Ethnarch instead of king. This limited his territory
and authority, but nevertheless allowed Archelaus to rule the very people he
now despised. In God’s very great grace to Joseph, He redirects him from Judea
to the north, easing his fears and fulfilling prophesy at the same time. “So was fulfilled
what was said through the prophets: “He will be called a Nazarene.” [2]
Joseph and his young family
have had to endure the social stigma of Mary’s pregnancy. They’ve had to make the difficult journey to
Bethlehem. They had to make another traumatic journey to live in exile in Egypt
to avoid a massacre. Finally able to return to Israel, they find they will not
be able to start a new life in Judea, where no one was aware of the circumstances
of Jesus’ birth. They will have to begin in Nazareth. Although such continuing
drama and circumstance is less than ideal, God’s care for Joseph, Mary and
Jesus is evident.
· Praise God, He
cares for you and guides you, even during and through difficult circumstances.
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