Saturday 27th December
Read Matthew 2:19-20
“After Herod died, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt 20 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.’” (NIVUK)
Matthew, as we will discover, writes in triplets. These verses are the mirror image of those instructing Joseph to go down to Egypt (Matthew 2:13-15). Like those verses, the echo of Exodus 4:18-19, the one who hates God’s chosen One has died and it is safe to return. Joseph was told to wait for instructions and duly did so – traditionally thought to be no more than a year.
This divine protection could be considered something all those who love and serve God should expect. Those who are righteous, like this holy family, deserve divine protection. As a general rule this may be true, and is often described as such in the wisdom literature, but often it is only seen in hindsight. It would have been terrifying for this young family in real life – and they may have wondered how valuable ‘divine protection’ really is!
Through all of this, the young family continued to obey God’s words. For Matthew’s readers, including us, this is an exhortation to faithfulness.
