Out of Egypt
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Micah 5:2
But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are little to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel, whose origin is from of old, from ancient days.
Numbers 24:17
I see him, but not now; I behold him, but not nigh: a star shall come forth out of Jacob, and a scepter shall rise out of Israel; it shall crush the forehead of Moab, and break down all the sons of Sheth.
Matthew 2:9-23
9. When they had heard the king they went their way; and lo, the star which they had seen in the East went before them, till it came to rest over the place where the child was. 10. When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy; 11. and going into the house they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshiped him. Then, opening their treasures, they offered him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh. 12. And being warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed to their own country by another way. 13. Now when they had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, "Rise, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there till I tell you; for Herod is about to search for the child, to destroy him." 14. And he rose and took the child and his mother by night, and departed to Egypt, 15. and remained there until the death of Herod. This was to fulfil what the Lord had spoken by the prophet, "Out of Egypt have I called my son." 16. Then Herod, when he saw that he had been tricked by the wise men, was in a furious rage, and he sent and killed all the male children in Bethlehem and in all that region who were two years old or under, according to the time which he had ascertained from the wise men. 17. Then was fulfilled what was spoken by the prophet Jeremiah: 18. "A voice was heard in Ramah, wailing and loud lamentation, Rachel weeping for her children; she refused to be consoled, because they were no more." 19. But when Herod died, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, saying, 20. "Rise, take the child and his mother, and go to the land of Israel, for those who sought the child's life are dead." 21. And he rose and took the child and his mother, and went to the land of Israel. 22. But when he heard that Archelaus reigned over Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there, and being warned in a dream he withdrew to the district of Galilee. 23. And he went and dwelt in a city called Nazareth, that what was spoken by the prophets might be fulfilled, "He shall be called a Nazarene."
Matthew painstakingly calls upon the Old Testament to prove his case that Jesus IS the fulfillment of scripture. He wants there to be no doubt that the events around Jesus’ birth, his life and ultimately his death on the cross parallels what the prophets have foretold.
But for me, Joseph is the “stand-out” here! Surely he knew the scripture—all men of his day did. But I always wondered if he understood his important role in history. He seems to have been a humble man. Probably not well-educated since he was a craftsman. But some things are certain: he trusted God and he obeyed him without question or hesitation.
Joseph risked his own reputation by choosing to marry Mary. And yet he did so because God revealed to him that it was what God wanted. So he did it. Then he left for Egypt with Mary and Jesus. Again, merely a word from God! Then he came back at God’s command! Of course Joseph was divinely chosen for the role he played in the life of Christ. But at any point he had the free will to throw up his hands and tell God, “Nope, this is way more than I bargained for!” He could have chosen to lead a simple, quiet life with a nice Jewish girl in his home town. But he didn’t.
I don’t think Joseph ever got enough “press.” We don’t hear much about him after Jesus is 12 – at the temple. And yet he was one of the bible heroes by my estimation. He must have loved Mary very much and feared and trusted God even more! And what a wonderful father he must have been to Jesus. Surely he modeled for Jesus all the qualities we most admire in Him: love, gentleness, faith, courage, inner strength and obedience to God’s word.
What an incredible role model! And yet so little credit or recognition is given to him! I wonder why. Probably he was a humble man who didn’t like being the center of attention. It’s thought that he was “older” and didn’t live until Jesus began His ministry. But we don’t know. Such a key player in the beginning of Jesus' life – participant in the fulfillment of the scripture! And yet we know little about him.
I think that some of the real heroes often go unnoticed, unrecognized. Their lives go unrecorded. As if they have no significance in the grand scheme of things. And yet the silent, gentle, obedient and faithful servants are the ones who deserve praise and admiration! They say, though, to God goes the glory and praise and honor. I am but His humble servant.
I hope you spend your day humbly serving others, modeling the life Joseph lived and honoring God above all else.
Mary
