The King's Flight

The King's Flight 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. Matthew 2: 13 Here the Maji, having paid homage and honor to the newborn King with gifts and praise, depart to their Chaldean homeland. Meanwhile, knowing the consequent danger of their secret flight home, as they were warned in a dream of Herod's subterfuge, an angel appears to Joseph to hasten Christ's departure abroad. He was in imminent danger; the world, the king, the dragon, all were aroused by His presence. To Egypt Christ would fly until the looming danger passed. For the newborn King was in peril. Thus, we observe in this passage: 1. The opposition of the world. The world was unmoved until hearing of the Christ. Then, the are troubled to hear that their godless, evil reign was to end. The religious upset their stranglehold on righteousness and authority was to end. Herod tries subterfuge. Subterfuge turns to rage, extreme rage. Rage is manifested in violence. The church is put to flight. 2. The intervention of the Lord. The Lord intervenes as promised. He intervenes with a star. He brings heralds of Christ's birth. He sends messengers, angels, and dreams, all of which guide the child to a place of refuge. God had prepared an abode in Egypt, where the Christ child would be kept for a time. Like Moses in Pharaoh's house, or Israel under Joshua in Goshen, the Lord has prepared a place of refuge for the King, until the immediate danger had passed. Teaching us: Doctrines. The Lord our God in His sovereign providence is a Savior unto the uttermost. He will employ every means necessary for our escape. I. He interdicts in our enemies' schemes, the trappings of our foes along the way. See how the Lord turned Herod's schemes to naught, mocking him, and when his schemes are thwarted, rather than reasoning of his folly, instead his folly is turned to inordinate rage. As the Psalmist says, Why do the nations rage and the people plot a vain thing? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take council together. The devil's schemes are myriad. He attempts subterfuge. He employs rage. He often rests in ignorance as that which blinded Jerusalem at Jesus' birth. God turns the wisdom of His enemies to folly. He sent the Chaldeans home upon a circuitous path to avoid Herod. See the impotence of the enemy. Everything he employs, everything he schemes, every method he attempts fails. His ways are frustrated. He is always impeded. God is always glorified in his folly. He is as foolish as Haman, turning his schemes on their head, and on his. He is as fooled as the Pharisees, who cannot do anything but prove their own condemnation. He is as impotent as Pilate, who thinks he has the power, but has none. He is as unsuccessful as Ahab to avoid his end. See then how the world, its nations, kings, and ruler, conspire to subvert the divine glory of God's redemption. Satan employs kings and nations to this end. II. He provides His council amidst our woes. We are led by the council of God, as the Maji and Joseph, who are divinely led upon the circuitous course. He leads in the way providing natural and supernatural means. Every possible aid is given for the King's protection. How is it possible that He can truly save? He can save because His works of providence are His most holy, wise, powerful preserving and governing of all His creatures and all their actions. In Christ we see the full realization of this deliverance and promise. Like Joseph before Him, Christ is sent to Egypt to prepare a place for us. We see in Christ the certainty of our deliverance, the extent of God's care for His own, the ends to which He will go for our escape. This world is not our home, no more than it was Jesus', so we can expect a similar course. The King was pursued to the uttermost, the enemy was relentless, the path was tumultuous, but in the end He was victorious. Our King is the Savior to the uttermost. III. He makes a path before us for the necessity for our escape. The fragile child could not yet stand to fight our mighty foe, He needed a refuge for a time. If a foreign habitation is required for a time, He has prepared it. If a home is advantageous for our welfare it will be found. Noah needed an Ark, God provided the Ark. Israel needed a home until the iniquity of the Amorites was full, Goshen was made their home. The Lord has established before us the path of our salvation. He made the way of Christ's deliverance until the time of battle would come. IV. He ordains our steps our certain course. We are never out of the way. We are never boxed in without escape. Every seeming hurdle before us is no hurdle at all. He guides our every step. We can be certain of our escape in this world, no matter how furious is our foe, no matter how our enemies' schemes appear certain, we have been prepared a route to our certain salvation. He provided a cradle for our Lord in a manger. He prepared Egypt for our King. He set Nazareth as the home for our Nazarite King. V. He nurtures us along the way, as David said, The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. He will provide care and comfort all along the way. When we are about to expire, like Elijah we shall find an angel sent to strengthen us. When we are perplexed, He shall be heard to strengthen us with a still small voice. It's remarkable that the humanity of our divine King would need angel's assistance, but He did. He needed a father to guard the newborn son and His mother. He needed angels to guide the way. He would be granted an audience of prayer with the Father all His days. In the wilderness the angels would minister to Him. At His baptism the Father would speak. The Spirit was poured out on Him to strengthen this feeble frame. Christ was a man, as He was God and Man, and as we He was nurtured in the flesh all along the way. Uses 1. For our daring let us go forth in boldness knowing by faith He governs all things and will withhold nothing for our salvation; be it angles, stars, flights in the night, our Lord will lead us home. He employs myriads of means to our deliverance; There is nothing the Lord will not do, cannot do, shall not do, to lead us unto salvation. . In the midst of the greatest furor, the loudest tempest, Christ can be heard saying, Be of good cheer, I have overcome the world. We see Him and we rejoice. If He is slumbering in the back of the boat, we know He does not slumber. If He is not with us in the storm, we know He shall come in the night. With joy then we follow in His steps, knowing He has gone before us. 2. For our felicity let us rejoice that He is sovereign, and none shall prevail against us. All that are against us work for us and against themselvesWhat wonder to see the King of Kings, the young child, kept by the sovereign interdiction of God. Who art thou then, that thou shouldest be afraid of a man that shall die? (Isa. 51:12, 13) especially considering that at death, not only their envy and hatred are perished (Eccl. 9:6), and they cease from troubling (Job 3:17). See how we need not fear our foe. See how his fury is inflamed to no end. Just like Nebuchadnezzar's fury raged seven time hotter, still not a flame would lick them, not a scar set upon them. So, we shall not bow, fear, or worry, since our Lord will bring us through. 3. For our direction let us live by faith knowing this world is but our brief abode. Our Lord like Joshua leads us up into the promised land. We venture forth, from Egypt to the cross, from the cross to the sky. So, we follow Him, having nothing of this world. It is but a foreign abode. We know it is not our home. He had no earthly throne. Egypt may serve to sojourn in, or take shelter in, for a while, but not to abide in. He had no earthly pomp. He had no earthly fame. He had no earthly home. Our ways lie through a vale of tears.