Where Did They Go?

Matthew 2:13 - 23

Now when they had gone, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, "Get up! Take the Child and His mother and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you; for Herod is going to search for the Child to destroy Him."

So Joseph got up and took the Child and His mother while it was still night, and left for Egypt. He remained there until the death of Herod. This was to fulfill what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet: "OUT OF EGYPT I CALLED MY SON."

Then when Herod saw that he had been tricked by the magi, he became very enraged, and sent and slew all the male children who were in Bethlehem and all its vicinity, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had determined from the magi. Then what had been spoken through Jeremiah the prophet was fulfilled:

"A VOICE WAS HEARD IN RAMAH,
WEEPING AND GREAT MOURNING,
RACHEL WEEPING FOR HER CHILDREN;
AND SHE REFUSED TO BE COMFORTED,
BECAUSE THEY WERE NO MORE."

But when Herod died, behold, 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 into the land of Israel; for those who sought the Child's life are dead."

So Joseph got up, took the Child and His mother, and came into the land of Israel. But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning over Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. Then after being warned by God in a dream, he left for the regions of Galilee, and came and lived in a city called Nazareth This was to fulfill what was spoken through the prophets: "He shall be called a Nazarene."

Once Herod realized that he had been duped by the Wise men, he went on a rampage. Angry, he decided that all baby boys that were born around the time of the census needed to be killed so the king would not rise up and take his place. He was very jealous and worried about that. So God sent an angel to Joseph, in a dream, saying that they better get out of Bethlehem. Being obedient, Joseph took Mary and the baby and went to Egypt to live.

So Mary first left her parents and went with Joseph to Bethlehem because of the census. Then she left there and had to run for her child's life to Egypt. It must have been like being the region's "Most Wanted". Always on the run, always in hiding. Jesus' childhood is not really recorded except in these verses and the trip to the temple. Most of us have some record of our children's lives. Whether through photo albums, baby books, videos or scrap books, we want to record every single thing our children do. Back then all they had was their memories at the most. Most of them weren't very educated to be able to write. How worried their families must have been. If I fell off the face of the earth (so to speak), my family may worry about me (I hope).

This weekend, we went and saw the movie, Did You Hear about the Morgan's?. It is a couple that witnessed a murder and had to go into hiding for a few days. How worried their colleagues were. Just to be taken away so that you have no connection with them ever. That will reek havoc on everyone. That is how I picture what happened to Mary and Joseph. They just kind of disappeared for a while. But they trusted God and that is all they needed. Can you trust God like that? If he came to you in a dream, would you be able to just get up and go where you need to go for him?