DAILY FOUNTAIN DEVOTIONAL GUIDE Sunday, January 7
TEXT: Matthew 2:13-23
- Now when they had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream, saying, “Arise, take the young Child and His mother, flee to Egypt, and stay there until I bring you word; for Herod will seek the young Child to destroy Him.”
- When he arose, he took the young Child and His mother by night and departed for Egypt, 15. and was there until the death of Herod, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying, “Out of Egypt I called My Son.”
- Then Herod, when he saw that he was deceived by the wise men, was exceedingly angry; and he sent forth and put to death all the male children who were in Bethlehem and in all its districts, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had determined from the wise men.
- Then was fulfilled what was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet, saying:
18.“A voice was heard in Ramah, Lamentation, weeping, and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children, Refusing to be comforted, Because they are no more.” - Now when Herod was dead, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt,
- saying, “Arise, take the young Child and His mother, and go to the land of Israel, for those who sought the young Child’s life are dead.” 21. Then he arose, took the young Child and His mother, and came into the land of Israel.
- But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning over Judea instead of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. And being warned by God in a dream, he turned aside into the region of Galilee.
- And he came and dwelt in a city called Nazareth, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophets, “He shall be called a Nazarene.”
After the Wise Men left through another route, Herod felt disappointed. He began to scheme on how to kill the Child, Jesus. In order to preserve the programme of God and the prophecies concerning Jesus, and to escape the wrath of the king, God gave Joseph a clear instruction: “...take the young child and his mother, and flee into Egypt, and be there until I bring you word...”(v13).
We may draw two issues of prayer here: one, to preserve the programme of God in our lives, we need prompt obedience to His leadership; two, in our walk with God, He may not always give us a specified time of staying at a particular point in His will. He may give a clear direction without a mathematical time table. That was what He did to Joseph. God told him to run to Egypt but did not tell him how long he was going to stay there. Sometimes, we are in that kind of situation and at such times, we should remain in the will of God until He brings us a word. That is how to walk with Him: one step at a time.
Prayer: Lord, help me follow You one step at a time.