When Israel was a youth I loved him, and out of Egypt I called My son. Hosea 1:1
Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem, saying, “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we saw His star in the east and have come to worship Him.” When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. Gathering together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born. They said to him, “In Bethlehem of Judea; for this is what has been written by the prophet.” …. Now when they (magi) 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. Matthew 2:1-5, 13-21
And we know that God causes all things to work together for good They passed through the Phrygian and Galatian region, having been forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia; and after they came to Mysia, they were trying to go into Bithynia, and the Spirit of Jesus did not permit them; and passing by Mysia, they came down to Troas. A vision appeared to Paul in the night: a man of Macedonia was standing and appealing to him, and saying, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.” When he had seen the vision, immediately we sought to go into Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them. Acts 16:6-10
So, when they had solemnly testified and spoken the word of the Lord, they started back to Jerusalem, and were preaching the gospel to many villages of the Samaritans. But an angel of the Lord spoke to Philip saying, “Get up and go south to the road that descends from Jerusalem to Gaza.” (This is a desert road.) So he got up and went; and there was an Ethiopian eunuch, a court official of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, who was in charge of all her treasure; and he had come to Jerusalem to worship ….When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord snatched Philip away; and the eunuch no longer saw him, but went on his way rejoicing. But Philip found himself at Azotus, and as he passed through, he kept preaching the gospel to all the cities until he came to Caesarea. Acts 8:25-27, 39-40
Today we look at the details of what Hosea 11:1 is all about. This will necessitate a bit of background regarding the nation of Israel. God had promised to make a great nation from the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. God gave the name Israel to Jacob which is what this great nation to come would be called. Not too very long after Jacob’s name change, God distinguished Joseph (son of Jacob/Israel) above his brothers which led to them selling Joseph into slavery in Egypt. In Egypt Joseph eventually rose to be the most powerful person in Egypt under the Pharaoh. From his position he was able to lead Egypt to prepare for an impending widespread famine (made known through Pharaoh's dreams which Joseph interpreted). Eventually, Joseph’s brothers came to Egypt looking to buy grain. This led to Jacob and all his descendants (a company of about 70 people) settling in Egypt.
Over a period of over 400 years, Israel grew numerically into a great nation. In the story of the exodus of Israel from Egypt and return to Canaan, God refers to Israel as his son (Exodus 4:22). Our Hosea 11:1 prophecy is initially a statement before it is a prophecy. It is statement about the exodus of Israel from Egypt: Out of Egypt I called my son, Israel. The story of the exodus is fascinating. God brings Israel out of Egypt as a great nation numerically in order to bring them into Canaan (the promised land) where he hopes to build them into a great nation spiritually under his authority and direction. When Israel truly becomes God’s people and God truly becomes their God, they will be a witness to all other nations of the wonderful outcome of a nation living under the authority and direction of God Almighty.
However, this did not quite work out the way it was intended. Over a period of many years Israel was unfaithful to God. Worshiping other gods became rampant throughout Israel. The book of Hosea is a book about Israel’s unfaithfulness and God’s resultant judgment upon them. So, when God says through Hosea, “Out of Egypt I have called my son,” it is a statement of fact, but one filled with deep disappointment, sorrow, and grief. The statement represents all that could have been but wasn’t under the old covenant between God and Israel. Fortunately, there is more because as we said, Hosea 11:1 is also a prophecy.
The significance of God’s son, Jesus Christ, being called out of Egypt isn’t so much seen in his movement from Egypt to Israel but rather in his identification with Israel for whom God had such great intentions. Jesus will succeed where Israel didn’t. God will say of Jesus multiple times during his time here on earth, “This is my beloved Son in whom I am well-pleased.” This encompasses the broader purposes of both his role as the suffering Messiah (new covenant) in his first coming and his role as reigning Messiah in his second coming. But there is also the more immediate purpose for why God called his Son, Jesus Christ, both into and out of Egypt. He was called to Egypt to be protected from Herod and he was called out of Egypt and back to Israel for the whole unfolding of his becoming the Savior of the world as the suffering Messiah.
We conclude today’s devotional by considering the idea of “opposition bringing about opportunity. Let’s move to our two passages from the book of Acts. They show how God was out in front of Paul and Philip leading the way as they were each engaged in kingdom work. Sometimes participating in God’s kingdom work leads to tribulation. However, God often steers us clear of tribulation in order for us to be in a position to participate in kingdom work. This was certainly the case for Jesus in our Matthew 2 passage. Perhaps we might view a trip and extended stay in Egypt as tribulation, but it takes on a different flavor when it is compared to falling into Herod’s hands and not being around for future service. We can be thankful that as we go about living our lives in service to God that He is out in front paving the way. What a wonderful thing it is to know that the One who has infinite wisdom and power is orchestrating the path of our lives and that the seeming detours that come our way are never truly the barren, empty desert roads we think them to be.
Lord, it must have been quite a thing for Joseph and Mary with their young child in tow to end up in Egypt and have to stay there indefinitely. How much they must have felt waylaid, particularly with all the unique things revealed to them about Jesus and his destiny. It’s amazing how much is connected with their move to Egypt and back. There have been many things you have allowed to come into my life that initially seem to interfere with rather than help me to serve you and live for you. I am learning more and more to believe you are really out in front, paving the way and using everything (even the tribulations) to accomplish amazing things. Amen!
