1-3-12-Jesus in Egypt
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1-3-12-Jesus in Egypt

Read Matthew 2:13-23

This was the second dream or vision that Joseph received from God.  Joseph's first dream revealed that Mary's child would be the Messiah (1:20, 21).  His second dream told him how to protect the child's life.  Although Joseph was not Jesus' natural father, he was Jesus' legal father and was responsible for his safety and well being.  Divine guidance comes only to prepared hearts.  Joseph remained receptive to God's guidance.

Going to Egypt was not unusual because there were colonies of Jews in several major Egypt cities.  These colonies had developed during the time of the great captivity (see Jeremiah 43; 44).  There is an interesting parallel between this flight to Egypt and Israel's history.  As an infant nation, Israel went to Egypt, just a child.  God led Israel out (Hosea 11:1): God brought Jesus back.  Both events show God working to save his people.

Herod, the king of the Jews, killed all the boys under two years of age in an obsessive attempt to kill Jesus, the newborn king.  He stained his hands with blood, but he did not harm Jesus.  Herod was king by a human appointment; Jesus was king by a divine appointment.  No one can thwart God's plans.

Herod the Great died in 4 B.C. of an incurable disease.  Rome trusted him but didn't trust his sons.  Herod knew that Rome wouldn't give his successor as much power, so he divided his kingdom into three parts, one for each son.  Archelaus received Judea, Samaria, and Idumea; Herod Antipas received Galilee and Perea; Herod Philip II received Traconitis.  Archelous, a violent man, began his reign by slaughtering 3,000 influential people.  Nine years later, he was banished God didn't want Joseph's family to go into the region of this evil ruler. 

The Old Testament does not record this specific statement, "He will be called a Nazarene."  many scholars believe, however, that Matthew is referring to Isaiah 11:1 where the Hebrew word for "branch" is similar to the word for Nazarene.  Or he may be referring to a prophecy unrecorded in the Bible.  In any case, Matthew paints the picture of Jesus as the true Messiah announced by God through the prophets; and he makes the point that Jesus, the Messiah, had unexpectedly humble beginnings, just as the Old Testament had predicted (see Micah 5:2).

Nazareth sat in the hilly area of southern Galilee near the crossroads of great caravan trade routes.  The town itself was rather small.  The Roman garrison in charge of Galilee was housed there.  The people of Nazareth had an attitude of independence that many of the Jews despised.  This may have been why Nathanael commented, "Nazareth!  Can anything good come from there?"

Herod was afraid that this new born king would one day take his throne.  He completely misunderstood the reason for Christ's coming.  Jesus didn't want Herod's throne; he wanted to be king of Herod's life.  Jesus wanted to give Herod eternal life, not take away his present life.  Today people are often afraid that Christ wants to take things away when, in reality, he wants to give them real freedom, peace, and joy.  Don't fear Christ-give him the throne of your life.

Rachel was the wife of Jacob's 12 sons which had come the 12 tribes of Israel.  Rachel was buried near Bethlehem (Genesis 35:19).

What type of king do you imagine Herod to be?  What does his response of fear and anger show about his view of the Messiah?

What is Matthew's point in emphasizing God's watch care over Jesus?  In the fulfillment of Hosea's and Jeremiah's prophesies?

What relocation options face Joseph?  How did God use prophecy, dreams, faith, and circumstances to guide him?

When, like Herod, have you felt threatened by Jesus' kingship?  How do you react at those times?

From Joseph's responsiveness what do you learn about faith and obedience?  How long would it take you to say "yes" if God asked you to move on with him?  Why the delay?

The Sovereignty of God

Today we are surrounded on every-side by satanic activity such as witchcraft, spiritism, the use of Horoscopes, Magic, Fortune telling by means of cards, dice or the stars, sorcery and many other evil and deadly manifestations of the occult.  Who does control the universe and the affairs of men?  It is very important that the Christian knows where he stands.  This lesson will help you to strengthen then your trust in the absolute sovereignty of God."

When we say that God is sovereign we mean that He has absolute authority over everything.  God has power to carry out His will.  Satan and Herod tried to oppose God's will.  God is sovereign and so He can protect those that are His so that they can carry out the work He has given them.

Man changes from one day to the next.  What does God (Jehovah) say about this?  Lookup the answer in Malachi 3:6.  God says, "I."

Hebrews 13:8 tells us that Jesus Christ is the

The psalmist David trusted in God saying, "My times are in your hands" (Psalm 31:15).  This means that the times of his life were:

Many people don't believe that absolute authority belongs to God.  They consult fortune-tellers and read horoscopes because they want to know their "future".  Do such acts show: (write yes or no).

  1. faith in God?

  2. lack of faith (or at least a week faith)?

  3. obedience to God's Word?

Which of the following are condemned in Deuteronomy 18:10-12?

Divination                               Casting a spell
Witchcraft                              Medium
Interpreting omens                   Fisherman
Carpenter                                Spiritist
Sorcerer                                 Consulting the dead

Let's see what these strange names mean.

"Divination"     is pretending to foretell things which God in His wisdom has hidden from us

"Witches"    and those who pretend to "interpret omens" are those who do this terrible thing.

Which of the following by doing the same, are therefore condemned for divination by Deuteronomy 18:10-12?  Note: Check only four.

  1. Fortune-tellers

  2. Palm readers

  3. Weather forecasting

  4. Horoscopes

  5. Ouija boards

  6. Gallup polls

The Greek word for "dead" is "Necros."  People who try to contact the dead are therefore some times called Necromancers.  Mediums, as well as those who practice Necromancy, try to contact the spirits of the dead, sometimes in order to find out the future.

Which of the following are therefore condemned as necromancers and mediums in Deuteronomy 18:10-12?

  1. Spiritists

  2. Doctors

  3. Undertakers

  4. A medium at a séance

Sorcerers, people who cast spells and witches make slaves of others through fear.  They do this through trickery, evil spirits, demons, and even Satan, himself.  Belief in superstitions, the use of charms, medicine bags and other things which are thought to bring luck or ward off evil spirits show the same basic fear of the unknown.

Place a checkmark in front of the things which are condemned as sin in Deuteronomy 18:10-12.

witches                   avoiding the number 13
spiritists                  wearing a wrist watch
magic                      wearing a medicine bag
knocking on wood    belief in a charm/magic portion
casting spells            love potion

Exercise: Underline Deuteronomy 18:10-12 in green in your Bible.

Which is the passage in Deuteronomy that warns us against having anything to do with the hidden powers of darkness (the occult)?

Remember Malachi 3:6 and Hebrews 13:8?  If God was so against the occult in the Old Testament times, is it possible that He feels differently now?

What is God's attitude towards the occult?

Our God is sovereign over all things.  Which of the following practices, therefore, are evil in His eyes?

Belief in:

telling fortunes                    witchcraft
books of Black Magic            spiritism
what God says in the Bible    the Ouija board
horoscopes and astrology      the sovereignty of God
the power of the Holy Spirit lucky charms
palm reading                        superstitions

many people have had their fortunes told or read horoscopes in the newspapers without knowing that it it is against God's will to do these things.  They don't know the Danger that they are in.  Perhaps you too have done some of these things before you became a Christian, or even after.  If at any time in your life you have done some of these things, confess it now and renounce them by the power of the Lord of Jesus Christ.

God wants us to put our trust in Him alone.

God has more power than all the hidden powers of darkness.

The Bible says: And we know that in ALL things God works for the good of those who LOVE him." (Romans 8:28)  Therefore, when something happens to us that we don't understand we ought to trust that God is sovereign and is in control of every situation and circumstance, however dark things may look.

Jot down an example from your own experience of God's sovereignty in your life, bringing good out of events that at the time seemed very dark.  The more recent the experiences the better.

Ministry assignment: Discuss ways in which you could make your own home a better center for Christian witness, like Jesus' home in Nazareth and Matthew's home in Capernaum?

Say why a strong faith in the sovereignty of God is the best answer to the present interest in occult practices.  Tell how you would share this truth with someone who was in danger of looking to the occult for some comfort about the future.

State what a Christian's attitude should be, and what the Bible's teaching is on all forms of the occult.

Name manifestations of the occult in your own neighborhood, if any.

"When things happen to me that I don't understand I will let the truth of this story strengthen my trust that God is indeed sovereign and it is in control of every situation, however dark it may appear."

  1. Spend sometime thinking of some ways in which you have seen God's sovereignty in the events of your life.  There may be times when He has brought something good out of a happening which looked bad at first.  God did this in the events surrounding Jesus' birth.  If you can, write down one of these occasions.  It would be better if it were something that happened to you only recently.

  2. Think of some ways in which you could share this testimony with others.  It may encourage fellow Christians in their faith or, perhaps help unbeliever to find Jesus Christ as his personal Savior.

Spend a moment of prayer, worshipping and praising your God for the immeasurable greatness of His power in you on this occasion.

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