CHRISTMAS STORY HALL OF FAME! The Flight into Egypt

The journey from Bethlehem to Egypt, although longer, was more adventurous in that they had a child with them to enjoy along the way. Have you ever camped out with a two year old? We have, and one of the highlights was giving our first grandson a bath. We would set him in a large pan with water in it and the adventures just never stopped.

Joseph didn't have time to prepare for this trip as he did when he left Nazareth. Joseph could only take time to pack up his donkey with necessities; the rest he would have to purchase along the way. He was to get out of town fast! He probably took the quickest route to Egypt which by Jim's Bible map showed it could have been about 220 miles through the Sinai Peninsula and could have crossed the area's where today's Suez Canal is.

Perhaps, because Egypt's borders were not well defined at that time; the place they came to, could have been 150 miles and they would have been safe because God had said to go to Egypt. The Bible doesn't indicate where they ended up just that; "He rose and took the child and his mother by night and departed to Egypt." Matthew 2:14

I have read that the flight of Joseph and Mary to Egypt with Jesus, was merely to protect Him and that there may be the hint of God wanting and expecting His children to use His working in their lives as part of His providential care. God could have protected Christ where he was as well as in Egypt; but He chose this way instead. In order to protect and forward His work among men, God often uses ways and means that are not necessarily miraculous. However, He wants His people to work out their salvation but at the same time to Trust in Him for their care.

"Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; for God is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure." Philippians 2:12-13 Paul is encouraging the believer to take responsibility to achieve the purposes for which God has set before them. But in the same light, we are to know that God's grace is available to help achieve His purposes in furthering His kingdom.

The Bible doesn't speak to what kind of life Mary, Joseph and Jesus experienced while living in Egypt. However, I find it interesting that 1700 years earlier, God providentially sent Joseph and eventually his family to Egypt where they multiplied into the thousands before he brought them out of Egypt as one nation, to be His people; through Moses and his brother Aaron.

In this story, Joseph and Mary are also sent to Egypt where they were to begin teaching Jesus about His Father. Their time spent there was sort of a waiting period. Waiting until God felt it was time or perhaps safe for them to return to their home in Nazareth. Much speculation has been made about the childhood of Jesus. Many questions have been left unanswered. Our imagination seems to take wings when it comes to what they did and how they survived. Our God never left them alone; His goodness to them is everlasting.

I don't suppose Joseph expected this kind of life when he accepted Mary to be his betrothed and I don't suppose that Mary, with a young girls heart and fantasies of being married, came with anything other than what her mother told her. However, here they find themselves uncertain about everything. Here they have had to leave their little house in Bethlehem in the middle of the night as though they were being chased out of town on a rail. However, God knew best and He had promised Mary in the beginning; "For with God nothing is impossible." Luke 1:37 And we know, all things are possible with God!" By Jane Ann Crenshaw 12/21/09