Have a little Emunah

What is Emunah (pronounced "em-oo-nah") you might ask?   Emunah is the Hebrew word for "Faith."   However, the way the Hebrew lanugage defines faith may be a bit different then we are used to thinking about it.  

For us, many times, faith is more about knowing something and is less about doing anything.   In Hebrew, it is the exact opposite, it is less about knowing and is more about doing.  

In our bibles, Emunah is generally translated as faith, but that really doesn't serve the translation very well.   In cases where Emunah is used, it is there to describe an "innate conviction, a perception of truth that transcends, rather than evades, reason."  It's something that having additional wisdom, knowledge and understanding can further enhace, but is not impacted if wisdom, knowledge and understanding doesn't support having faith or emunah.   In short, emunah is not reason based.   Emunah endures even when reason can't catch up.

From an everyday perspective, an individual may have faith becasue he/she is not interested or in not capable of reasoning for him/herself.   If this is the case, then that individual doesn't "own" their faith.  They are merely relying on others.   In these cases, faith is easily swayed and is inherently weak.  

In other cases, the individial may have a profound faith or emunah.  In those cases, he/she feels that truth to be a part of their very essence and being.   In those cases, they really don't need to have supporting knowledge or reasoning to support their faith.  It is something that they just know and they know it regardless of it being supporting by the mainstream academics or others.   They are so convinced their faith is true, they will die for it.  To deny their faith/emunah, is to deny their very essence.  

Knowing this, how strong is your faith?   Is it a superficial faith that is easily shaken at the latest news/discovery that goes against it?  

2 Corinthians 5:7   For we live by faith, not sight.

Hebrews 11:1  Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.

James 1:6 But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind.

The Mind of God....

Take a look at the following two images.


What thoughts do you have?   What do you suppose these images are?

If I told you that one image was a neural network, does that change how you view the other image?

If I told you that one image is of the known/local galaxy clusters; how do you view the other image then?

What about these images?   Some are neural networks, some are images from deep space.  Can you tell the difference?

As I was reading my devotions this morning, the image of the galaxies came up and it struck me at how similar it is to images of neural networks.  I was awestruck by the very reflection of God's creation in two very different images.  

Psalms 19:1-5 "The heavens are telling of the glory of God; and their expanse is declaring the work of His hands.  Day to day pours forth speech, and night to night reveals knowledge.  There is no speech, nor are there words; Their voice is not heard.   Their line has gone out through all the earth, And their utterances to the end of the world.  In the He has placed a tent for the sun,  Which is as a bridegroom coming out fo his chamber; It rejoices as a strong man to run his course.

I am also struck by how often we rush to God with requests and pleas for help with out ever stopping to consider the very glory and awe of who God is. 

Romans 1:20 tell us that God's eternal power and divine nature are clearly seen in what He has made:

"For since the creation of the world, His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so they are without excuse."

But we are all so busy with our own lives, pre-occupied with what the world wants us to pay attention to, and occasionally the needs of others, that we allow ourselves to be blinded to the wonder's of God's creation.  

What if we stopped, for just a moment, each day and noticed the beauty of the world around us?   Noticed:

* A simple flower;

* How good the breeze feels on a warm summer day;

* How cool the grass feels on your bare feet during the summer;

* The simple elegance of a snow flake as it falls to the ground;

* The sound of leaves rustling in the breeze;

* That sound of water in a mountain stream or ocean waves crashing into the shore.  

I wonder if we did these things if we would start to see more of God and maybe be more in awe of Him?   

Would we take more time to consider His glory? 

Would we take more time to consider things as we approached Him in prayer?  

Would we consider that God uses nature to witness to us about his grace and faithfulness?

Matthew 5:43-45 "You have heard that the law of Moses says, 'Love your neighbor' and hate your enemy.  But I say , love your enemies!  Pray for those who persecute you!  In that way, you will be acting as true children of your Father in heaven.  For He gives his sunlight to both the veil and the good, and He sends rain on the just and on the unjust, too."

Matthew 6:28-32  "And why worry about your clothes?  Look at the lilies and how they grow.  They don't work or make clothing , yet Solomon in all his glory was not dressed as beautifully as they are.  And if God cares so wonderfully for flowers that are here today and gone tomorrow, won't He more surely care for you?  You have so little faith!"

Would we actually ponder that when we do these things, that we may just barely be grasping who God is and be in awe of Him and how much He loves us.

That maybe, just maybe, we are getting glimpses into the mind of God.

Water to Wine

Many of us have heard the story of Jesus turning water into wine a number of times either in Sunday School or sitting in church.  This story is largely considered to be the first public miracle that Jesus performed and is filled with a lot of imagery and parallels that you don’t get with just quick reading of the chapter.  John provides us with the retelling of the miracle in John chapter 2, verses 1-12 (NASB):

“On the third day there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there; and both Jesus and His disciples were invited to the wedding. When the wine ran out, the mother of Jesus said to Him, "They have no wine." And Jesus said to her, "Woman, what does that have to do with us? My hour has not yet come." His mother said to the servants, "Whatever He says to you, do it." Now there were six stone waterpots set there for the Jewish custom of purification, containing twenty or thirty gallons each. Jesus said to them, "Fill the waterpots with water." So they filled them up to the brim. And He said to them, "Draw some out now and take it to the headwaiter." So they took it to him. When the headwaiter tasted the water which had become wine, and did not know where it came from (but the servants who had drawn the water knew), the headwaiter called the bridegroom, and said to him, "Every man serves the good wine first, and when the people have drunk freely, then he serves the poorer wine; but you have kept the good wine until now." This beginning of His signs Jesus did in Cana of Galilee, and manifested His glory, and His disciples believed in Him. After this He went down to Capernaum, He and His mother and His brothers and His disciples; and they stayed there a few days.”

Lets start with the first verse:

“On the third day there was a wedding in Cana of Galileo, and the mother of Jesus was there; and both Jesus and His disciples were invited to the wedding.”

Many translations don’t include the reference to it being the third day where as others do.  I’m not sure why that is.  It could be that there doesn’t appear to be any significance to when the wedding happened but what I have learned is that in biblical times, the Hebrews/Jewish people didn’t have the days numbered the way we do today.  The names we use for the days of the week came from the Roman’s times and were named with the latin words for the sun, moon and the five known planets.   Where as Sunday was named for the sun, Monday was named for the moon, Tuesday was named for Mars, Wednesday was named for mercury, Thursday was named for Jupiter, Friday was named for Venus and Saturday was named for Saturn.

The jewish people named their days after the day of creation.   With Sunday being the 1st day, Monday the 2nd day, and so on with the Sabbath day being on Saturday.   So, in this case the wedding occurred on a Tuesday.   Why is this significant and why was there a wedding occurring on the third day of the week?  It is my understanding that Jewish traditions indicated that the third day of creation came with a double blessing.  Reviewing the creation account in Genesis 1:9-13 (NASB):

“Then God said, "Let the waters below the heavens be gathered into one place, and let the dry land appear"; and it was so. God called the dry land earth, and the gathering of the waters He called seas; and God saw that it was good. Then God said, "Let the earth sprout vegetation, plants yielding seed, and fruit trees on the earth bearing fruit after their kind with seed in them"; and it was so. The earth brought forth vegetation, plants yielding seed after their kind, and trees bearing fruit with seed in them, after their kind; and God saw that it was good. There was evening and there was morning, a third day.”

There are two reference to God seeing that “it was good” on the third day of creation.   Looking back over the seven days of creation, this is the only place God does this.   Not that it means that His creation on the other days are any less, but that this day is doubly blessed.  The thought is that the Jewish people had weddings on Tuesday’s because it was the good day due to the double blessing of God on the third day of creation.

Note also that this was a wedding in which Jesus, His disciples and His mother Mary were in attendance at this wedding.  No background is given as to who specifically is being married, but it is speculated that the wedding may have been a family member of Jesus and Mary.

At this point, it would be good to point out the Jewish customs around weddings (https://walkerswonder.blogspot.com/2016/12/jewish-wedding-traditions-in-biblical.html).  While the ceremony itself was somewhat short, what we know as the reception would last for up to a week.  During this celebration, the bride and grooms family was expected to provide the food and drink for everyone in attendance – which generally was eveyone in the community.  If the family ran out of either food or wine, then it was a very disgraceful thing for the family.  As it turns out, the family runs out of wine.

Knowing that this isn’t going to be viewed favorably by anyone in the community she took action and also provides a great example of what to do when we encounter problems in life.  She turns to Jesus and asks for help.

Jesus’ response does two things when we read it.   First we wonder where the respect is for his mom? And second we wonder why he seems to be reluctant to help.   “Woman, what does that have to do with us?  My hour has not come.”

In biblical times, the term speaking to a female in this fashion was not a sign of disrespect.  It was actually quite the opposite.  So, if we read this with any negative tone or connotation being expressed from Jesus to His mother, then I feel we are reading it incorrectly.

Jesus’ reference to His hour not yet coming is, in my eyes, a reminder that it isn’t time for Him to reveal who is is and why He has come.

While Jesus doesn’t give Mary any real assurance that He is going to do anything about the lack of wine, please notice the faith Mary shows.  She immediately turns to the servants and provides them the simply instruction, “Whatever He says to you, do it.”  If we would only have that sort of faith!
Please don’t gloss over the example Mary provides for all of us here.  Not only did she turn to Jesus when things are going wrong, but she comes to Him fully expecting a miracle!   How much richer would our lives and relationship with God if we were to have and demonstrate that same level of faith.  When we reach out to Jesus in prayer, are we doing it HOPES that He will do something?  OR Are we reaching out KNOWING that He will do something.  From my perspective there is a huge difference between the two.  And if we are honest with ourselves, the chasm between hoping and believing makes all the difference.

The rest of the miracle plays out with Jesus instructing the servants to fill the stone pots with water, dip some out and to take it to the head waiter.  From here, the head waiter is astonished at the quality of the wine and the family is exalted rather than shamed due to running out of wine.

But notice the symbolism that is contained throughout the rest of the story.  Jesus takes stone pots that have been used for purification.  While we see these pots as being vessels to contain water or other liquids, I feel that they represent each one of us.  They are empty.  Sitting off to the side looking/hoping for a purpose.  Jesus calls them out and they are filled with water.  This is, I believe, imagery Jesus used again in John 4:14 “But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.”. (KJV).

How closely this imagery is to each one of us.  We are lost and without purpose until we find Jesus – or more likely – Jesus being our Shepherd – finds us, His lost sheep.   When we listen and respond to His call, we are filled with living water and are then able to provide that same living water to others.
Now, let’s look at the wine for a minute.  While this may not seem terribly honest, it is rather frugal, but it was apparently also the practice during biblical weddings to start the day serving the best wine and then replacing it with the lesser quality wine as the day went on.  The thinking being that the more wine the people drank, the less able they are to notice the lack of quality in the wine.

Now, anyone who likes to drink wine will, I think, readily admit that wine requires age/time to become a good wine and that they really great wines take several years before they are considered ready for consumption.   However, notice what the head waiter says to the bride groom after tasting the wine: “…the headwaiter called the bridegroom, and said to him, "Every man serves the good wine first, and when the people have drunk freely, then he serves the poorer wine; but you have kept the good wine until now.".  The head waiter is praising the groom for holding the good wine until that very moment – despite it just being made by Jesus.   I think that this is a very subtle point being made here in that Jesus/God’s can create things in whatever state they choose.  In this particular case, they created the wine to have age and being of good quality.  Perhaps, they have created other things around us to also appear older than they are.

Mary's Song

Mary's Song

My soul doth magnify

And glory in the Lord

His lowly handmaiden

He has chosen over all

My spirit doth rejoice

Over God my saviour,

For He has truly blessed me

And shown great favour...

Blessed and exalted

Is the fruit of her womb

The promise from ages past

Was coming very soon

I wonder if Mary,

The servant of the Lord,

Understood with depth

The magnitude of her call

The son she brought forth

Called Holy and righteous,

Blessed Prince of Peace,

Forever there to guide us

Did she know that Jesus

Is the name above all names?

That no one else can save us

And take away our shame

Did Mary know His future

And who He really was?

Did she know the price He'd pay

Upon the blood-stained cross?

Oh a mother's heart must ache

To see her first born son

Hanging from a wooden cross,

Rejected by everyone

Did she know that He would rise

And walk among them again?

To eat and drink and share with them

Until He would ascend

He left with us His Holy Spirit,

Forever to dwell inside

I wonder if Mary ever knew

The significance of His life.

© By M.S.Lowndes

Santa's prayer on Christmas Eve

Santa's Prayer on Christmas Eve

Warren D. Jennings

The sleigh was all packed, the reindeer were fed,

But Santa still knelt by the side of the bed.

“Dear Father,” he prayed “Be with me tonight,

There’s much work to do and my scheduled is tight.

I must jump in my sleigh and streak through the sky,

Knowing full well that a reindeer can’t fly.

I will visit each household before the first light,

I’ll cover the word and all in one night.

With sleigh bells a-ringing, I’ll land on each roof,

Amid the soft clatter of each little hoof.

To get in the house is the difficult part,

So I’ll slide down the chimney of each child’s heart.

My sack will hold toys to grant all their wishes,

The supply will be endless like the loaves and the fishes.

I will fill all the stockings and not leave a track.

I’ll eat every cookie that is left for my snack.

I can do all these things Lord, only through You.

I just need your blessing, then it’s easy to do.

All this is to honor the birth of the One,

That was sent to redeem us, Your most Holy Son.

So to all of my friends, lest Your glory I rob,

Please, Lord, remind them who gave me this job.”

The Bible Project - the Birth of Jesus

If you haven't heard of The Bible Project, you are really missing out.   At least in my opinion you are missing out.

I first ran into the Bible Project on YouTube.   They have produced and posted several videos providing a high level synopsis of many of the books of the Bible as well several biblical themes.   I find them educational as well as insightful and entertaining.

Below is a video they recently posted covering the Birth of Jesus from the Gospel of Luke Chapters 1 -2.

More information can be found regarding The Bible Project on their website:  https://thebibleproject.com/  and videos they have created can be found at their YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/jointhebibleproject

The Christmas Story

Promise of John the Baptist’s birth:  Luke 1:5-25

It all begins with a Jewish priest, Zechariah, who lived when Herod was king of Judaea.  Zechariah was a member of the priestly order of Abidjan.  His wife, Elizabeth, was also from the priestly line of Aaron.  Zechariah and Elizabeth were righteous in God’s eyes, careful to obey all of the Lord’s commandments and regulations.  They had no children because Elizabeth was barren, and now they were both very old.

One day Zechariah was serving God in the Temple, for his order was on duty that week.  As was the custom of the priests, he was chosen by lot to enter the sanctuary and burn incense in the Lord’s pretense.  While the incense was being burned, a great crowd stood outside, praying.

Zechariah was in the sanctuary when an angel of the Lord appeared, standing to the right of the incense alter.  Zechariah was overwhelmed with fear.  But the angel said:  “Don’t be afraid Zechariah!  For God has heard your prayer and your wife, Elizabeth, will bear you a son!  And you are to name him John.  You will have great joy and gladness, and many will rejoice with you at his birth, for he will be great in the eyes of the Lord.  He must never touch wine or hard liquor, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even before his birth.  And he will persuade many Israelites to turn to the Lord their God.  He will be a man with the spirit and power of Elijah, the prophet of old.  He will precede the coming of the Lord, preparing the people for
his arrival.  He will turn the hearts of the fathers to their children, and he will change disobedient minds to accept Godly wisdom.

Zechariah said to the angel, “How can I know this will happen?  I’m an old man now and my wife is also well along in years.”

Then the angel said, “I am Gabriel!  I stand in the very pretense of God.  It was He who sent me to bring you the good news!  And now, since you didn’t believe what I said, you won’t be able to speak until the child is born.  For my words will certainly come true at the proper time.”

Meanwhile, the people were waiting for Zachariah to come out, wondering why he was taking so long.  When he finally did come out, he couldn’t speak to them.  Then they realized from the gestures that he must have seen a vision in the Temple sanctuary.

He stayed at the Temple until his term of service was over, and then he returned home.  Soon afterward his wife, Elizabeth, became pregnant and went into seclusion for five months.  “How kind the Lord is!” She exclaimed.  “He has taken away my disgrace of having no children!

Gabriel appears to Mary:  Luke 1:26-28

In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a village in Galilee, to a virgin named Mary.  She was engaged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of King David.  Gabriel appeared to her and said, “Greetings, favored woman!   The Lord is with you!”

Confused and disturbed, Mary tried to think what the angel could mean.  “Don’t be frightened, Mary,” the angel told her, “for God has decided to bless you!  You will become pregnant and have a son, and you are to name him Jesus.  He will be very great and will be called the Son of the Most High.  And the Lord God will give Him the throne of His ancestor David.  And He will reign over Israel forever; His Kingdom will never end!”

Mary asked the angel, “But how can I have a baby?  I am a virgin.”

The angel replied, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you.  So the baby born to you will be holy, and he will be called the Son of God.  What’s more, your relative Elizabeth has become pregnant in her old age!  People used to say she was barren, but she’s already in her sixth month.  For nothing is impossible with God.

Mary responded, “I am the Lord’s servant, and I am willing to accept whatever he wants.  May everything you have said come true.”  And then the angel left.

Joseph’s angelic dream: Matthew 1:18-25

Now this is how Jesus the Messiah was born.  His mother, Mary, was engaged to be married to Joseph.  But while she was still a virgin, she became pregnant by the Holy Spirit.  Joseph, her fiancé, being just a man, decided to break the engagement quietly, so as not to disgrace her publicly.

As he considered this, he fell asleep, and an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream.  “Joseph, son of David,” the angel said, “do not be afraid to go ahead with your marriage to Mary.  For the child within her has been conceived by the Holy Spirit.  And she will have a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins!”  All of this happened to fulfill the Lord’s message through his prophet:

“Look!  The virgin will conceive a child!  She will give birth to a son, and he will be called Immanuel (meaning, God is with us).”  (Isiah 7:14)

When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord commanded.  He brought Mary home to be his wife, but she remained a virgin until her son was born.  And Joseph named him Jesus.

Mary visits Elizabeth:  Luke 1:39-56

A few days later Mary hurried to the hill country of Jude's, to the town where Zechariah lived.  She entered the house and greeted Elizabeth.  At the sound of Mary’s greeting, Elizabeth’s child leaped within her, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit.

Elizabeth gave a glad cry and exclaimed to Mary, “You are blessed by God above all other women, and your child is blessed.  What an honor this is, that the mother of my Lord should visit me!  When you came in and greeted me, my baby jumped for joy the instant I heard your voice!  You are blessed because you believed that the Lord would do what He said.”  Mary responded,

“Oh, how I praise the Lord, how I rejoice in God my Savior!
For He took noticed of His lowly servant girl, and now generation after generation will call me blessed.
For He, the Mighty One, is holy, and He has done great things for me.
His mercy goes on from generation to generation, to all who fear Him.
His mighty arm does tremendous things!
How He scatters the proud and haughty ones!
He has taken princes from their thrones and exalted the lowly.
He has satisfied the hungry with good things and sent the rich away with empty hands.
And how He has helped His servant Israel!
He has not forgotten His promise to be merciful,
For He promised our ancestors – Abraham and his children – to be merciful to them forever.”

Mary stayed with Elizabeth about three months and then went back to her own home.

Birth of Christ: Luke 2:1-20

At that time the Roman empower, Augustus, decreed that a census should be taken throughout the Roman Empire.  (This was the first census taken when Quirinius was governor of Syria.).  All returned to their own towns to register for this census.  And because Joseph was a descendant of King David, he had to go to Bethlehem in Jude's, David’s ancient home.   He travel there from the village of Nazareth in Galilee.  He took with him Mary, his fiancé, who was obviously pregnant by this time.

And while they were there, the time came for her baby to be born.  She gave birth to her first child, a son.  She wrapped Him snugly in strips of cloth and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the village inn.

Shepherds visit Jesus:  Luke 2:8-20

That night some shepherds were in the fields outside the village, guarding their flocks of sheep.  Suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared among them, and the radiance of the Lord’s glory surrounded them.  They were terribly frightened, but the angel reassured them.  “Don’t be afraid!” He said, “I bring you good news of great joy for everyone!  The Savior – yes, the Messiah, the Lord – has been born tonight in Bethlehem, the city of David!  And this is how you will recognize Him: You will find a baby laying in a manger, wrapped snugly in strips of cloth!”

Suddenly, the angel was joined by a vast host of others – the armies of heaven – praising God:
“Glory to God in the highest heaven, and peace on earth to all whom God favors.”

When the angels had returned to heaven, the shepherds said to each other, “Come on, let’s go to Bethlehem!  Let’s see this wonderful thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”

They ran to the village and found Mary and Joseph.  And there was the baby, laying in the manger.  Then the shepherds told everyone what had happened and what the angel had said to them about this child.  All who heard the shepherds’ story were astonished, but Mary quietly treasured these things in her heart and thought about them often.  The shepherds went back to their fields and flocks, glorifying and praising God for what the angels had told them, and because they had seen the child, just as the angel had said.

Mary and Joseph bring Jesus to the Temple:  Luke 2: 21-28

Eight days later, when the baby was circumcised, he was named Jesus, the name given him by the angel even before he was conceived.

Then it was time for the purification offering, as required by the law of Moses after the birth of a child; so his parents took him to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord.  (NOTE: Bethlehem is around six miles/7.1 kilometers south of Jerusalem.  So it was possible for Joseph, Mary and Jesus to make this trip and return to Bethlehem). The law of the Lord says, “If a woman’s first child is a boy, he must be dedicated to the law of the Lord.”  So they offered a sacrifice according to what was required in the law of the Lord – “either a pair of turtle doves or two young pigeons.”

Now there was a man named Simeon who lived in Jerusalem.  He was a righteous man and very devout.  He was filled with the Holy Spirit, and he eagerly expected the Messiah to come and rescue Israel.  The Holy Spirit had revealed to him that he would not die until he had seen the Lord’s Messiah.  That day the Spirit led him to the Temple.  So when Mary and Joseph came to present the baby Jesus to the Lord as the law required, Simeon was there.   He took the child in his arms and praised God, saying,

“Lord, now I can die in peace!  As you promised me, I have seen the Savior you have given to all people.  He is a light to reveal God to the nations, and he is the glory of your people Israel!”

Joseph and Mary were amazed at what was being said about Jesus.  Then Simeon blessed them, and he said to Mary, “This child will be rejected by many in Israel, and it will be their undoing.  But he will be the greatest joy to many others.  Thus, the deepest thoughts of many hearts will be revealed.  And a sword will pierce your very soul.”

Anna, a prophet, was also there in the Temple.  She was the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher, and was very old.  She was a widow, for her husband had died when they had been married only seven years.  She was now eighty-four years old.  She never left the Temple but stayed there day and night, worshipping God with fasting and prayer.  She came along just as Simeon was talking with Mary and Joseph, and she began praising God.  She talked about Jesus to everyone who had been waiting for the promised King to come and deliver Jerusalem.

Visit of the Wise Men:  Matthew 2:1-12

Jesus was born in the town of Bethlehem in Jude's, during the reign of King Herod.  About that time some wise men from eastern lands arrived in Jerusalem, asking, “Where is the newborn king of the Jews?  We have seen his star as it arose, and we have come to worship him.”

Herod was deeply disturbed by their question, as was all of Jerusalem.  He called a meeting of the leading priests and teachers of religious law.  “Where did the prophets say the Messiah would be born?” He asked them.

“In Bethlehem,” they said, “for this is what the prophet wrote:

“O Bethlehem of Judah, you are not just a lowly village in Judah, for a ruler will come from you who will be the shepherd for my people Israel.” (Micah 5:2)

Then Herod sent a private message to the wise men, asking them to come see him.  At this meeting he learned the exact time when they first saw the start.  Then he told them, “Go to Bethlehem and search carefully for the child.  And when you find him, come back and tell me so that I can go and worship him, too!”

After this interview the wise men went their way.  Once again the star appeared to them, guiding them to Bethlehem.  It went ahead of them and stopped over the place where the child was.  When they saw the star, they were filled with joy!  They entered the house where the child and his mother Mary, were and they fell down before him and worshiped him.  Then they opened their treasure chests and gave him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.  But when it was time to leave, they went home another way, because God had warned them in a dream not to return to Herod.

Flight into Egypt; Herod slays the babies of Bethlehem: Matthew 2:13-18

After the wise men were gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream.  “Get up and flee to Egypt with the child and his mother,” the angel said.  “Stay there until I tell you to return, because Herod is going to try to kill the child.”  That night Joseph left for Egypt with the child and Mary, his mother, and they stayed there until Herod’s death.  This fulfilled what the Lord had spoken through the prophet: “I called my Son out of Egypt.”  (Hosea 11:1)

Herod was furious when he learned that the wise men had outwitted him.  He sent soldiers to kill all the boys in and around Bethlehem who were two years old and under, because the wise men had told him the start first appeared to them about two years earlier.  Herod’s brutal action fulfilled the prophecy of Jeremiah:

“A cry of anguish is heard in Raman – weeping and mourning unrestrained.
Rachel weeps for her children, refusing to be comforted – for they are dead. “. (Jeremiah 31:15)

Death of Herod; Return from Egypt to Nazareth:  Matthew 2: 19-23; Luke 2:39-40

When Herod died, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt and told him, “Get up and take the child and his mother back to the land of Israel, because those who were trying to kill the child are dead.”  So Joseph returned immediately to Israel with Jesus and His mother.  But when he learned the new ruler was Herod’s son Archelaus, he was afraid.  Then, in another dream, he was warned to go to Galilee.  The they went and lived in a town called Nazareth.  This fulfilled what was spoken by the prophets concerning the Messiah: “He will be called a Nazarene.”

Luke 2:39-40: When Jesus’ parents had fulfilled all the requirements of the law of the Lord, they returned home to Nazareth in Galilee.  There the child grew up healthy and strong.  He was filled with wisdom beyond his years, and God placed his special favor upon him.