Matthew 2:19-23–Daily Scripture Reading and Meditation

Posted by Seth on Mar 18, 2010 in Bible Study, Daily Devotions |

Matthew 2:19-23–Daily Scripture Reading and Meditation

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Welcome to today’s Daily Scripture Reading and Meditation covering Matthew 2:19-23 wherein we observe God working out His plan for Jesus through His servant Joseph.

But when Herod died, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, saying, “Rise, take the child and his mother and go to the land of Israel, for those who sought the child’s life are dead.” And he rose and took the child and his mother and went to the land of Israel. But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning over Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there, and being warned in a dream he withdrew to the district of Galilee. And he went and lived in a city called Nazareth, that what was spoken by the prophets might be fulfilled: “He shall be called a Nazarene.”

This passage starts out with some great news: Herod died. This is a man who was deceptive and murderous, even though God used him to fulfill the sad prophesy of child slaughter that would follow the arrival of the Messiah. Jesus’ coming from the very beginning brought out the worst and the best in people. There is no neutral response to Him when He is recognized for who He really is. We see this played out by observing the silent war between Herod and Joseph. One is maniacal in response to His arrival and the other walks in God-fearing faithfulness. Observe Joseph who had such an intense task on his hands. His dreams continued to be ones filled with warnings and commands. Like his adopted Son would one day experience, he didn’t have much of a place to lay his head as he was directed to lead his little family from one place to another. Imagine what Joseph must have been thinking through all of this. Here he was a nice young man, hard-working and faithful with a young lady he was eager to marry and settle down with, carrying on his little carpentry business while raising a family. Then God suddenly rearranged everything and put His loved ones on the Israel’s most wanted list! My goodness, what an adventure life can become when God steps in and directs the steps of His servants. Ultimately, what we see is that all is worked out so that the prophesy concerning Jesus’ upbringing is fulfilled: He shall be called a Nazarene. God knew what He was doing the entire time, showing that Jesus was the Messiah all along.

Do you have that desire to settle in, to find your niche or place in life, whether geographically or in a specific calling? Know that if you’re serving Him faithfully as He directs you from one thing to another that you’re right where you need to be. It may be that He is using this season to grow you through the various experiences He is giving you and is spreading your impact to various spheres to make him known to a variety of people. Like I’m sure it was for Joseph, such seasons can be wearying, confusing, or even disheartening. But we have the benefit from accounts like this one to have our eyes opened to what it looks like for someone else to continue listening to and following the Lord. We see what God accomplishes through it and observe how His purposes are being worked out in His time. Be mindful of the fact that, despite how things might feel in the moment, God has His hand on you today.

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