Goodbye, Pyramids

Old Testament prophecy fulfilled by Jesus

God’s son would go out of Egypt:

“Out of Egypt I called my son.” Hosea 11:1

Mary and Joseph were caring for the newborn baby Jesus. They were still in Bethlehem when they received unexpected visitors. Wise men from the East arrived at their door. These learned men had followed the star which led them the whole way. It had taken them months to travel hundreds of miles to Israel. Now their journey was at an end.  

They had followed the star, which had led them at last to that very house. At long last, they saw Him, the one they came to see, the King of the Jews. Jesus was cradled in his teenaged mother’s arms.

The wise men fell on their faces and worshipped Him.

They gave them the gifts they brought for the King: gold, frankincense and myrrh. Each one was valuable. They explained how they saw the star and knew it meant the Anointed One had come at last. They had prepared themselves and their gifts for the long journey and followed the star.  

Once they arrived in Israel, the wise men told Joseph and Mary they met with Herod who had questioned them. Herod asked where the Messiah was to be born. He asked questions about when the star they saw first appeared. King Herod claimed he wanted to know where the Christ child was so he too could worship Him. But the wise men were wary of Herod.

God came to the wise men in a dream. He told them not to report back to Herod that they found Jesus. When they said goodbye, they did not return to Herod. Instead, they departed a different way altogether.

Then God came to Joseph in a dream and said, “Arise and 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.” Matthew 2:13

Joseph, the man chosen by God Almighty, to be the step father of His son, rose and took Mary and Jesus that night and began the journey to Egypt.  Once in Egypt, God protected them from the murderous death threat of King Herod. The gifts given by the wise men would sustain them during their stay in Egypt.

Time passed as the Israelite family lived in Egypt. Then, God appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Arise and take the Child and His mother, and go into the land of Israel; for those who sought the child’s life are dead.” Matthew 2:19-20.

The words God had given the prophet in Hosea 11:1 hundreds of years before were fulfilled. God had called His son out of Egypt.

I doubt Hosea understood all the prophecies God gave him to preserve, including this one. But sprinkled all through scripture are the details God gave His prophets about the coming Messiah. The words of the prophets are like bread crumbs that lead all people to one person who is the Messiah: Jesus.

Carla Killough McClafferty