In the feature lesson from Saturday, we studied the first half of Matthew 2, gleaning some principles of wisdom from the actions of the men from the East who came to visit Baby Jesus. The narrative continues in Matthew 2:13-18 - "Now when they [the wise men] had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream, saying, 'Arise, take the young Child and His mother, flee to Egypt, and stay there until I bring you word; for Herod will seek the young Child to destroy Him.' When he arose, he took the young Child and His mother by night and departed for Egypt, and was there until the death of Herod, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying, 'Out of Egypt I called My Son.' Then Herod, when he saw that he was deceived by the wise men, was exceedingly angry; and he sent forth and put to death all the male children who were in Bethlehem and in all its districts, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had determined from the wise men. Then was fulfilled what was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet, saying: 'A voice was heard in Ramah, lamentation, weeping, and great mourning. Rachel is weeping for her children, refusing to be comforted. Because they are no more.'"

There are several observations that I'd like to make regarding this passage:

FIRST, ANGELS ARE INVOLVED IN LIFE HERE ON EARTH.
They were heavily involved in the life of Christ. They announced to Mary and later to Joseph that a Son would be miraculously conceived and born to the virgin Mary. They sang to shepherds at Jesus' birth. In this context, they guarded the safety of the Child. Angels are understood to be "ministering spirits sent forth to minister for those who will inherit salvation" (Heb. 1:14). Ministering for someone is not necessarily the same as ministering to them. There is no reason to believe that angels are not still ministering for mankind today (we will be studying the subject of angels in more depth tomorrow).

SECOND, THERE IS A TIME TO FLEE.
The wise Solomon teaches that there is a time for everything (Eccl. 3:1ff). Even though God is all-powerful and certainly could have ended Herod's life then, God wanted Joseph, Mary, and Jesus to flee the destruction Herod was bent on bringing. Other than the angelic warning, it does not appear that God miraculously intervened here. He allowed Herod to exercise his free will in committing sin. For us today, sometimes the wise course of action is to stand firm in battle uncompromisingly, but at other times the best choice is to flee the danger or temptation that has presented itself. May God give us the wisdom to know when to stand firm and when to run.

THIRD, NO MATTER HOW SMART ONE THINKS HE IS, HE CANNOT OUTSMART GOD.
Herod thought he could use the wise men to learn the exact location of the One who was born King of the Jews. God outsmarted Herod. Herod thought that he could eliminate this new King by killing all of the young male children in the region the Child was assumed to be. This brutality was consistent with Herod's nature, but it was in vain. God had outsmarted him again. There are numerous examples in the Bible of men trying to deceive God or out think Him. Friends, it simply cannot be done. The Lord allows men to pursue the paths of wickedness, if they choose such, but He will not allow His will to be thwarted in an ultimate sense.

FOURTH, GOD'S WORD WILL BE FULFILLED.
Matthew gives three quotations from the prophets in this chapter (2:6,15,18). These quotations illustrate three distinct types of prophetic fulfillment (i.e., unique fulfillment, secondary fulfillment, and illustrative "fulfillment," respectively). Although we do not have time to elaborate upon such presently, the point to be underscored is that God's word is always true!

Dear listeners, may we strive to be good students of the Bible, endeavoring to learn what we can from every passage.