7. Back to the Land of Israel
Starting a Journey with Jesus, Day 7 (Matthew 2:19-23)
Today’s journey takes us from Egypt northeast past Judea into Galilee, a distance of about 300 miles (500 kilometers).
When Herod died, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt. “Get up!” the angel said. “Take the child and his mother and go back to the land of Israel, because those who were trying to kill the child are themselves dead.”
So Joseph got up and returned to the land of Israel with the child and his mother. But when he learned that Archelaus was the new king of Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. After being warned in a dream, he left Egypt for the region of Galilee, and the family went and lived in a town called Nazareth. This fulfilled what the prophets had said: “He will be called a Nazarene.” (Matthew 2:19-23)
Egypt had a thriving Jewish community in Jesus’ day. It would not have been difficult for Joseph and his family to find work and live there. But like Moses many centuries before, Jesus is not (more…)