Matthew 2:13-18
The King is preserved through suffering, and even Bethlehem's grief is held within God's faithful purposes.
13 Now when they had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream, saying, “Arise and take the young child and his mother, and flee into Egypt, and stay there until I tell you, for Herod will seek the young child to destroy him.”
14 He arose and took the young child and his mother by night, and departed into Egypt,
15 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.”
16 Then Herod, when he saw that he was mocked by the wise men, was exceedingly angry, and sent out, and killed all the male children who were in Bethlehem and in all the surrounding countryside, from two years old and under, according to the exact time which he had learned from the wise men.
17 Then that which was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet was fulfilled, saying,
18 “A voice was heard in Ramah, lamentation, weeping and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children; she wouldn’t be comforted, because they are no more.”
The King is preserved through suffering, and even Bethlehem's grief is held within God's faithful purposes.
Matthew shows that the promised Messiah is preserved by God's providence while Israel's story of exile, oppression, and lament is gathered around him in fulfillment.
Bethlehem and Egypt during the reign of Herod the Great, after the Magi depart by another route.
The Messiah Worshiped, Threatened, Preserved, and Called Out of Egypt
The true King is worshiped by Gentiles, opposed by earthly power, preserved by God, and shown through Scripture to be the faithful Son who fulfills Israel's story.