Matthew 2 – Day 1: "An Insecure Leader"(V1-12)

Start your study time today with prayer.

Read Matthew 2:1-23

Digging Deeper:

(V1-3) Herod was king when Jesus was born. Herod was a wicked king who felt threatened when he thought of anyone else having power in his kingdom. When the Wise Men came looking for the Messiah, they explained that they were following a star, and it had led them to Bethlehem in Judea. When Herod caught wind of what the Wise Men were doing he became deeply disturbed, along with the people of the kingdom that he was ruling over.

(V4-6) So Herod called a meeting and demanded that all of the top thinkers in the kingdom should attend. When they were gathered, he asked them if they knew where the Messiah was prophesied to have been born. Some answered that He was to be born in Bethlehem of Judea,

1 and sited scripture to back up the theory. The scripture they cited even included prophesy about how the Messiah would be a Shepherd for His people.

(V7-9) Herod thought that he would be able to outsmart everyone by asking for a private meeting with the Wise Men. He asked them where they had seen the star appear, and where they thought they should go next. When they explained that Bethlehem was their destination, he encouraged them to go and find the child and then to come back and tell him so that he could go and worship the child. Of course, Herod was not being honest, he wanted the young Messiah to be found so that he could eliminate the threat against his kingdom.

(V10-12) The Wise Men rediscovered the location of the star they had been following and they were filled with joy! So, they went into the house that sat below the star, and there they met Mary, Joseph, and the newborn baby Jesus. When they saw Him, they bowed down and worshipped Him. Their worship continued as they gave gifts to the Messiah that all pointed to the fact that Jesus was royalty. The wise men were getting prepared to leave, when through a dream they were warned to avoid going home

2 the same way they came so that they could avoid Herod. Herod was waiting for word from them so that he could get rid of Jesus.

Application Questions:

1.) Herod was an insecure leader. When he became disturbed at the news of the Messiah, those whom he led became disturbed as well. Insecure leaders often end up producing insecure followers.

A.) Put yourself in Herod's position. Why do you think he was so upset about the birth of the Messiah? ______

B.) If Herod was a believer in God, what do you think his reaction to the Messiah would have been? ______

C.) How can you safeguard yourself from the trap of insecurity? ______

D.) Read each verse and write down what they speak to you about staying secure in Christ:

Philippians 4:6-9 - ______

Ephesians 6:10-12 - ______

2.) The Wise Men were warned in a dream to avoid going back to Herod and reporting the location of the Messiah.

A.) Has God ever spoken to you and told you to avoid someone or something ______

B.) How did you react? What was the outcome? ______

C.) What do the following verses say about listening to the voice of God?

John 10:27 - ______

Jeremiah 33:3 - ______

Prayer for the day:

Father, thank you for leading me with security, please help me to be secure in Christ and keep me from falling into the trap of pleasing others. I give you this day, and I look forward to all that you’re going to do. amen

5 Matthew 2 – Day 2: “Safety in Egypt” (V13-18)

“When Israel was a child, I loved him, And out of Egypt I called My son.” Hosea 11:1

Before you begin this study, will you ask the Lord to open up your understanding to His word, and teach you how to apply these truths to your own life?

Read Matthew 2:13-18

Digging Deeper:

We have heard that where God guides, God provides. It appears that no sooner did the Wise Men from the east leave their gifts of worship at the home of Joseph and Mary that God sent an angel directly into Joseph’s dreams, instructing him to take “the Child” Jesus and His mother Mary to the relative safety of Egypt, and away from the wrath of Herod. Joseph’s obedience was immediate, leaving even in the dark of night (V14) and likely heading due west into historically Philistine country to a coastal highway, in order to get to Egypt.

Though the prophecy of Hosea 11:1 may have been understood initially to refer to the enslaved people, God’s chosen son Israel, who were led out of Egypt by Moses around 1446 B.C. we see now (V15) a greater fulfillment of Hosea’s prophecy over 14 centuries later as the Son of God, Jesus Christ, is taken to safety in Egypt and then brought out of Egypt after Herod’s death.

According to the timeline given by the Wise Men (V16) Herod ordered the death of every male child of age two and under, in or near Bethlehem. So again, we read a prophetic scripture (V17-18) in Jeremiah 31:5 that speaks of an Old Testament and a New Testament event. In the midst of God’s encouraging promises given through Jeremiah to restore His chosen people to the land after their time in Babylonian captivity, He reminds them of their utter sorrow; of Rachel, Jacob’s wife, who was buried near Bethlehem, and whose bitter weeping could be heard through the hearts of her people in that land as the children of Israel were cut down with the sword and captives carried away to Babylon. Then, again we see Rachel weeping through the hearts of the people as their baby boys are systematically destroyed in Herod’s lust to

7 remove the true Ruler of God’s people Israel (see V6) and maintain his royal position.

Application Questions:

1.) Imagine Joseph’s situation. He was betrothed to Mary, committed to marry her but not yet having consummated the marriage. Before the marriage was “official” she was “found with child (Matt 1:18)”. Then an angel appears to him in a dream with some seriously life-altering information and instructions, which Joseph seems to follow immediately and without question. Then again, in Matthew 2, after the Wise Men depart, Joseph gets another dream visit from an angel. This time with even more radically life-changing instructions. The angel orders them not to come back to Israel until he gets another angelic visit. Again, Joseph seems to obey without any hesitation whatsoever.

A.) What does Joel 2:28 have to say about visions and dreams? ______

8 B.) Do you think the words of Joel 2:28 apply to us today? Why or why not? ______

C.) Have you experienced visions or dreams of God’s instruction for your own life? How did that turn out? ______

2.) We read of prophecy being fulfilled in Christ’s travel to, and then out of Egypt. We also read of the destruction of innocent boys of two years and under by Herod, which also was a fulfillment of prophecy.

A.) What value did God, through the apostle Paul, want us to place on the gift of prophecy? (See I Corinthians 14:1-6) ______

9 B.) Do you have to have the gift of prophecy in order to prophesy? Why or why not? ______

C.) Do you prophesy? Describe some situations in which you have done so. ______

D.) How did that act of prophecy affect you, and those to whom you have prophesied? ______

Prayer for the day:

Dear Lord, I see the obedience of a man like Joseph. I see his willingness to receive Your wisdom and not to hesitate, not to confer with flesh and blood, but to do exactly what you told him to do. My heart’s desire is to be a man who seeks after Your Heart Lord, a man who has ears to hear and a willingness to obey without question. Father, would you guide me and strengthen me in these qualities of a God-fearing, obedient man. Amen.

11 Matthew 2 – Day 3: “The Child’s Return to Israel” (V19-23)

“Did we but look upon the world as our Egypt, the place of our bondage and banishment, and heaven only as our Canaan, our home, our rest, we should as readily arise, and depart thither, when we are called for, as Joseph did out of Egypt.” (CF Matthew Henry’s Blue Letter Bible commentary on Matthew 2:19-21)

As you get into today’s study, be encouraged to pray about how God will speak to you today from His Word.

Read Matthew 2:19-23

Digging Deeper:

What would the character be, of a man who not only hears the delivered word of God, but also receives it with such readiness of heart that he is willing to respond to that word with immediate action? Such was the man Joseph who again received a visit from an angel of the Lord (V19- 20), not only informing him of the death of Herod and the end of his attempts to exterminate the Messiah, but also directed him to return to the land and to His chosen people.

Why is it that the angel, upon visiting Joseph in a dream while still in Egypt, did not tell him to take the young Child and His mother and head straight for Galilee? Yet this is how God chose to speak to Joseph, “by degrees,” as Matthew Henry’s commentary puts it. And by degrees Joseph obeyed, arriving back in the land of Israel only to find that the savagery and violence of Herod was removed, merely to be replaced by the similarly cruel conduct of his son Archelaus (V22). It is only after the fear of this realization gripped Joseph that the angel again met him in a dream and warned him, presumably against settling back in Judea which was under the rule of Archelaus, that Joseph turned his family north to Galilee.

To Nazareth they went (V23), to the town in which Mary was visited by the angel Gabriel and where the Son of God was conceived. They were likely well-known there, for good or otherwise. Though we find no prophecy of the Old Testament that explicitly identifies Nazareth as the city of the Messiah, the phrase, “spoken of by the prophets” implies not a singular prophet, but a general recognition by the prophets of old that the Messiah would come from Nazareth. We know from Isaiah’s prophecy the He was despised and

13 rejected by men (Isaiah 53:3). This was the general attitude of Jesus’ day toward anyone from Nazareth. Spurgeon wrote, “There is always some city or village or another whose inhabitants seem to be the butt of every joke and the object of scorn. The people of such places are thought to be low, uncultured, not-very-smart. That is the kind of place Nazareth was.”

Application Questions:

1.) We don’t know a lot about Joseph, but we do know that when the angel spoke, he listened and responded. How strong was his faith, and what did he base it on? We can’t say for sure, but seeing angels in his dreams and watching their words quickly become reality must have added strength to his faith.

A.) How about your faith? Do you know why you believe what you believe, and when confronted by a questioning unbeliever, can you talk about the foundations of your faith? Explain. ______

14 B.) How can we claim that the Word of God is true? ______

C.) Beyond the claim that the Word of God is true, what other evidence can you offer that God is real? ______

2.) Humble from beginning to end, this is the earthly existence of Jesus Christ.

A.) What specific stories or passages come to your mind when you think of the humble life of Christ? ______

B.) How do these verses speak to you, regarding the humility of our Savior?

15 Matthew 11:28 ______

Philippians 2:8 ______

C.) What do these passages say about our need to be humble?

Psalm 147:6 ______

Proverbs 16:19 ______

James 4:6 ______

Prayer for the day:

Father thank You for the gift of faith. Thank you for the mighty examples of faith and humility You have given us in Your Word. Lord, I want to be a man after Your own heart, to walk in faith, with a humble spirit. Would You guide me in this desire, to be a reflection of Jesus Christ in all I think, say, and do? Amen.