Joseph obeyed.

"Joseph obeyed. He got up, took the child and his mother under cover of darkness. They were out of town and well on their way by daylight. They lived in Egypt until Herod’s death. This Egyptian exile fulfilled what Hosea had preached: “I called my son out of Egypt.”

Joseph.
An almost forgotten hero, in spite of his continual presence
in all Nativities,
in muttered oaths of 'Jesus, Mary and Joseph',
in conversations and Biblical narratives.

We know
he was a devout, God-fearing man,
faithful and obedient to the Law.

And here he is again,
faithful to his family,
obedient to God's word.

Joseph,
as his ancestor was,
a dream-discerner.

This time, though,
there was no doubt.
The command was urgent.

'Get up!  Go! Take the child!'

Discernment on its own
is fruitless without obedience.

Wisdom

After the scholars were gone, God’s angel showed up again in Joseph’s dream and commanded, “Get up. Take the child and his mother and flee to Egypt. Stay until further notice. Herod is on the hunt for this child, and wants to kill him.”

Matthew 2:13

Another dream of warning.
How good is God
to come to us
in dreams and imagination
with life-saving truth
and advice.

I pray
that I will discern God's will
as readily as the wise men,
even when,
especially when,
it comes to me in a dream.

Divine warning.

In a dream, they were warned not to report back to Herod. So they worked out another route, left the territory without being seen, and returned to their own country.
Matthew 2:12

Matthew, who writes for the Jews, talks of this.
Of legendary wise men, foreigners, non-believers,
the first to acknowledge Jesus as KING.

These soothsayers, perhaps practised
in divination and other dark arts
with which Yahweh forbids involvement.

"Occult Practices:
When you enter the land the Lord your God is giving you, do not learn to imitate the detestable ways of the nations there.  Let no one be found among you who sacrifices their son or daughter in the fire, who practices divination or sorcery, interprets omens, engages in witchcraft,11 or casts spells, or who is a medium or spiritist or who consults the dead.  Anyone who does these things is detestable to the Lord; because of these same detestable practices the Lord your God will drive out those nations before you.  You must be blameless before the Lord your God."
God can use everyone and anyone for his divine purposes.

Hallelujah!

Worship

They entered the house and saw the child in the arms of Mary, his mother. Overcome, they kneeled and worshipped him. Then they opened their luggage and presented gifts: gold, frankincense, myrrh.
Mark 2:11

The gifts.

"They presented unto him gifts - These were presented to him as King of the Jews, because they supposed he was to be a distinguished prince and conqueror. It was customary in the East to show respect for persons of distinction by making presents or offerings of this kind. See Genesis 32:14; Genesis 43:11; 1 Samuel 10:27; 1 Kings 10:2; Psalm 72:10-15. This custom is still common in the East, and it is everywhere there unusual to approach a person of distinguished rank without a valuable present.

Frankincense - Frankincense is a white resin or gum. It is obtained from a tree by making incisions in the bark, and suffering the gum to flow out. It is highly odoriferous or fragrant when burned, and was therefore used in worship, where it was burned as a pleasant offering to God. See Exodus 30:8; Leviticus 16:12. It is found in the East Indies, but chiefly in Arabia; and hence it has been supposed probable that the wise men came from Arabia.

Myrrh - This was also a production of Arabia, and was obtained from a tree in the same manner as frankincense. The name denotes bitterness, and was given to it on account of its great bitterness. It was used chiefly in embalming the dead, because it had the property of preserving dead bodies from putrefaction. Compare John 19:39, it was much used in Egypt and in Judea. It was obtained from a thorny tree, which grows 8 or 9 feet high. It was at an early period an article of commerce Genesis 37:25, and was an ingredient of the holy ointment, Exodus 30:23. It was also used as an agreeable perfume, Esther 2:12; Psalm 45:8; Proverbs 7:17. It was also sometimes mingled with wine to form an article of drink. Such a drink was given to our Saviour, when about to be crucified, as a stupefying potion, Mark 15:23; compare Matthew 27:34. The offerings here referred to were made because they were the most valuable which the country of the Magi or wise men produced. They were tokens of respect and homage which they paid to the new-born King of the Jews. They evinced their high regard for him, and their belief that he was to be an illustrious prince; and the fact that their deed is recorded with approbation shows us that we should offer our most valuable possessions, our all, to the Lord Jesus Christ. Wise men came from far to do him homage, and bowed down, and presented their best gifts and offerings. It is right that we give to him also our hearts, our property, our all." (Barnes' notes, Bible.cc)

The wise men brought expensive gifts.
In reality, what can I give
the King of Kings?
I have nothing.

Only a heart.
May I be see the Lord Jesus
and be overcome
in worship.

At last!

"Instructed by the king, they set off. Then the star appeared again, the same star they had seen in the eastern skies. It led them on until it hovered over the place of the child. They could hardly contain themselves: They were in the right place! They had arrived at the right time!"
Matthew 2:9 - 10

The star appeared again. How had they lost sight of it? Perhaps
it appeared only when Jesus was born, and so,
having read the sacred writings,
they set off to find the new-born king.

How unhappy, to have had to inquire of Herod. Perhaps
he might not have learned of the babe's arrival
and so could have remained ignorant
of this earth-shattering occasion.

But the star led them! This time, perhaps,
they could be sure of where they should go
and so, following, they arrived.
Happy, happy journey's end.

Whaaat!!

A king happy to worship a potential usurper?

Herod then arranged a secret meeting with the scholars from the East. Pretending to be as devout as they were, he got them to tell him exactly when the birth-announcement star appeared. Then he told them the prophecy about Bethlehem, and said, “Go find this child. Leave no stone unturned. As soon as you find him, send word and I’ll join you at once in your worship.”
Matthew 2:7 - 8

Herod arranged. The all-powerful vassal-king of Judah under Rome,
arranged.
Who would deny him?

Master of subterfuge and cruelty, working in secret,
duplicitously pretending
to be a devoted God-seeker.

Sending unsuspecting innocents
on their way, hiding
the blackness of his heart.

The words sounded worshipful.
We, with hindsight wisdom
know the intent to be murderous.

Lord, help us
to speak Your truth in love
only, from pure hearts.

"Then Herod sent a private message to the astrologers, asking them to come to see him; at this meeting he found out from them the exact time when they first saw the star. Then he told them,  “Go to Bethlehem and search for the child. And when you find him, come back and tell me so that I can go and worship him too!”

Where?

"When word of their inquiry got to Herod, he was terrified—and not Herod alone, but most of Jerusalem as well. Herod lost no time. He gathered all the high priests and religion scholars in the city together and asked, “Where is the Messiah supposed to be born?”

They told him, “Bethlehem, Judah territory. The prophet Micah wrote it plainly:

It’s you, Bethlehem, in Judah’s land,
no longer bringing up the rear.
From you will come the leader
who will shepherd-rule my people, my Israel.”Micah 5:2, 4
Matthew 2:3 - 6

They knew. These learned men, these Gentiles, knew that the true King of the Jews was born.
They knew the When, for his star had appeared.
They knew the Why: a king would appear to save the Jewish people.
They only needed to know the Where.

So did Herod.
He was terrified he would lose his position when the Messiah King arrived/

Me too.
The King who would tilt the world, turn 'normal' upside down, challenge all for change.

Will I trust Him, pay homage, worship and obey? Put my life, belief, heart in His hands?
Not just once in a lifetime, but times in the everyday always?
Believe in this unusual leader, more humble shepherd than proud royalty?
Step forward into a new Adventure?
Why not do it?
Indeed?

The Searchers

"After Jesus was born in Bethlehem village, Judah territory— this was during Herod’s kingship—a band of scholars arrived in Jerusalem from the East. They asked around, “Where can we find and pay homage to the newborn King of the Jews? We observed a star in the eastern sky that signaled his birth. We’re on pilgrimage to worship him.”
Matthew 2:1 - 2

A band of scholars.
From one country: or many,
representing a world in need of a Saviour?
Friends: or strangers,
brought together by a communality of learning?

Wise men.
Philosophers, priests, astronomers.
Learned in study.
Experts in soothsaying.

What languages did they speak?
The question they asked was simple.
"Where is the newly born Jewish king?"

The humility of important men
before the birth of One so important.

An occasion so portentous
that they travelled from far.

Dedication

"Anna the prophetess was also there, a daughter of Phanuel from the tribe of Asher. She was by now a very old woman. She had been married seven years and a widow for eighty-four. She never left the Temple area, worshiping night and day with her fastings and prayers. At the very time Simeon was praying, she showed up, broke into an anthem of praise to God, and talked about the child to all who were waiting expectantly for the freeing of Jerusalem."
Luke 2:36 - 38

Anna, the gracious one, whose name means grace, prophesying in a dark world, where God had not spoken to her people for four hundred years...

The gracious one, remaining in prayer, seeking God, listening to His whispers, dedicating her life to His worship.

And then she heard it. Heard Him say: 'This is Him. This is the one. Tell all who are waiting for the freeing of Jerusalem....

'...the freeing of Jerusalem.'

Did she have any inkling of what this 'freeing' really meant?
Not a physical warrior king, a new David, who could put an end to the oppression from the Assyrians, the Babylonians, the Persians, the Greeks, the Romans...

...no, a NEW Saviour, whose grace reaches far beyond a mere city.

Grace prophesied by Grace.

Story behind The Story.

When they finished everything required by God in the Law, they returned to Galilee and their own town, Nazareth. There the child grew strong in body and wise in spirit. And the grace of God was on him."

Luke 2:39 - 40

This little gap, between verses 38 and 39, speaks volumes. Between Bethlehem and Nazareth were several years... it is said that they remained in Bethlehem long enough for the wise men to visit them before they fled to Egypt in front of Herod's murdering soldiers.

Such obedience from Mary and Joseph: fulfilling the law: the circumcision, and naming, affirming again the separation, the setting apart, of the Jews from the Gentiles: and yet this boy was to bring unity to all the world under God;
the giving of the first-born to God, acknowledging that Jesus belonged to God, who gave him life: and how very true this was for THIS boy;
the cleansing of Mary, making her fit once again to worship God in the temple: but of course she worshipped Him in her heart, wherever she was - as she and Joseph would have to do in Egypt.

And once in Nazareth.... Nazareth was home.
There they could settle, surrounded by family
who would help them in bringing up their son.

So he grew, physically strong and spiritually wise.
Emotionally gracious.
Perfect.
Jesus.