Christmas in Chaos IV

Matthew 2:13

In the movie Chaos Theory, Ryan Reynolds plays an overly organized father with no room for surprises. When his wife accidentally turns the clock the wrong way during Daylight Saving time, he is late for work, misses the ferry, gets injured, and learns at the doctor’s visit that he is unable to have kids, which uncovers an affair his wife had, which gave them their only daughter. Ryan disorganizes his life, performing dangerous, unruly stunts at random because he believes life has no meaning.

Egypt has a funny purpose in the Bible. Historically, it’s the place where 1) Israel gets bullied, 2) Israel puts too much trust in it, or 3) it’s an immoral haven that must be condemned. It has never been a safe place until Matthew 2:13.

Mary and Joseph were refugees from their own government, prompting an angel to tell them to flee. This was not how Mary and Joseph planned to raise their child. Also, it would be tough to have the savior of Israel if he didn’t actually live in Israel. But this obstacle was only a minor blip in God’s plan for the savior.

I guarantee that sometime in your life you will “flee to Egypt” when you clearly want to “Stay in Israel.” You could swear on a stack of Bibles that God promised you would stay in Israel and do some good, but for some reason, going to Egypt is unavoidable. This can be so disappointing and outright unjust, but you shouldn’t waste good Egypt time.

For a few years, Mary, Joseph, and Jesus lived in a foreign land, and they made sure Jesus stayed healthy and strong in his toddler years. They could still commune with God, and Jesus could spend his days hearing stories from scripture. There would be no wasted time as they waited on God, thriving in the land they had to stay in.

May you thrive in your “Egypt season” as much as your “Israel season.”

Figure it Out

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.”

Matthew 2:13-15

  1. Circle any words or phrases that are significant to you. What makes them so important?
  2. What are some justifications Mary and Joseph could have used to stay in Israel?
  3. If you were Mary’s best friend, what would you say to her to assure her God’s plan is not ruined?
  4. What do you believe God is doing in your journey when life takes an unfortunate detour?


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