1When Israel was a child, then I loved him, and called my son out of Egypt (Hosea 11:1).
13And when they were departed, behold, the angel of the Lord appeareth to Joseph in a dream, saying, Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and flee into Egypt, and be thou there until I bring thee word: for Herod will seek the young child to destroy him. 14When he arose, he took the young child and his mother by night, and departed into Egypt: 15And was there until the death of Herod: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, Out of Egypt have I called my son (Matthew 2:13-15).
Hosea was a prophet to the northern Kingdom of Israel over 700 years before Christ. In this prophecy, Hosea proclaims that the Messiah would be called out of Egypt. The unfortunate event that caused Joseph to flee with his family to Egypt was Herod’s decree to kill all male children under 2 years old that were born in Bethlehem. The Gospel of Matthew mentions the prophecy from Hosea for a reason and while scholars have disputed its’ importance and predictive value, personally, if Matthew thought this detail was important, so should we. I think the calling of Christ out of Egypt is one of those details that is provided to allow believers the ability to falsify claims of messianic imposters. It is like the photo on the photo ID, sure the name could be the same, the address could be similar, but the photo confirms the identity. Christ being called out of Egypt further confirms His identity as the one and only Messiah, the Son of God.
13And when they were departed, behold, the angel of the Lord appeareth to Joseph in a dream, saying, Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and flee into Egypt, and be thou there until I bring thee word: for Herod will seek the young child to destroy him. 14When he arose, he took the young child and his mother by night, and departed into Egypt: 15And was there until the death of Herod: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, Out of Egypt have I called my son (Matthew 2:13-15).
Hosea was a prophet to the northern Kingdom of Israel over 700 years before Christ. In this prophecy, Hosea proclaims that the Messiah would be called out of Egypt. The unfortunate event that caused Joseph to flee with his family to Egypt was Herod’s decree to kill all male children under 2 years old that were born in Bethlehem. The Gospel of Matthew mentions the prophecy from Hosea for a reason and while scholars have disputed its’ importance and predictive value, personally, if Matthew thought this detail was important, so should we. I think the calling of Christ out of Egypt is one of those details that is provided to allow believers the ability to falsify claims of messianic imposters. It is like the photo on the photo ID, sure the name could be the same, the address could be similar, but the photo confirms the identity. Christ being called out of Egypt further confirms His identity as the one and only Messiah, the Son of God.
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