Compare Pharaoh's decree in Exodus 1:22 to Herod's actions in Matthew 2:16. Setting the Scene • Centuries after Joseph, a new Egyptian king feared Israel’s growing numbers (Exodus 1:8–10). • More than a millennium later, a Judean king appointed by Rome feared the newborn “King of the Jews” (Matthew 2:2–3). • Both rulers chose the same brutal solution: kill the boys. Pharaoh’s Decree “Then Pharaoh commanded all his people: ‘Every son born to the Hebrews must be thrown into the Nile, but every daughter you may let live.’” (Exodus 1:22) Herod’s Atrocity “Then Herod, when he saw that he had been outwitted by the magi, was furious, and he gave orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years old and under, according to the time he had learned from the magi.” (Matthew 2:16) Key Parallels • Target: male infants—future deliverers. • Motive: political fear and preservation of power. • Method: state-sanctioned murder carried out by subordinates. • Outcome: Satan’s attempt to stop God’s redemptive plan fails (cf. Revelation 12:4–5). Prophetic Ties and Fulfillment • Moses spared → becomes deliverer from slavery (Exodus 3:10). • Jesus spared → becomes Savior from sin (Matthew 1:21). • “Out of Egypt I called My Son” (Hosea 11:1) fulfilled in Jesus’ flight to Egypt (Matthew 2:14–15), echoing Moses’ origins in Egypt. • Rachel’s weeping (Jeremiah 31:15) finds its immediate echo in Bethlehem’s sorrow (Matthew 2:18) and ultimate hope in the Messiah’s comfort (Jeremiah 31:16–17). Contrasts in God’s Rescue • Moses protected by faith-filled parents (Hebrews 11:23); Jesus protected through angelic warning to Joseph (Matthew 2:13). • Moses hidden in the very river meant for death; Jesus hidden in the very land of Egypt once hostile to Israel. • Deliverance of one nation versus deliverance offered to all nations (John 3:16; Revelation 5:9). Spiritual Insights • Human power fears the rise of God’s appointed deliverer; divine sovereignty overrides human plots (Psalm 2:1–4). • Repeated pattern: death decree → miraculous preservation → greater deliverance. God uses Satan’s attacks to highlight His saving work (Genesis 50:20). • Both events foreshadow the cross: an innocent male sacrificed under unjust rulers, yet through that suffering, many are saved (Isaiah 53:10–11; Acts 4:27–28). Application for Today • Trust God’s providence when evil seems to prevail; He is already preparing deliverance (Romans 8:28). • Value and protect life; every child may be part of God’s unfolding plan (Psalm 127:3). • Remember that Christ, the greater Moses, has already triumphed over every Pharaoh and Herod of this world (Colossians 2:15). |
    |