Matthew 2B. In our teaching last week, Matthew showed us the contrast between Herod s reaction to Jesus and the magi s reaction

Transcription

1 In ur teaching last week, Matthew shwed us the cntrast between Herd s reactin t Jesus and the magi s reactin Herd called himself the king f the Jews, yet he refused t yield his thrne t the true King While the Gentiles frm Babyln, Israel s enemy, traveled a lng distance t wrship the Jewish Messiah The ppsite reactins f Herd and the magi illustrate the Davidic and Abrahamic Cvenants wrking tgether Jesus is the King Gd prmised t bring frm David s family line And He is the Savir fr all natins Gd prmised t bring frm Abraham s family line Jesus is the Sn f David and the Sn f Abraham But ntice that in this case the fulfillment f these tw prmises lead t ppsite reactins Herd is rejecting Jesus while Gentiles are embracing Jesus That trend will cntinue thrughut Matthew s accunt, and we ll attend t it frm time t time Fr nw, let s return t chapter 2 fllwing the departure f the magi Matt. 2:13 Nw when they had gne, behld, an angel f the Lrd appeared t Jseph in a dream and said, Get up! Take the Child and His mther and flee t Egypt, and remain there until I tell yu; fr Herd is ging t search fr the Child t destry Him. Matt. 2:14 S Jseph gt up and tk the Child and His mther while it was still night, and left fr Egypt. Matt. 2:15 He remained there until the death f Herd. This was t fulfill what had been spken by the Lrd thrugh the prphet: Out f Egypt I called My Sn. The magi depart, and an angel makes an appearance t Jseph in a dream again This is the secnd time Jseph has received instructins frm an angel in a dream 2018 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

2 2! f! 17 The first time was when Jseph learned that Mary s stry abut being pregnant by the Hly Spirit was true This time the angel warns Jseph he must flee t Egypt t escape Herd Because Herd is ging t try t kill the baby Jesus The threat is s imminent that the angel tells Jseph t get up That is, t wake up and leave the huse that night withut waiting fr the mrning Herd s rampage was set t begin the next day S Jseph beys and wakes Mary, packs their things and heads ut the dr We dn t knw where they stpped in Egypt, but it s nly 60 miles t the brder They culd travel that far in abut 3-4 days If they went all the way t the capital f Egypt, Alexandria, it wuld mean a 500-mile jurney They prbably stayed there several mnths r lnger, until Herd died we re tld in v.15 Nw we understand why the Lrd directed the magi t lavish the baby Jesus with such valuable gifts The gifts that Mary and Jseph received were wrth many thusands f dllars And nw as they flee in the middle f the night, they re ging t need thse gifts t fund their travel and time in Egypt These items were mre prtable than cash and mre easily spent Small puches f gld cins r spices were easily carried and culd be traded anywhere S the Lrd in His svereignty ensured that the family wuld be equipped fr their flight And He als ensured that Egypt wuld be wiling t receive them Because at this time in histry, Rme had cnquered Egypt, s it was part f the Rman Empire 2018 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

3 3! f! 17 This allwed Jseph and Mary t travel there freely But the Egyptian prvince was nt under Herd s authrity, s he culd nt enfrce his rders in Egypt This made Egypt a safe haven fr anyne in Judea seeking t escape Herd s tyranny But even befre the Rmans came alng, Egypt had lng been a place f refugee fr thse in the land f Judea Back when Judea was called the land f Canaan, Abraham fled t Egypt t escape famine As did Jacb s family when Jseph ruled in Egypt As yu prbably remember, Jacb brught his family t Egypt because Jseph encuraged them t jin him t escape a cming famine The peple f Israel ended up spending several hundred years in Egypt And during that time, the peple f Israel were enslaved by a new Pharah wh despised Jews Their bndage eventually resulted in the Lrd send Mses t free Gd s peple during the Exdus The Exdus stry hlds a deeper cnnectin t the events we re seeing here Ntice in v.25 Matthew tells us that Jesus time spend sjurning with His parents in Egypt was a fulfillment f prphecy cncerning the Messiah Matthew qutes frm the prphet Hsea here s what Hsea wrte in cntext: Hs. 11:1 When Israel was a yuth I lved him, And ut f Egypt I called My sn. Hs. 11:2 The mre they called them, The mre they went frm them; They kept sacrificing t the Baals And burning incense t idls. Hs. 11:3 Yet it is I wh taught Ephraim t walk, I tk them in My arms; But they did nt knw that I healed them Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

4 4! f! 17 The cntext f Hsea tells us that the yuth and sn in that passage is referring t the entire natin f Israel Gd is calling the peple f Israel His sn Ntice in Hsea 11:2 Gd refers t this sn as they meaning Israel And remember earlier in Exdus Gd said this t Mses: Ex. 4:22 Then yu shall say t Pharah, Thus says the Lrd, Israel is My sn, My firstbrn. Ex. 4:23 S I said t yu, Let My sn g that he may serve Me ; but yu have refused t let him g. Behld, I will kill yur sn, yur firstbrn. S it s cmmn fr the Lrd t refer t His peple Israel as His sn And in Hsea, the Lrd says Israel His sn spent time in Egypt befre Gd called them ut, referring t the Exdus But if the prphet was writing abut Israel, why did Matthew interpret Hsea t be giving a prphecy abut Jesus? Matthew is using a methd f interpretatin cmmn amng Jewish rabbis In fact, rabbis recgnized fur methds f prperly interpreting scripture All fur methds are ways the Lrd expected us t understand His wrd Yet nly ne methd is apprpriate fr any given passage S the hard wrk is knwing which f the fur methds is the apprpriate was t understand a given scripture In this case, Matthew applies a methd f interpretatin the rabbis called remez in Hebrew, which means suggestin r picture This methd recgnizes that sme scripture is given t us as a picture f later things t cme In the case f Hsea 11:1, the prphet was describing Israel s Exdus in literal terms But he was als presenting Israel s departure frm Egypt as a picture f the Messiah s life 2018 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

5 5! f! 17 The Lrd created an intentinal cnnectin between that earlier event and the events f Jesus life And in this way, the Lrd can teach us smething abut Jesus frm what we knw abut the Exdus In this case the Lrd the picture is that f a sn f Gd cming ut f Egypt t enter int Israel The picture cnfirm that Jesus is the Sn f Gd Just as the Lrd brught His first-brn natin ut f Egypt, s the Lrd is telling Israel t expect His nly begtten Sn t cme int the land ut f Egypt The effect f this picture is t give us cnfirmatin that the Father called Jesus His Sn Nw bviusly, befre Matthew wrte His Gspel we prbably wuldn t have see this cnnectin Only after Jesus flight tk place culd smene put the tw tgether But that s hw scripture ften wrks nly after later things are fulfilled d earlier prphecies make sense That s hw Gd prefers t reveals Himself It s like a game f Jepardy The Lrd first gives us the answer t questin we never thught t answer And then later He gives us the questin and we suddenly see hw the tw will fit tgether And in ding s, we cme t recgnize that the earlier writing was inspired, fr hw else culd it have happened? Fr example, Hsea gave us the answer t a questin we didn t even knw t ask, which is hw des the Messiah enter the land? But later after Jesus s life plays ut, we can see that Jesus as the Sn f Gd repeated Israel s ftsteps as Hsea wrte Gd des this in His wrd s that as we make these cnnectins, we witness the wisdm and svereignty f Gd at wrk in the smallest f details 2018 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

6 6! f! 17 It s like Gd s calling card in His wrd, t shw us we can trust what we read in these pages As we mve thrugh Matthew I will cntinue t shw yu the varius ways the text f scripture may be interpreted prperly But even nw, I want t issue a warning abut interpreting scripture in general We dn t have the right t just make up meanings n ur wn That s nt prper interpretatin f the Bible There s a lt f that ging n tday in and arund the church, And it s created a lt f pr thelgy, t bad ideas abut Gd and His wrd Hnest and sincere effrts t uncver the meaning f Gd s wrd will always rely n certain and sensible rules f interpretatin S that we allw the text f scripture t guide us t the truth Because every passage f scripture has nly ne meaning, the meaning assigned t it by Gd Himself when He inspired the authr t write it Our jb in studying scripture t discver that assigned meaning, nt t invent ur wn meaning As Peter tld us in His wrd 2Pet. 1:20 But knw this first f all, that n prphecy f Scripture is a matter f ne s wn interpretatin, 2Pet. 1:21 fr n prphecy was ever made by an act f human will, but men mved by the Hly Spirit spke frm Gd. Peter says that n view f scripture is a matter f ur wn interpretatin If yu ve ever heard smene begin an interpretatin f a verse in the Bible by saying This verse means t me then yu ve watched smene vilating Peter s rule Because that s nt hw we uncver the truth f the Bible r the truth f anything 2018 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

7 7! f! 17 Have yu ever heard smene say What the math equatin 2+2 means t me is? Of curse nt, because there is nly ne right answer t the questin 2+2 and it desn t matter what we think it means It nly matter what it actually means That s the same apprach we need t take t the study f scripture We want t hnestly seek fr what it the text f scripture actually means what Gd meant when He wrte it We dn t want t rely n pinins r guesses, because the whle pint f studying the Bible is t arrive at THE truth In this case, Matthew tells us plainly hw t understand these passage, s we can rest in that understanding Let s g back t the study, and specifically let s lk at Herd s reactin t the birth f Jesus Matt. 2:16 Then when Herd saw that he had been tricked by the magi, he became very enraged, and sent and slew all the male children wh were in Bethlehem and all its vicinity, frm tw years ld and under, accrding t the time which he had determined frm the magi. Matt. 2:17 Then what had been spken thrugh Jeremiah the prphet was fulfilled: Matt. 2:18 A vice was heard in Ramah, Weeping and great murning, Rachel weeping fr her children; And she refused t be cmfrted, Because they were n mre. Earlier yu remember Herd had tld the magi t reprt back n the lcatin f the Messiah nce they fund him That was Herd s mistake He shuld have fllwed the magi instead Because the magi were warned by the Lrd t g hme anther way s as t avid Herd and keep Jesus lcatin a secret By the time Herd discvered that the magi had departed, it was t late t find them r learn Jesus where buts 2018 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

8 8! f! 17 Fr a nrmal, ratinale well-adjusted human being, that wuld be the end f it But Herd was anything but nrmal r ratinal By this pint Herd was already standing at death s dr, s he shuld have nthing t fear frm an infant king Based n histrical recrds, we assume he was suffering frm kidney disease and gangrene, which take a while t kill a persn S Herd knew he wuld die sn S it was unlikely that the new baby king wuld be ld enugh t take Herd s befre Herd died naturally And Herd culdn t have been wrried abut his sns inheriting the thrne because Herd had three f them killed S Herd culd have left well-enugh alne and never been threatened by this new king Nevertheless, his parania and eg led him t take drastic actin t prevent this yung king frm even having the chance Matthew says in arund 4 BC Herd rdered all male children 2 years r yunger in and arund Bethlehem t be killed S n Herd s rder, Rman sldiers marched the few miles frm the garrisn in Jerusalem t Bethlehem And they summarily executed every male baby they culd find Herd s stipulatin that children under tw shuld die gives us a hint as t what the magi tld Herd in answer t his questin abut the appearing f the star Ntice Matthew says Herd s rders were based n the magi s respnse The magi must have tld Herd the star appeared a year r mre earlier S t be sure he kills the Messiah, Herd rders that babies up t 24 mnths will die There must be a special place in Hell fr this man, sitting right next t Hitler and whever invented telemarketing 2018 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

9 9! f! 17 Matthew tells us that the deaths f s many children sets all f Bethlehem murning And nce again Matthew tells us this event is a fulfillment f an Old Testament prphecy In this case the prphecy cmes frm Jeremiah 31 Let s lk at Jeremiah in it s cntext Jer. 31:15 Thus says the Lrd, A vice is heard in Ramah, Lamentatin and bitter weeping. Rachel is weeping fr her children; She refuses t be cmfrted fr her children, Because they are n mre. Jer. 31:16 Thus says the Lrd, Restrain yur vice frm weeping And yur eyes frm tears; Fr yur wrk will be rewarded, declares the Lrd, And they will return frm the land f the enemy. Jer. 31:17 There is hpe fr yur future, declares the Lrd, And yur children will return t their wn territry. This passage is similar t the ne we studied in Hsea earlier Like Hsea, Jeremiah s passage is nt a prphecy abut the Messiah, nt specifically Jeremiah is giving Israel a prphecy cncerning the cming destructin f the city f Jerusalem The prphet was warning the peple f Israel that the Lrd was preparing send a great calamity upn the peple in the city It wuld be judgment against Israel fr their sins against Gd The Lrd fulfilled this prphecy in 605 BC when the army f Babyln invaded Judah The army devastated Judah and killed many Jewish sldiers The army tk many sns f Israel captive as slaves hauling them back t Babyln, many never t return 2018 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

10 10! f! 17 When that happened, the mthers f these sns were lamenting greatly, as yu wuld expect When Jeremiah write that Rachel was weeping, he uses the name f Jacb s favrite wife as a symbl fr all the mthers f Israel The mthers f Israel wuld weep ver their sns lst t captivity in Babyln And they culd nt be cmfrted Yet in the midst f their misery, the Lrd reassured the peple f Israel that their suffering was nt the end f the stry That event wuld actually give Israel cause fr hpe fr the future Babyln s destructin f Judah was part f a larger plan f Gd t purge idlatry ut f Israel T bring His peple back t Him in faith and humility And this was a very gd and very necessary thing in the lng run Yu see, in the years befre the Babylnian captivity, the peple f Israel had strayed very far frm the Lrd S far, in fact, that at times the peple had been led by evil kings t engage in demnic religius rituals At times the peple f Israel even engaged in human sacrifice, killing their infant children n altars praying t the satanic gd Baal S the Lrd send Babylnian int the land t cnquer His wn peple and haul them ff t Babyln in chains In ding s, the Lrd brke the peple s will t fllw after idls Never again in histry has Israel engaged in widespread idlatry, all because they suffered such great lss in Babyln S while it was a great hardship fr Jewish mthers t see their sns taken away int captivity, it was better than allwing the status qu t cntinue In fact, it s was a cruel irny that the mthers f Israel wept ver these sns given that s many mthers willingly sacrificed sns 2018 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

11 11! f 17! S nce mre, we find Matthew lking back n a mment in Israel s histry and interpreting it accrding t a certain apprach In this case, Matthew is using ne f the ther fur methds f Biblical interpretatin This methd is call drash in Hebrew, which means explanatin This methd recgnizes that there are certain principles fund ver and ver again in Gd s wrd When yu cme acrss passages that cnfrm t these principles, yu can draw cnnectins between them These cnnectins help us recgnize these thelgical principles and make better sense f them One f these imprtant Biblical principles is at wrk here in Matthew 2 And it s als at wrk in Jeremiah 31, which is why Matthew cnnects them Matthew wants us t learn smething abut the terrible circumstances in Bethlehem by cnsidering what happened earlier in Jeremiah S what is that principle that cnnects these tw mment? Well, it s best summarized by anther well-knwn verse fund in the bk f Rmans Rm. 8:28 And we knw that Gd causes all things t wrk tgether fr gd t thse wh lve Gd, t thse wh are called accrding t His purpse. In Rmans 8:28 Paul describes the same principle at wrk in Israel in Jeremiah s day and in Jesus day The principle hlds that ur wrld is full f sin and evil and hatred, s as a result bad things will happen cnstantly We see the prf f this n the news and in ur neighbrhd and in ur family and in ur wn lives Sin is everywhere and s it it s effects The Bible desn t prmise believers that bad things will never happen t us r that we will escape life n earth unscathed 2018 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

12 12! f! 17 On the cntrary, we will knw pain and suffering and suffering t After all, trying t live in this sinful wrld withut suffering its effects is like trying t swim in a pl withut getting wet It s nt pssible if yu get in that pl, then yu will be saturated like anyne else And if yu live in a sinful fallen wrld, yu re ging t get hurt But the Bible als prmises that even in the midst f these bad things, Gd is still n His thrne He is still in cntrl f everything and He has great and wnderful things planned fr His children And He is at wrk ensuring that all life s circumstances will cme tgether t prduce eternally gd utcmes fr His children But smetime the nly way t prduce the very gd things Gd has planned in eternity is by allwing bad things t happen t us here and nw S the principle tells us we can always trust the Lrd is wrking in the midst f ur trials and turmil and fear and trubles Thrughut scripture, the Lrd reminds us f this principle s we wn t frget it Even His design fr childbirth reminds us f this principle Gd instituted that a wman wuld endure pain in bringing frth life s He culd create a picture f what Jesus wuld d fr us A difficult painful event precedes the jy f new life Just as the Jesus pain death was necessary t make pssible the jy f ur new spiritual birth And ur lives n earth mirrr this principle t Our suffering nw is a result f sin, and Gd is nt the authr f sin But Gd uses the suffering we experience in life t prduce spiritual benefit 2018 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

13 13! f! 17 He s wrking t prepare us fr the mment when we enter the Kingdm in ur new eternal bdies at ur resurrectin By that mment, everything necessary t ensure we are ready fr eternity will have cme t pass Including the trials that Gd used t mld us int His image We grw spiritually much better during trials than during the gd times Our prayer life, ur study f Gd s wrd, ur willingness t repent and recncile with thers are all mre likely when we re facing difficulties In Jeremiah s time, Gd ultimately used the suffering f Israel s mther s ver having lst their sns t Babyln t prduce great repentance amng all the hearts f Israel And that repentance cured Israel frm ever chasing after idls again It restred the natin s desire fr their true Gd And it ensured that when Jesus came t bring them salvatin, Gd s peple were still there S Matthew qutes Jeremiah t remind us that the terrible events in Bethlehem must be understd accrding t this same principle We need t recgnize these circumstances were part f the lve f Gd at wrk fr the sake f Israel and the wrld But it will take spiritual maturity t understand it Which is why Gd s wrd reminds us f this principle ver and ver again and why Matthew qutes Jeremiah here t explain it The deaths f these children were a necessary evil t lead t the greatest gd the wrld has ever knwn After the children were killed in Bethlehem, Herd was satisfied with his atrcity and he lst interest in finding the Messiah As a result, Jesus was able t survive his wrath Because Jesus lived, He culd becme ur perfect sacrifice 2018 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

14 14! f! 17 Because Herd was satisfied, the salvatin Gd prmised fr all mankind was pssible Because Jesus was prtected while He was vulnerable t an evil ne, yu and I will have receive Christ s prtectin frm the Evil One Our Gd is a Gd f resurrectin He brings dead things back t life He takes great lss and turns it int great gain He wipes away tears, He takes away pain, He gives us relief frm sin He prmises t d things in the eternal realm, but nt necessarily here and nw And s Matthew qutes Jeremiah t remind us that the murning in Bethlehem will ne day give way t jy Just as the Lrd turned the weeping f Jewish mthers in Jeremiah s day int rejicing ver the natins repentance S t the Lrd is prepared t turn the weeping f Israel and the wrld ver evil and sin int rejicing fr ur salvatin Their pain in lsing a child is t be replaced with the eternal jy f knwing Jesus and His righteusness We ve all suffered in ne way r anther, and it s easy t get absrbed in it, especially when it seems never ending But never frget that yu have vercme this wrld by yur faith in Jesus Christ The enemy can shts at yu and smetimes they really strng But he can t tuch yur eternal future and he can t rb yu f yur peace befre Gd And ne day very sn, this wrld will pass away and at that pint, all the suffering f this wrld fade away with it That s what Matthew wants us t remember, that Gd wrks all things tgether fr gd fr thse wh lve Him, t thse called 2018 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

15 15! f! 17 Matt. 2:19 But when Herd died, behld, an angel f the Lrd appeared in a dream t Jseph in Egypt, and said, Matt. 2:20 Get up, take the Child and His mther, and g int the land f Israel; fr thse wh sught the Child s life are dead. Turning nce mre t the text, we re nt tld hw lng Jesus spends in Egypt, but it s prbably nt lnger than a year Because as Matthew tells us they waited until hearing that Herd was gne Since we knw Herd died in 4 BC and Jesus was prbably brn near the end f 6 BC And the magi arrive after Jesus was already abut a year ld S they prbably spent a year r less in Egypt Whatever wealth they received frm the magi was prbably just enugh t cver their expenses during that time Wuldn t it have ben an encuragement t this yung family as they watched Gd prvide in perfect prprtin t their needs? They didn t knw they were ging t Egypt, s they culdn t have planned t pay fr it, but Gd prvided valuable gifts And nce they were there, they had n idea hw lng they wuld stay, but the gifts Gd prvided lasted just lng enugh S that nce they returned hme, they were n lnger rich but they never lacked Jseph learns the news f Herd s death thrugh angel vine By nw Jseph is prbably becming accustmed t getting directins this way It must have becme bvius t these parents that raising the Savir f the wrld was nt smething that Gd was ging t leave t chance They were ging t get lts f helpful parenting advice The angel says get up and g t the land f Israel with the Child and Mary 2018 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

16 16! f! 17 S Jseph leaves as instructed We ll see what happens next when we return t the study next week But let s finish tnight taking ne mre lk at the cnnectin between this stry and the accunt f Exdus Because with the rest f the details f this stry, we re nw able t see that there is an even greater cnnectin between the tw stries This picture ges much deeper than Hsea s cnnectin t Egypt It turns ut many elements f the Exdus stry match up t the stry f Jesus life and wrk In fact, the key figure f the Exdus stry, Mses, is a picture in the Bible f Jesus Fr example, Mses riginally fled Egypt because the Pharah sught t kill him This is mirrred by Jesus fleeing the prmised land when Herd seeks t kill him Secndly in the Exdus accunt, the Pharah cmmanded that every male Hebrew child be killed by casting them int the Nile And here we see anther king, Herd, rdering every male Jewish child killed in Bethlehem Furthermre, Mses was rescued frm that death sentence by a mther taking him ut f the Nile While Jesus will be rescued by His mther taking acrss the Nile Bth stries turn n a similar event In Exdus we re tld the Pharah dies, and s it s time fr Mses t return t free His peple, Israel, frm bndage And in Matthew, Herd dies s Jesus family is tld it s time t return s Jesus can free His peple, Israel, frm bndage t sin In bth cases an angel f the Lrd said return because the ne seeking yur life has died 2018 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

17 17! f! 17 Mses returned with his family just as Jesus returned with his family We see the pint clearly, dn t we? The Lrd isn t just the authr f Scripture He s the authr f Histry Gd rchestrated bth the events f Mses life and f His wn Sn s life t bring abut exactly what He wanted t achieve And then He instructed men t write these things in ways that clearly shw us these cnnectins And He did all these things because He lves us and desn t want t remain ignrant f what He was ding fr ur sake Remember this as yu live ut the histry f yur life including the dark mments that feel like yur life is crashing dwn arund yu Everything yu re experiencing has already been designed by a Gd wh lves yu s much that He was willing t die fr yu And even if He hasn t revealed every detail f ur future, we can still be sure it has a gd ending Because we knw that ne day we leave all this mess behind and we receive ur reward in eternity with Christ And frm that vantage pint and nly frm that vantage pint we ll finally be able t appreciate why everything had t happen the way it did And we ll be praising Him fr it S let s begin that praise even nw fr Gd is gd 2018 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.