The Crown and the Cross: The Life of Christ by Frank G. Slaughter Page B

understand the true identity of the child they had been instructed to call Jesus. But as the days passed uneventfully in Bethlehem and Joseph began to establish himself there as a carpenter and builder, the memory of those events had begun to grow faint. After Mary had accomplished the rite of purification in the temple and the child had been redeemed, their lives had once again taken up the even tenor to which they were accustomed. Bethlehem was a larger city than Nazareth and its proximity to Jerusalem, in addition to the fact that he had kinsfolk there, made it a more profitable place for Joseph to work, so he and Mary were soon busy in the quiet and pleasant life both preferred.
    The coming of the dark-skinned Magi from Arabia had sharply interrupted the routine of their lives, and the stories the men told of being guided by a star to the birthplace of the King of the Jews had been disturbing. Even the precious gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh showered upon the baby by the visitors were out of place in the humble home of Joseph and Mary, and they were afraid that once the wise men were gone, an envious neighbor might report them to Herod’s police on a charge of having stolen the treasures which were so obviously beyond their meager means.
    Nor did their conversation with the Magi ease the minds of Joseph and Mary. The visitors from Arabia had not been deceived by Herod’s pretext of wanting to locate the baby in order to worship Him. They strongly warned Joseph against the king and even left for their own country by a route which did not take them back to Jerusalem.
    Thus, at a time when they were just becoming pleasantly situated in Bethlehem, Joseph and Mary faced the urgent necessity of fleeing in order to save Jesus from Herod. The strange visit of the Magi and the lavish gifts the men from the East had brought, to say nothing of the story of how they had been guided on the long journey westward from Arabia, had caused considerable talk in Bethlehem. And with the town almost in the shadow of the grim castle called the Herodeion, word might spread to Herod almost any day.
    Joseph’s first impulse was to return to Nazareth, but Herod ruled there too, and if any more events like those which had taken place since the birth of Jesus occurred, the king’s attention must certainly be drawn to them, even in Galilee. The Samaritan country north of Jerusalem was likewise in Herod’s territory; besides, they could hope for no refuge among the Samaritans, who hated the Jews as intensely as the Jews hated them. Only one route of flight seemed at all safe, that southward by way of Hebron into Egypt, the route Abraham had taken more than two thousand years before when famine had driven him from Canaan. But that meant going into an alien land with all the hardships and uncertainty such a journey entailed.
    Joseph tried to hide his troubled thoughts from Mary as he finished his chores and lay down to sleep. Busy caring for the child and still excited over the homage of the Magi and the precious gifts brought to Jesus, Mary did not fully realize the extent of the danger that faced them. Besides, women were accustomed to leaving such questions and decisions to the men of the family.
    For a while Joseph could not sleep. His mind surveyed again and again the possibilities that lay before them, but could find nothing reassuring in any course they might follow. Finally he slept from sheer weariness and almost immediately began to dream. In his dream he heard once again the voice of the angel who had spoken to him at the time when he was considering putting Mary away with a letter of divorcement after learning that she was already with child. And as on that other occasion, the angelic voice resolved his uncertainty.
    “Arise, take the young Child and His mother, flee to Egypt,” the angel directed. “And stay there until I bring you word; for Herod will seek the young Child to destroy Him.”
    Awakening, Joseph did not hesitate