And now we will look into the story of the Magi from the East
Mattithyahu (Matt) 2:1, 2 And Yahusha having been born in Beyth Lehem of Yahudah in the days of Herod the sovereign, see, Magi from the East came to Yarushalayim (Jerusalem) saying, “Where is He who has been born Sovereign of the Yahudim? For we saw His star in the East and have come to do reverence to Him”.
3 – 5 And Herod the sovereign, having heard, was troubled, and all Yarushalayim with him. And having gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he asked them where the Messiah was to be born. And they said to him, “In Beyth Lehem of Yahudah, for thus it has been written by the prophet,
6 ‘But you, Beyth Lehem, in the land of Yahudah, you are by no means least among the rulers of Yahudah, for out of you shall come a Ruler who shall shepherd My people Yisra’el’.” (The chief priests and scribes were quoting Micah 5: 2)
7, 8 Then Herod, having called the Magi secretly, learned exactly from them what time the star appeared. And having sent them to Beyth Lehem, he said, “Go and search diligently for the Child, and when you have found Him bring back word to me so that I too might go and do reverence to Him”. (Does that sound as creepy and phony to you as it does to me?)
9 – 12 And having heard the sovereign, they went, And see, the star which they had seen in the East went before them, until it came and stood over where the Child was. And seeing the star, they rejoiced with exceedingly great joy. And coming into the house, they saw the Child with Miryam His mother, and fell down and did reverence to Him, and opening their treasures, they presented to Him gifts of gold, and frankincense, and myrrh. And having been warned in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed for their own country by another way.
13 – 15 And when they had left, see, a messenger of Yahuah appeared to Yoseph in a dream, saying, “Arise, take the Child and His mother and flee to Mitsrayim (Egypt) and remain there until I bring you word, for Herod is about to seek the Child to destroy Him”. And rising up, he took the Child and His mother by night and departed for Mitsrayim and remained there until the death of Herod, to fill what was spoken by Yahuah, through the prophet, saying, “Out of Mitsrayim I have called My Son”.
16 – 18 Then Herod, having seen that he was fooled by the Magi, was greatly enraged, and he sent forth and slew all the male children in Beyth Lehem and in all its borders, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had exactly learnt from the Magi. Then was filled what was spoken by Yirmeyahu the prophet, saying, “A voice was heard in Ramah, wailing and weeping, and great mourning – Rachel weeping for her children, refusing to be comforted, because they were no more”. (Yirmeyahu 31: 15)
19, 20 And Herod having died, (Acts 12: 21) see, a messenger of Yahuah appeared in a dream to Yoseph in Mitsrayim, saying, “Arise, and take the Child and His mother, and go into the land of Yisar’el, for those seeking the life of the Child are dead”.
21 – 23 And rising up, he took the Child and His mother, and came into the land of Yisra’el. But hearing that Archelaos was reigning over Yahudah instead of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. And having been warned in a dream, he departed to the parts of Galil, and came and dwelt in a city called Nazareth – thus to fill what was spoken by the prophets, “He shall be called a Natseriym”.
The Magi from the East were educated men who were well versed in the study of the heavens. They saw the star arising in a certain constellation which indicated to them that a King whose birth had been prophesied had been born to a virgin in a far off land, whereupon they set out to follow that star, carrying their gifts. There would have been an entourage of many servants and guards as they were men of note and position taking the treasure laid up for the King whose birth, they believed, had taken place. Their progress would of necessity be slow, at the pace of a camel train, so would have taken quite a long time. At least a years journey.
They followed the star which eventually led them to the house where the child Yahusha was dwelling with Yoseph and Miryam. They had first paid their respects to Herod as they were strangers in his country, and he asked them to come back and report to him if they found the child born to be King. They gave the gifts to Yoseph and Miryam who would that night be told in a dream to rise up and flee with the young child into Mitsrayim (Egypt). This unexpected bounty would provide sustenance for the two years that they stayed in Mitsrayim, only returning to Yisra’el when an angel told them it was safe to return as Herod had died.
When the Magi did not go back and report the child’s whereabouts to Herod he sent out his soldiers with orders to kill all male children under the age of two. Unimaginable horror! It was the son of this butcher who sought to kill Yahusha when He was an adult so many years later and also had Yochannon (John) beheaded. Yochanon escaped being slain with the other little boys as a child because his mother had fled with him into the hills and his father Zecharyahu the priest was murdered when he refused to divulge the whereabouts of his son, along with seventy of his brother priests who stood with him against Herod
