21 So Joseph got up, took the Child and His mother, and came into the land of Israel. 22 But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning over Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. Then after being warned by God in a dream, he left for the regions of Galilee, 23 and came and lived in a city called Nazareth. This was to fulfill what was spoken through the prophets: “He shall be called a Nazarene.”

Following God’s leading is sometimes messy—things don’t always work out the way popular preachers sometimes proclaim. The sequence in the Lord’s guidance of Joseph included the following: a God-ordained “unwanted” pregnancy, a nocturnal warning of the threat upon the Child’s life, divine instructions to flee for his life and that of his family, the uncomfortable culture shock of living in Egypt, and a second God-inspired dream directing him to return to Israel. The last seemed good news, the one who had threatened the Child’s life was now dead!

Indeed, relief of intense longing for their home country had finally come, so Joseph, Mary and the Child began their return. Quite a bit had happened in about two years (give or take—in consideration of the order by Herod to kill all children up to two years old, the rough date of Christ’s birth approximated as between 7 and 5 B.C., and Herod’s death between March 12 – April 11, 4 B.C.)

At this junction, a seemingly great story of God’s faithfulness and protection took another ominous turn. On the trip home, they heard rumors that Archelaus, son and successor of Herod, was now in power. The assumption of “like father, like son” is the default judgment until otherwise demonstrated. This would be enough to justifiably frighten any family man. It is one thing to risk one’s own life in a defiant show of bravery, but entirely different when such actions endanger loved ones.

Despite God’s revelation in Egypt, the Lord gives him further clarification on his return to the home land. In a third supernatural communiqué, Joseph was directed to adjust his itinerary with a new destination in view. Rather than return to Judea (where they last resided in Bethlehem), they made their way to Galilee, to Mary’s (and presumably Joseph’s) original home town.

Lord, help me follow You faithfully even when Your guidance seems confusing. Direct each step of the way, even when I don’t always perceive the final picture. “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.” (Ps 119:105)