We managed to escape Herod"s grasp.
When Joseph told me of the visit and our destination, had our house fallen, I would not have been more surprised. Egypt? My mind refused to accept that. I wanted to go home. I recalled a wonderful dream I"d often entertained.
Mother would hug us tightly, cry for happiness and kiss her Grandson. Father would hold me in his arms, then welcome Jesus and Joseph. Daniel would tease me and let me know he loved me without saying the words.
Leah would grab Jesus and refuse to let anyone else hold him.
Sarah and I would hug each other tightly, not letting go until other members of the family interrupted our homecoming. We would admire our children, gossip about members of the village, and stare at each other to make sure we were truly together again.
Those dreams shattered as rapidly and surely as the morning would arrive with us on the road to Egypt.
I watched from the bed silently as Joseph opened our door slightly. Most of the visitors for the night were settled, but a light shown from the dining area, so we knew Ruth and Matthew were awake.
Joseph proceeded downstairs and asked our friends to please come to our home as soon as possible.
During Joseph"s absence I began the task of deciding what to take and what to leave. The gifts from the Magi were carefully wrapped and placed on the dining table. The scrolls Mother wrote while we lived in Bethlehem must be taken. Essential clothing was the next task. Wine skins for water, a basket for food, drinking and eating utensils were almost last. Orange seeds went into the pocket of my robe. I would treasure them. They were a reason to struggle, if struggle I must, in order to get back home.
On top of everything, I placed Jesus" favorite toys.
I felt tears glittering as I looked around our home. This was the second one we had to leave. When we turned toward Bethlehem, we thought it would only be a short time before we returned home. Almost two years were gone.
“Please, God, be with us,” I prayed while I prepared bundles. Joseph retrieved our donkey from the cave where Jesus was born. He made trips up and down the stairs taking our possessions, then securing them onto the donkey. He then made a tiny saddle to hold Jesus.
Though Jesus was walking quite well, we knew He wouldn"t be able to walk far. We certainly could not carry him all the time, either. He had just grown too rapidly.
Joseph had barely finished tying the bundles to the donkey"s back and returned upstairs when Ruth and Matthew arrived, their faces red from the cold air.
“What"s happened?” Ruth asked, as they removed their outer robes.
“Please sit,” Joseph said, trying to mask the terror he felt, as I placed cups of wine on the table.
“Is everyone settled for the night?” I asked.
“Yes.” Matthew laughed. “If you could hear the snores coming from all around, you could understand.” He rubbed his hands together as though he was trying to warm them.
“We must leave before daybreak.” Joseph began. “The Three Men you sent to our door are Wise men who have traveled from countries far to the East, looking for a Baby.” Joseph began.
Matthew asked. “The three we rented the room you just completed?”
“Those are the ones,” Joseph answered. “Incidentally, they complimented you on your accommodations.” He smiled, remembering the compliment concerning the door.
“They must be very rich.” Matthew said. “They didn"t balk at the price I quoted for the entire group.” He sipped his wine, then asked. “Who are they? What did they want?”
Before Joseph could answer, Ruth asked. “What message did they bring that compels you to leave so abruptly?”
Ruth"s voice held the fear we all felt.
“Do you remember soon after the birth of Jesus when strange happenings occurred?” I asked.
She nodded. “The bright star and the Shepherds?”
“Yes. Many times since then I"ve tried to explain that Jesus was born to be the Savior of the world.”
“The one the Prophets spoke of in the Scriptures?”
“Yes,” I stated simply.
“Mary, I couldn"t believe a tiny baby was supposed to be King!” She objected. “I thought He should come in a blaze of glory and wipe all the wickedness from the earth.” She shoved tendrils of hair from her forehead, then picked up her cup.
“I know it"s difficult to believe, but God did send Him as a tiny Baby, born in Bethlehem.” I placed my hand over hers. “And you were the instrument God used to help His Son enter this world.”
“That"s what you meant that night when you said, „hurry and let this Child of Yours be born.” The pensive remark was one of final understanding.
I nodded.“Until tonight, we felt very safe, living here with you and Matthew. We thought no one would discover who He was.”
“When the Magi arrived,” Joseph said, “They told us Herod was looking for Jesus.”
The horrified “Oh, No!” was spoken by both at the same time.
“Yes. When they stopped in Jerusalem to ask where the Babe was, Herod told them to come back and inform him when they found Him. Herod wanted to worship Him, as well.”
A sarcastic, “I doubt that,” from Matthew said it all. We picked up our cups of wine and sipped.
“Anyway,” Joseph continued. “They told us they would go home another direction and not return to Jerusalem.
They believed, however, Herod would begin his search soon.”
“We lay down but were barely asleep when an angel told Joseph to take us to Egypt,” I remarked, hearing the forlorn sound of my voice.
We stared at each other and there is no way I can describe the looks on all our faces...fear, sadness, longing for what we had had and a tremendous amount of love.
We all left the table at the same time. Ruth and I met and hugged, tears flowing freely. Matthew and Joseph shook hands, then hugged, though men seldom hugged another man.
Ruth and Matthew moved toward Jesus and stood, looking as though the Baby they considered their grandchild was already out of their grasp. Matthew took Ruth"s hand and walked toward the door.
Ruth looked back. “I"ll fix food for the next few days. Take as much of everything as you can. You may need it.”
“We can"t take much,” I said, attempting to smile. Trying to assuage the misgivings I had, I was finding it difficult to hold my tears in check. “Joseph has already packed most of the necessities.”
“We"re planning to leave just before dawn so we can become part of a group, if possible. We"d travel at night but it"s too dangerous,” Joseph said.
“Please be careful,” Matthew entreated. “Incidentally, anything you can"t take Joseph, we"ll buy.”
“Matthew, you paid me for the time I worked and even furnished much of the materials for furniture, so please keep everything, with our blessings.” His laugh was pretty shaky. “Just have our room available when we return for a visit.”
“Whenever you come, it will be here for you...even if we have to kick someone out for the night.” Matthew"s jowls jiggled as he and Ruth threw robes over their shoulders and walked from our home.
We watched as they maneuvered down the steps, knowing we would miss them tremendously. The saddest truth; we didn"t know if we would ever see them again.
Joseph"s arm circled my waist as we looked around our home, tears flowing from my eyes and Joseph looking as though he"d like to cry, as well. It was the place we enjoyed talking, laughing, getting acquainted as husband and wife and watching Jesus as he played, learned, ate, then slept peacefully. We hated leaving the beds Joseph made, as well as the tables, benches and other pieces of furniture.
I hated leaving curtains I"d made for our windows, the cloths I sewed for decoration; even the ones I"d sewn to clean our home. Most of all, we both hated leaving Jesus" bed.
Visitors to the caravansary were still sleeping as Joseph and I finished our preparations.
The weather was cooler than when we went to bed. Now, the sun struggled through mist, diffusing the light, blurring outlines of the buildings, walls and gates of the Inn. Little evidence of trees or plants was visible.
Matthew and Ruth joined us. They insisted on paying for the furniture and furnishings, so we began our journey with an additional bit of money. Ruth gave us the food and Joseph attached it to the donkey as I held Jesus.
In the cold, early dawn, they both held the sleeping Child a moment, kissed Him, then reluctantly returned Him to me. We bade them a hurried, teary farewell and were on our way.
Before the sun squinted through the clouds, we joined a group of people. Being so early in the morning, few felt like talking.
The day was dreary, with intermittent drops of rain. The weather warmed a little later and we removed the outer robe from Jesus. The sun broke through the clouds triumphantly. It shone on all of us like a benevolent God.
We stopped for a moment under olive trees that reminded us of our journey to Jerusalem not quite two years before. We stood a moment, letting Jesus run as we ate bread and cheese, then drank clear, cool water from one of the skins Ruth had filled. She had also given us one with goat"s milk for Jesus, who promptly emptied the cup, giggled and ran around a tree, playing hide-and-seek.
I packed the remainder of our food and Joseph again attached it to the donkey. We tied Jesus into his tiny saddle. He smiled at people, waved, pretended he was riding a prancing horse. The game soon grew tiresome.
“Wanna" walk.” Jesus was as insistent as almost-two-year-olds could be in doing what He wanted to do when He wanted to do it. Also, He"d had four adults to spoil Him all His life.
Joseph put Him on the ground and he began running. People around us smiled as He grinned back at them and us. He turned, flew back to Joseph who caught Him in his arms, then swung Him around. Neither of us spoke as Joseph squeezed Him a little tighter than normal.
We encountered caravans going in both directions. I wished one had belonged to Jeremiah. Our eyes and ears were attuned to anything or anyone who might be looking for us. We closely watched for soldiers and leaders of any group we felt might be suspicious.
The sun dimmed soon after we stopped for our noon meal and a short rest. As we walked, thunder was heard in the distance. Everyone looked toward the sky, praying the rain would not reach us. Only a few drops occasionally hit our cowl-covered heads as the clouds veered farther toward the south.
Just before the pale sun set, we discovered a young Jewish couple and their very young child in our midst.
She must have been about fifteen...at least two years younger than I. Her wide, expressive dark blue eyes smiled down at her baby, then at me. She was a little taller than me, but also a little rounder. Quite a beautiful girl, I thought.
“Are you going to Nazareth?” I asked.
She didn"t answer, but her face became guarded, uncertain, as she glanced at me, then looked at her husband.
The young man, a little taller than she, could almost have been her brother, except his hair was black and hers was a light tan. He looked around, almost as though he were petrified with fear. “We"re on our way to Egypt,”
his voice so low, he was almost whispering.
“Any special reason?” Joseph asked, his voice quite reasonable.
The boy, because that was the way I thought of him, was appalled that we might not have information we needed. “Haven"t you heard what Herod is doing?”
“No.” Joseph said, holding onto the donkey"s head, as we walked together. “Nothing would surprise me, but just what is Herod doing now?”
The boy leaned closer to Joseph, and I barely heard him. “He"s having all the babies under two years old killed.”
Had there been an explosion, it could not have sounded any louder to me than those simple words.
“What? Why?” I interrupted. I couldn"t believe anyone could be that cruel. I held onto Jesus tightly as He tried to squirm from my arms.
The young man looked at Jesus. “How old is he?”
“Not quite two years.” Very slowly, Joseph answered, then asked. “Why is Herod doing this?”
“Some very rich merchants came to Jerusalem, I heard. They were looking for a special Baby. This Baby is supposed to be the Savior we"ve waited for all these hundreds of years.”
Joseph and I looked at each other as the young man took a deep breath and continued.
“When they asked questions about this Baby, Herod heard and sent for them. They told Herod a baby had been born in Bethlehem and they were searching for Him.” The young man looked around to be sure no one was listening. “When they left, Herod expected the men to return. Instead, he received a message from them this morning. He then sent his men into all the near-by provinces to look for the Child.”
I didn"t know how one could stand and talk with this young man with the noncommittal expression Joseph wore.
“They didn"t find Him?” I asked, rather timidly.
“No. When he received the message, Herod issued a new edict that said all Jewish babies under two years old were to be killed.”
People surrounding us as we walked didn"t notice my face had suddenly gone pale and lifeless. I picked up one foot, put it down and placed another in front, as I thought even the blood in my body had stopped moving. I"m not sure I breathed.
Deep inside I knew God would take care of His son, but for a few moments, I panicked. Herod really was looking for my Baby. He really was going to kill my Child. I took deep breaths as I clung to Jesus and looked at the hills surrounding us.
The sun glanced off glistening pockets of snow in the higher elevations. The rest of the rocks, trees, even bushes and grasses remained the same as when we approached. No leaves stirred as I gazed at the sameness...yet not the same...of everything. How could they appear such when my entire world had just exploded?
Finally, I got my emotions under control and released Jesus. He ran around me, clinging, peeking out one side, then the other, grinning at the young man"s wife. She clutched her baby tightly.
I asked. “Did your husband say you were going to Egypt?”
“Yes. Since Herod began his rule, large communities of Jews now live there. We intend to join them until we can return home.” She looked down at Jesus and smiled. “Your little boy is a sturdy little fellow.”
Jesus was standing near her, looking up at the baby. She stooped to show Jesus the child. He reached a pudgy finger and touched the soft skin of the sleeping baby. “Pwetty,” He said.
“Yes, he is Jesus, but don"t hurt him.” I cautioned.
“I not,” he stated simply as he touched the baby. “Soft, like lamb.”
The girl-mother smiled at Jesus. “Yes, he is.”
At that moment, the young man waved a farewell to Joseph. “Maybe you should consider going to Egypt, too.”
“Maybe we will,” Joseph said. “If we do, we"ll look for you.”
We exchanged names and watched as they walked away. Those two young people were gone, but there were groups of people who stayed together and ignored strangers such as we. As we walked, we moved away from the bulk of the people. Joseph let me rave at the injustice of the rulers of the world to get it out of my system.
When I stopped, he took a deep breath. “Feel better?”
I looked up at him and smiled sheepishly. “Yes. Thank you.”
“Maybe we should have gone with those people, Mary.”
“I wondered why we didn"t, but I didn"t want to say anything until I knew what your plans were.”
“Honestly, I don"t know why we didn"t, except something seemed to tell me we should be alone at the moment.” His voice trailed away, as though he weren"t sure if what we were doing was right or not. “I just felt we would be safer to go over the mountains instead of traveling south.”
“Then, that"s what we shall do.”
Shadows lengthened and the sun hid behind hills. Coolness was slowly returning but since we had warm clothing I wasn"t overly concerned. My arms tightened around Jesus as we trudged toward the mountains.
Thinking of the young people we met, a prophesy burst in my mind. It echoed, then re-echoed...like a drum beating a staccato rhythm.
“Jeremiah said, „A voice was heard in Ramah, wailing and loud lamentation, Rachel weeping for her children; she refused to be consoled, because they were no more.”
I shook off the prophesy, but not the feelings it evoked as I said, “Joseph, what will happen to John?”
“I don"t know. He"s older than Jesus. Maybe he was old enough to escape Herod"s edict.” We moved further without comment until he again spoke. “I"m sure Elizabeth and Zacharias had ample warning. They probably took him to the wilderness.” He stopped, shook pebbles from his sandals and continued. “Didn"t you tell me Elizabeth still had relatives among the wandering tribes?”
“I think that"s what Mother said. I pray it is so.” My thoughts returned to the prophecy. Jacob"s wife Rachel, who had died in childbirth and was buried near Bethlehem came to mind. She could have been the mother of any of these Jewish sons who, even now, were being killed.
My heart broke to think of the parents tonight and the next few weeks, who were or would be weeping for the slain children who would be no more. Slain, because they had the misfortune to be born less then two years before...and knowing the evilness of Herod, I"m sure his men would not stop if a child looked younger than his age.
My heart wept for these parents...and guilt flooded my being. I knew God would protect Jesus, but these other children were not under the same warranty. They would be killed. Mothers would cry out, fathers would rail against the leaders, others would escape.
And Jesus? I didn"t know where or how or what we would do, but I did know Jesus would be safe.
I put Jesus down and held His hand. He was ready to run down the road and would have if He were allowed His freedom. I grabbed at Jesus as He suddenly twisted from my grasp and ran.
“Here, Mary, you take the donkey, and let me carry Jesus for awhile.” I took the halter of the donkey and Joseph lifted Jesus to his shoulders.
“Go,” Jesus called, and grinned as he held on to His Father"s head.
We laughed up at him, took a deep breath and continued our journey.
As we walked, my thoughts accompanied me. My child would become a ruler. Looking at Him happily pretending His Father was a donkey, I wondered how I could ever give Him up.
In my heart, I knew He would be the kind of leader the world awaited. As the mother of this special child, it was impossible to believe He could be anything else.
I had no idea how or when God would place Him on the throne. I wondered if Jesus would have any trouble taking over the leadership of the world. Would He have to fight other kings or leaders? With what would He fight? Would there be bloodshed? Would armies fight each other just so He could set up a Kingdom? I couldn"t believe that.
God wouldn"t have sent His Son if he intended him to rule with armies of men draped with special clothing and with war weapons. All of a sudden, I really did wonder what kind of Kingdom God planned for His Son.
I was still selfish enough to want Him for myself. Just let Him stay a little boy for a while God, I prayed silently. Please keep Him safe.
As the day turned gray with evening shadows, we decided to sleep underneath the overhang of rocks. It was away from the small caravan who joined our group, yet near enough if we needed help we could call.
I laid out our pallets and Joseph poured water so we could wash some of the dust from our faces and hands. We ate from one of the baskets and then lay down on the rocky ground with Jesus between us. We were so tired, we immediately slept.