WHEN the wise men were gone, God sent an angel to warn Joseph to take Jesus and Mary, his mother, and leave Bethlehem. He told him to take them to Egypt and stay there until he told them they might return. Why do you suppose God told Joseph to leave their home? He knew that Herod wanted to kill Jesus, and that it would be dangerous to stay there. If they went to Egypt they would be safe, for Herod had no power over Egypt. They would find friends there too, for a great many Jews were living in Egypt then.

Joseph loved God and believed him, so he proved that he loved and believed him by obeying at once. He did not wait until morning, but at once arose, got ready, and took Mary and Jesus and they started in the night for Egypt. They did not go to some other place instead. They went just when God told them to go, and went just where he told them to; and they were safe while they followed God’s directions.

Jesus was soon safe in Egypt. Herod did not know this, and was still making his plans to kill him. He was a very wicked, cruel man. He was wicked enough to kill two of his own sons, so you see he did not care much about killing a baby.

He did not know just how old Jesus was, but thought he could not be over two years old. He did not know where he lived, for the wise men did not go back to tell him. But he was bound to kill Jesus, so he told his cruel soldiers to go into every house in Bethlehem, even into the houses near Bethlehem, and kill every boy baby they could find two years old or less.

So they went around killing all the baby boys. They would go into a house, snatch the baby out of its crib, or out of its mother’s arms, and kill it right before her eyes. That was a sad time in Bethlehem; for many poor mothers were weeping for their children. It was very sad for the mothers, but the little boys were safe in heaven with God.

God was still watching over and taking care of his Son; so when at last Herod was dead, God again sent an angel to Joseph, telling him to take Jesus and Mary and go back to the land of Israel, or the land of the Jews. So Joseph again set out on a journey. But he heard that Herod’s son was king, and he was afraid to go back to Bethlehem, so he went to Nazareth.