Into Egypt
Today I want to share with you our Sutherlun Six Advent tradition of unwrapping a Christmas children’s book each day of December until Christmas. They aren’t new books, but rather our 24 favorites from my (large) collection that I re-wrap each year. The practice has lapsed somewhat as my kids have gotten older, but we all still have our favorite books and fond memories of gathering together on the couch each night.
The book I’m going to read you tonight I chose because of the way it ties into today’s scripture reading. Chapters 3-13 in the book Exodus chronicle God’s deliverance of God’s people from slavery. It’s the story of them leaving Egypt — which took no small amount of effort on God’s part. So it’s interesting that, as recounted in Matthew 2, after the visit of the Magi, Joseph is warned in a dream to rescue Jesus by fleeing to Egypt. Matthew ties this into the prophecy of Hosea 11:1, where the Lord says, “Out of Egypt I have called my son.”
So, as a full-circle accompaniment of the biblical story of God’s people escaping Egypt, I invite you to enjoy this simple story of a God’s son taking refuge in Egypt.
A reading of Refuge by Anne Booth and Sam Usher.