Matthew 2: Jerusalem as Egypt – Part One

The “Exodus” sequence in Matthew’s Gospel is a story of rivalry between two royal sons, and it all takes place upon a cruciform stage.

The Promises to Abraham

The composition of all Scripture was governed by a consistent set of architectural principles. When the best expositors flounder, it is because they regard literary structure as merely ornamental, failing to realize that it serves a crucial function: it is the label on the tin. Without reading that label, making sense of the contents and their arrangement is usually difficult and sometimes impossible.

In the case of Matthew’s Gospel, analysis of his literary artistry explains not only why he chose to include certain events and to omit others, it also explains his habit of quoting the Old Testament (or not quoting it) in a manner that makes theological boffins’ heads explode.

As always, our first task is the identification of the literary position of the pericope within the structure of the complete work. Matthew 1 is the “Genesis” step in the initial heptamerous cycle of this Gospel, and Matthew 2 is the “Exodus” step.

Matthew 1-9: TRANSCENDENCE

The narrative structure of this second chapter is fivefold, alluding to the books of Moses (the Pentateuch) and the fivefold covenant pattern. The geography of the sequence is also chiastic, alluding to the fulfillment of the “womb and land” promises to Abraham but adding (in symbol) the third of the promises, the blessing to the nations.

The Tabernacle of Moses

In its overall structure, the architecture of the chapter is “Tabernacle-shaped”, being comprised of five tiers that work from heaven above, to the land beneath, to the water under the land (Exodus 20:4; Philippians 2:10; Revelation 5:13). Being “Tabernacle-shaped,” the construct is also cruciform. Being cruciform, it is also humaniform, and you might notice that Herod’s massacre of the infants corresponds to the “belly” or genitals. Likewise, this step in the testing of Adam related to the promises concerning a fruitful land and a fruitful womb, and Satan’s desire to “cut off” the true heir of the world by forcing God’s hand in judgment. The “Atonement” here is ironic, since, unlike Phinehas (the son of Aaron who inherited the High Priesthood) who put a spear through the bellies of idolaters/adulterers (Numbers 25:7), Herod the Great’s bloodthirsty solution was like that of Pharaoh—an act of self-emasculation, and ultimately an act of self-immolation. Infanticide is a projected eunuchry, and those who boasted in their circumcision would soon be entirely cut off from history (Galatians 5:12). This act would eventually lead to the annihilation of the Herodian kingdom at the hand of Yahweh.

Heaven above The Most Holy Place – The wise men and the star (Creation)

The firmament The Veil – The discovery and concealment of the Christ (Division)

The firstfruits The Most Holy Place – Rivalry between king and priest-king for succession (Ascension – Testing – Maturity)

The land The Bronze Laver and Bronze Altar – Slaughter of the innocents (Conquest)

The waters The Tents of Israel – Mediators for the nations (Glorification)

The point of the entire sequence is that, thanks to the perennial habit of men to grasp dominion on earth without prior submission to heaven, “Jerusalem below” was once again in bondage with her children.

Now Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia; she corresponds to the present Jerusalem, for she is in slavery with her children. But the Jerusalem above is free, and she is our mother. For it is written, “Rejoice, O barren one who does not bear; break forth and cry aloud, you who are not in labor! For the children of the desolate one will be more than those of the one who has a husband.” (Galatians 4:25-27)

Not only that, but the fact that the Gospels were the first written revelation from God for four centuries—corresponding to Israel’s time in Egypt—would not have escaped Matthew’s audience.³For discussion on the New Testament as a “sequel,” see A Universe Less Expanded.

Analysis

Cycle One: Transcendence

The first cycle turns the Exodus on its head, with the antagonist being a king of the Jews and the “court magicians” serving God rather than “Pharaoh.” Matthew also uses the standard biblical literary heptamerous pattern to highlight some other brutal ironies.

Creation – Genesis: Light amidst the Darkness

• Immediately, Matthew alludes to the Passover, with the birth of Christ placed in line 2.
• The trifold Ethics section includes three names, and their meanings are significant. Bethlehem, as the “house of bread,” not only corresponds to the feast of Firstfruits and the Table in the Tabernacle, but also alludes to the barrenness in land and womb at the beginning of the book of Ruth. The fruitfulness promised to Abraham was recovered through the faithfulness of Boaz and the inclusion of the Gentile woman Ruth, who not only desired to join the people of the covenant, but was also included by Matthew in the genealogy of Jesus in chapter 1.
• The name Judah, as the “praised one,” is located in the Kingdom line as we might expect, but Herod the Great is the “hero/warrior” at Trumpets. This perhaps hints at his penchant for hunting, like Nimrod and Esau. Although he sat on the throne of Israel, like Esau his father he was a “king like the Gentiles” at heart, a “self-anointed” judge and self-styled champion of the Jews. Step 5 in the pattern also concerns the “plunder and plagues” that follow obedience or disobedience to the Law of God, so the placement perhaps is another allusion to Pharaoh, a king who was just as cunning a statesman, just as glorious a builder, and just as ruthless a warrior.
• The placement of “king” in line 6 alludes to the sin of Adam. After Pentecost, the apostles saw the Herods as being “enthroned in the temple of God” (2 Thessalonians 2:3-4).⁴For more discussion, see Altar of the Abyss. This being the “Ark” stanza of the first cycle points to the claims to “transcendence” of this line of thieves and murderers.
• Aptly, the final step of this heptamerous stanza is missing. Despite being the king of Canaan, wicked Herod would not enter into God’s Sabbath rest. This step also corresponds to the Shekinah of the Tabernacle. This was a throne of darkness rather than light. In sacrificial terms, it corresponds to Representation, but unlike David and Solomon, the Herods did not represent God. The festal correspondent is the Feast of Booths, a union of faithful Jews and Gentiles in a celebration at the final harvest of the year. Matthew leaves this place vacant that it might be filled by the true king at the end of this cycle, and again at the end of the entire chapter.

Division – Exodus: Delegation of New Hierarchy

• Stanza 2 relates to the Tabernacle architecture. The entry to the Garden of Eden, the Tabernacle of Moses, and the Temple of Solomon, was on the eastern side. The Shemite sons of Joktan traveled to the east in their compromise with the Babel builders (Genesis 10:29-11:2.⁵Note that the ESV translation is misleading. Consult the KJV.). “Babel” means “gate of God.” Joktan was a son of Heber (the origin of the name “Hebrew”) so the inference here is that due to the failure of Israel’s king to study and obey the Word of God (Deuteronomy 17:18-20; Isaiah 28:10), God would speak to Israel using people of another tongue (Isaiah 28:11; Jeremiah 5:15; Acts 10:46; 1 Corinthians 14:20-22). This is the context for the condemnation of Jerusalem as not only Sodom and Egypt, but also as spiritual Babylon. Their journey to the holy city culminates in an “ascension” like the pilgrimage of the worshipers in the Psalms of Ascent (120-134). Once again, Gentile believers were putting the sons of Israel to shame. And the Lord faithfully directed them to the true “door,” the only “gate” (John 10:7, 9).
• What was the source of the faith of these wise men? The logical answer would be the ministry of the prophet Daniel, taken captive by King Nebuchadnezzar, who was made the ruler of the wise men in the royal court. Daniel and these magi thus serve as bookends to the “latter days” of Israel. Their coming to worship was a sign of the end of the old order.⁶For more discussion, see Babylonian Bookends: The Offspring of Daniel.

Ascension – Leviticus: A Melchizedekian Priesthood

• The center of the matrix pattern is home to the heavenly lights, to the Lampstand in the Tabernacle, and to the kings of the earth. Here, however, the star is place at Ascension to denote that Jesus was the first of many Abrahamic kingly “stars” (Genesis 15:5; Daniel 12:3; Philippians 2:14-15)
• The east is placed at Pentecost perhaps to denote once again the link with Babel and the confusion of tongues. The multiplication of languages would remain, but the nations would gradually be united in a single confession (that is the meaning of “lip” in Genesis 11:1), that is, the name of Jesus.
• The placement of their worship in the Levitical stanza relates to the imminent dissolution of the Levitical priesthood. The order of Jesus would be Melchizedekian, that is, one of all nations rather than only a single nation. Like the star, this shift would be from “head” (one) to “body” (many) via the refining fire of the Spirit.⁷See The Forbidden Feast.

Testing – Numbers: The Death of Old Israel

• Trouble and trembling often appear in the Testing stanza. The three Ethics steps speak of the hearing of the Law (Priesthood), the opening of the Law (Kingdom), and the receiving of the Law (Prophecy). Herod has heard, but rather than submitting to it, he doubles down as Adam did and becomes a serpent.
• Notice that the head and body in this passage is Herod and Jerusalem, corresponding to Adam (who was created) and Eve (who was constructed). The tower and city of Babel share the same symbolic meaning: cultus and culture.
• This stanza corresponds to the book of Numbers, during which old “Egyptian” Israel was condemned to die in the wilderness after their idolatry and adultery. Revelation describes this particular “Adam/Edom” and “Eve” as a false prophet (like Balaam) and a harlot (unbelieving Israel), now fully matured as institutions rather than individuals.

Maturity – Deuteronomy: Mustering the Court Prophets

• In this “Trumpets/resurrection” stanza, like Saul, Herod summons “the dead” via the “sorcerers of Jerusalem (Revelation 9:21). These were the wicked “magicians” who would withstand the New Covenant prophets of God (2 Timothy 3:8). Like Samuel, they simply repeat what the king should have heard before, but now it will bring even greater condemnation. What must also be noted is another instance of the Jews knowing and preserving the Law and the histories, even when it condemned them. The Church very often suffers from the same obtuseness, leaving a chasm between word and deed.
• Deuteronomy was the “second witness” of the Law, and Herod desired a testimony from both the Jews and the Gentiles, a corroborated witness — two silver trumpets. The irony is that the king was just like Haman in the book of Esther (also descended from Esau) who, despite his worldly cunning and desire for exaltation, did not have the gift of interpretation by the Spirit.
• It seems that this stanza runs the covenant pattern forwards but the festal pattern backwards. This has been observed in other places, and usually in the Trumpets stanza. If that is the case here, the point is that Herod decreases while Christ increases. Even if not, the symmetry puts at enmity the chief priests (line 2) and the Christ (line 6).

Conquest – Joshua: The Abrahamic Promise Fulfilled

• The positions of Bethlehem and Judea match those in stanza one.
• It seems that the wise men had the prophecy of Balaam concerning the star of Jacob (referring to the kings of Israel, and ultimately to the Christ, Numbers 24:15-25), but not the prophecy of Micah which is paraphrased here.

Glorification – Judges: The True Warrior-King

• • The prophecy of Micah (Micah 5:1-5) calls those of Bethlehem to be courageous since, despite their relative barrenness as a tribe, not only was Israel’s greatest past king born among them (Ruth 4:11, 17; 1 Samuel 16:1), but Israel’s greatest future king would also be born among them. “By no means least” refers to the kind of humility that natural circumstances can bring that leads to later exaltation. That is the biblical pattern, and it is also found in Isaiah 54:1 (the text cited by Paul in the Galatians passage above), where the childless, abandoned woman is made more fruitful than the one who is married. That is the story of “the Woman” throughout the Bible, since Israel, beginning with Abram and Sarai, would bear the Adamic curse upon the land and womb on behalf of all nations. This humbling via patient waiting upon God is also the foundation for the Beatitudes (Matthew 5:1-12). The text in Micah (and in Ruth 4:11) says Bethlehem Ephratah, ephratah meaning “fruitful.” This explains why Matthew consistently places Bethlehem at Firstfruits in stanzas 1 and 6. Here, however, the “house of priestly bread,” made fruitful by the faith of kingly Boaz, is the source of abundance in line 1.
  • Lines 5 and 6 presents the Messiah as the true warrior, a priest-king, or “lamb-lion” (Revelation 5:5-6). Moses and David learned the nature of godly rule through serving as shepherds. This qualified them as priest-kings, those who submitted to heaven and exercised justice and mercy on the earth. In contrast, the rulers of Jerusalem were wolves in sheep’s clothing. Revelation describes the final form of their rebellion against the Church as a dragon with lamb’s horns.

And one of the elders said to me, “Weep no more; behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered, so that he can open the scroll and its seven seals.” And between the throne and the four living creatures and among the elders I saw a Lamb standing, as though it had been slain, with seven horns and with seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth. (Revelation 5:5-6)

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