Matthew 2:16 says, Then Herod, when he saw that he was mocked of the wise men, was exceeding wroth, and sent forth, and slew all the children that were in Bethlehem, and in all the coasts thereof, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had diligently inquired of the wise men.  Herod felt the wise men had mocked him.  He had lied to them about his reason for wanting to know where Jesus was, yet he felt that they mocked him when they did not obey his order.  Those in power often feel that everyone should do exactly as they say, and if they don't, they will often take action against them or what they have said.  Herod ordered that all the children under two years old, in Bethlehem and the surrounding areas be killed.  This was based on the time that Herod had diligently gotten from the wise men.  Herod could have just gone back two years to be certain, or the wise men may have told him it had been two years.  We simply must not insist that tradition is more important than what the Bible actually tells us.  Verse seventeen states, Then was fulfilled that which was spoken by Jeremy the prophet, saying,   This was the fulfillment of another prophecy about Jesus.  Verse eighteen says, In Rama was there a voice heard, lamentation, and weeping, and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children, and would not be comforted, because they are not.  It is hard to imagine the grief of all the parents because of the actions of Herod.  Again, I do not believe that this was something that God forced Herod to do, but it was simply something that God knew he would do.  If God's will were to be forced on people, then all would have been saved, even without the necessity of the death of Jesus on the cross.  Verse nineteen states, But when Herod was dead, behold, an angel of the Lord appeareth in a dream to Joseph in Egypt,  At the death of Herod, an angel once more appeared to Joseph in a dream.  We must assume that Joseph was attuned to listening for God to speak to him.  If we are not personally involved in a relationship with God, we may miss it when He speaks to us.  Verse twenty states, Saying, Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and go into the land of Israel: for they are dead which sought the young child’s life.  Joseph was instructed to take Mary and the young child back to Israel because the danger had passed.  We are not told how long they were in Egypt, nor what they did while they were there.  We can be sure that God provided for them, just as He will for us today if we follow His leadership.  Verse twenty-one says, And he arose, and took the young child and his mother, and came into the land of Israel.  Joseph didn't hesitate to follow God's instructions, and neither should we.  Verse twenty-two says, But when he heard that Archelaus did reign in Judaea in the place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go thither: notwithstanding, being warned of God in a dream, he turned aside into the parts of Galilee:  When Joseph returned to Israel, he heard that Herod's son, Archelaus was in power, and he was afraid to go on, but God warned him to go to Galilee instead.  As long as Joseph recognized God's leadership, he was never put in danger because he had a particular task to preform, and that was bringing up Jesus.  I don't believe that we can say that following God will never place us in physical danger, but it will certainly never place us in spiritual danger, which is what really matters.  Verse twenty-two says, And he came and dwelt in a city called Nazareth: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophets, He shall be called a Nazarene.  Joseph went to Nazareth, which once more fulfilled a prophecy.  I believe that we can say that God's word is always true, and that what He says will happen will happen.