Out of Egypt I Have Called My Son
by Terry Wane Benton
There are different kinds of prophecies. Some are direct and some are indirect. Some are in the form of typology, and therefore, when Jesus fulfills them, it is not always obvious how it is a shadow, and then Jesus fills in the form. I want to observe some things about how Matthew sees Jesus as ”fulfilling” Hosea 11:1, even though it does not appear to be a direct prophecy about Jesus. So, Matthew 2:15 is where Matthew speaks of Jesus fulfilling the statement of Hosea 11:1: “Out of Egypt I have called My Son.”
Did Matthew Misuse a Verse from Hosea?
Critics tend to view things superficially and claim that Matthew is misusing Hosea 11:1, when the context is directly about Israel and God's deliverance from Egypt. The critic argues that New Testament writers attempted to “retrofit” Jesus onto Old Testament scriptures in dishonest ways. I want to challenge that argument. I am convinced that some critics do not wish to acknowledge the various ways Jesus fulfills both direct and indirect prophecies.
Hosea 11 Is About Two Sons, Each Called Out of Egypt
God called Israel out of Egypt because inside Israel was a greater Son destined to bless “all families of the earth” (Genesis 12:1-3; 22:18). If Israel fails, the “seed” inside Israel still has to succeed because God’s promise must succeed. So, there was Israel, and there was the coming “seed” of Judah embedded in that national son. One son fails in doing the will of God, but God won’t totally eliminate Israel because there is a successful Son that also comes out of Egypt.
The Failed Son
Israel is the son that “sacrificed to the Baals” (Hosea 11:2). They were a disappointment to God because, despite all the good things He did for them, they refused to repent and were bent on backsliding (Hosea 11:3-7). This is obviously not directly about Jesus. He did not need to repent and was never inclined to backslide from God.
God Does Not Want to Totally Destroy
How could God totally give them up when the blessing of the world was still embedded in them? He could not do to them as he had done to Admah and Zeboiim. God’s heart churned with sympathy for the world. If He totally destroyed all of Israel, how could the promised Messiah come and give a chance of salvation to those not so hardened in sin?
Hosea 11 Holds Out Hope in Judah
Even though the main part of Israel, Ephraim, encompassed God with lies and deceit, coming to the temple with hearts far from God, there was still hope in Judah, the tribe designated to bring us the Messiah (Hosea 11:12). So, Jesus is prophetically embedded in Judah. Judah was part of the Israel that God called out of Egypt. Why call the nation of Israel out of Egypt when you know they are going to fail to serve You? Because You know that the hope of the whole world is among the called out of Egypt, in that seed that would be called “Jesus” (savior). So, God was also thinking of the successful son, Jesus. He wasn’t thinking only of the failed son, Israel, but the embedded successful Son, Jesus.
But One More Comparison Needs Recognition
“By a prophet the Lord brought Israel out of Egypt” (Hosea 12:13). Moses, the type, brought the first son out of Egypt. But God had in mind bringing them out of Egypt in order to fulfill His promise to bring in Jesus, the real (antitype), who leads us all out of the antitype bondage, sin. Jesus could not remain in Egypt to fulfill His mission. The whole purpose of bringing out the son, Israel, was so that the Son, Jesus, could come into Mariah, Jerusalem, to be offered as the lamb of God (Genesis 22). He was called out of Egypt. He was not called to stay in Egypt to keep from dying. So, Jesus is the fulfillment of Hosea 11, the whole reason Israel was brought out of Egypt. What some meant for evil, God meant for good.
Jesus Had Also to Be Called Out of Egypt
Because God would not fail in “blessing all families of the earth” (Genesis 12, 22), the mission of Jesus was not to stay in Egypt for safety, but to come out of Egypt in due time to fulfill the great promises of God. Even further into the book of Hosea, God’s promise was revealed to heal the problem of backsliding Israel. Jesus was the healer of hearts and souls. Because God promised “I will heal their backsliding” (Hosea 14:4), Jesus had to come out of Egypt yet again. Matthew was not misusing Hosea 11:1. He was reminding us that the context was not just about immediate backsliding Israel, but about the Son who would come out of that son to heal and bless all families of the earth. God would not leave Him in Egypt this second time when the first time He was embedded in the reasons for bringing those stiff-necked people out of Egypt. It fulfills Hosea 11-14 to bring Jesus out of Egypt to be the Lamb of God who would die in Jerusalem for the sins of the whole world. Matthew knew this prophecy had to be fulfilled in Jesus, God’s Son, who was successful.
I hope you can see the wisdom in the use of Hosea 11:1. It was not a phony “retrofit” by Matthew, but an amazing eisegesis that brings out the whole of what is in this text. It is absolutely marvelous and amazing!
