Israel when Christ was horn. But as the word ** prophet" does not necessarily imply, in the New Testament, the power of fore- telling things to oome, so also it may he with die word ** pro- phetess."
[Tribe ofAser.'] This is remarkahle, when we rememher that Asher was one of the ten trihes, who were carried into captivity, and never returned. We must conclude that a scattered rem- nant of them were, in some way, mixed up with Judah and Benjamin, and with them returned from Bahylon after the captivity.
58. — [Spake of Him,,, to all, So."] It is worthy of remark, that this presentation of our Lord iu the temple, appears to have heen the primary fulfilment of the prophecy of malachi iii. 1, *' The Lora shall suddenly come to his temple." It was indeed a sudden unostentatious coming. The only witnesses, appa- rently, were an old man and an old woman, — and the only attendants a poor woman and her equally poor hushand, — and the form in which the Lord appeared was as a little iufant in arms ! How little we should have expected this ! How many prophecies may he fulfilling around us at this very time ! God s ways are truly not as our ways.
39. — [Returned into OaliJ^,,, to,,, Nazareth.] Two important in- cidents in our Lord's history come in here, which St. Luke passes over, not necessarily hecause he was ignorant of them, out simply hecause he was not inspired to write of them. Those incidents are the visit of the wise men from the East, and the flight into Egypt. Joseph and Mary appear to have returned to Bethlehem after the presentation in the temple, though it is quite possihle that they may have gone to Nazareth for a short time. They, prohahly, returned to Bethlehem under a sense of duty, as if the Messiali ought to dwell in the place where it was proj)hecied He should he horn. There at Bethle- hem, they were visited hy the wise men from the East. From thence, heing supplied by their gifts with the means of journey- ing, they fled into Egypt, to escape the anger of Herod. From Egypt, after the death of Herod, they returned to Nazareth.
There are doubtless other views propounded on this somewhat difficult subject. The one above stated appears to be by far the most reasonable, and to involve the fewest difliculties.
If Mary and Joseph had remained at Bethlehem till the visit of the wise men, ana after their visit had gone up to Jerusalem, they would have been deliberately plunging into danger, by going to the place where Herod was.
If the presentation in the temple did not take place till after the visit of the wise meu, and the reception of their gifts, it does not seem likely that Mary's oflering would only have been a pair of pigeons.
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