At the time that Jesus was born, the king of Jerusalem was named Herod. There were wise
men that followed a star to Jerusalem and asked Herod where the baby was that
was born the King of the people of Israel. They wanted to go and worship him.
This bothered Herod because he didn't want anyone else to be king. He called all
his people together and asked where the child was. They told him that the
Prophet Micah had written that the Savior would be born in Bethlehem. So, Herod
sent the wise men to Bethlehem and said, go find the young child and when you
have found him, come back and tell me so I can worship Him too. They followed
the star again and it lead them until it stood right over where the baby Jesus
was. They gave Him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Then God told them
not to go back and tell Herod, so they left and went back to their own country.
After the
wise men left, Joseph saw an angel of the Lord in a dream. The angel said, Take
the baby Jesus and Mary and go to Egypt until I tell you it is safe to go back
home, because Herod will look for Jesus to destroy Him. Joseph did what the
angel told him. When Herod figured out that the wise men weren't coming back, he
was very mad, and sent his people to kill all the children in Bethlehem that
were under two years old. When Herod died, Joseph saw the angel in a dream
again. The angel told Joseph to return to Israel, and Joseph and Mary and Jesus
went back and lived in Nazareth.
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