There is a sequence of events in the history of Israel that were replicated in the life of Jesus. There are four events. Number one: A stay in Egypt . Number two: a passage through the waters. Number three: time in the desert, and number four: the fulfillment of God’s promise. The Hebrews and Jesus followed exactly the same path, the same sequence of events.
The first event has to do with Egypt and a tyrant. The Hebrews were oppressed in Egypt until Moses became their leader; the Egyptian Pharaoh, was a tyrant. Jesus also spent some time in Egypt because another tyrant was trying to kill him; his name was Herod and he was the Roman Tetrarch for Galilee and Perea around the time Jesus was born.
The second event has to do with a passage through the waters. The Hebrews had to cross the Red sea as they escaped from Egypt. Jesus also went through the waters of baptism in the Jordan River. The baptism of Jesus resembles the crossing of the Red Sea and it is quite significant because without it there wouldn’t be a perfect symmetry between the Old Testament and the New Testament, the old covenant and the new covenant.
The third event has to do with the desert. The Hebrews spent forty years in the desert right after the crossing of the Red Sea and before they caught sight of the promised Land. Jesus, spent forty days in the desert right after his baptism and before his public ministry.
The forth event has to do with the fulfillment of God’s promise. For the Hebrews the promised land was part of the covenant. Their arrival there marks the fulfillment of God’s promise in relation to the old covenant whereas the arrival of the Messiah, his presence among us, his public ministry, and his resurrection are the fulfillment of God’s promise in relation to the new covenant.
Now, analogically speaking, we can say that our lives follow the same sequence of events. We were born in sin, we were enslaved by sin and that would be the equivalent to the stay in Egypt, then we went through the waters of baptism and now we are going through the desert and eventually we will reach the promised land, our true homeland, our dwelling place in heaven. The desert is an unhospitable place. Life has its ups and downs. So, if you’re down or anxious, if you find yourself worrying too much about things remember that this is not your final destination, that eventually you will get to your dwelling place in heaven (Cf. Jn. 14:2) as long as you don’t stray from the right path. Life is a journey, a difficult journey through the desert but every single effort is worth it. We who were baptized into Christ know the path that leads to heaven and should not deviate from it but quite often we do, quite often we get distracted and just wander around in circles, quite often we don’t listen to Christ the Good Shephard, quite often we forget that we were commanded to love one another. Let’s seek the Lord while he may be found. Let’s return to the path that leads to heaven now that we still have time.