In an ultimate sense, Jesus is the Israel of God. For instance, God said through the prophet Hosea, “When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called my son” (11:1). Israel, the nation that God redeemed from slavery in Egypt, was called the son of God. Shortly after Jesus was born, an angel warned Joseph to flee to Egypt to escape from the jealous King Herod. Later, when the family returned to Israel, Matthew cites this verse from Hosea in reference to Jesus: “This was to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet, ‘Out of Egypt I called my son’” (Matt. 2:15).
