But as she was thus proclaiming to the faithful in the Holy City the Advent of their King, pilgrims and worshippers were drawing near from far different and far distant lands. A short time after Joseph and Mary had returned to Bethlehem, there appeared certain travel-stained pilgrims, whose arrival stirred Jerusalem to its very centre. In their native home in Arabia or Persia, their attention had been directed to a luminous body in the sky, which had guided them to Palestine, and they now enquired where was He that was _born King of the Jews_[202], and declared that they had seen His star in the East, and had come to worship Him. The arrival of these Magi[203], as they were called in their own land, was quickly announced to Herod, and the enquiry respecting an hereditary _King of the Jews_ roused the alarm and suspicion of one so jealous for the integrity of his own dynasty[204]. Hastily convening a formal assembly of the Chief Priests and Scribes, he enquired where, according to the prophetical books, the long- expected Messiah was to be born. Without the least hesitation they pointed to the words of the prophet Micah (v. 2), which declared _Bethlehem in Judæa_ to be the favoured place. On this the monarch sought a private interview with the Magi (Mtt. ii. 7), and made diligent enquiries respecting the time of the appearance of the Star, and then bade them repair to Bethlehem and seek diligently for the young Child, declaring his intention, if they found Him, to come himself and lay his honours at the feet of the heir of David’s throne. Thus advised the Magi set out, when lo! the Star, which they had seen in their far-off eastern home appeared before them, and guided their feet to the lowly abode where lay the object of their search. With great joy (Mtt. ii. 10) they entered the house, and seeing the young child and Mary His mother fell down and worshipped Him, and opening their treasures brought forth costly gifts of _gold, frankincense, and myrrh_[205]. Then warned in a dream not to return to the perfidious tyrant, they made their way to their own land by another route. Thus HE, who had been “manifested” to the shepherds, to the faithful Symeon and Anna, was manifested also to these His first Gentile worshippers from the distant East. But that same night Joseph was also warned in a dream, of peril awaiting the young Child. Herod was watching his opportunity to put Him to death, and it was necessary that he should fly. So Joseph arose, and taking the Infant and His mother, went down into Egypt, where He and they were to remain till they received further intimations respecting their course.