The events that Matthew recorded as happening in the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecies all happened as a result of human decisions, and were worked out in the course of ordinary human circumstances. Were it not for the inspired commentary by Matthew, we would have no more reason to see the sovereign hand of God in them that we do in the most mundane occurrences reported in our daily newspapers… God recorded in His Word specific instances of His sovereign rule over history in order that we might trust Him in the affairs of history as they unfold before us today. We should remember that, for those experiencing the events recorded in the biblical narratives, God’s hand was no mare apparent to them in those events than His hand is apparent to us today in ours.
Jerry Bridges