The delay in reaching Bethlehem could have been caused by the wise men being held up by Herod in Jerusalem, but was the delay beneficial in some way and therefore serving the purposes of God?
The Magi were warned in a dream not to return to Jerusalem and report to Herod (Matt 2:12).. The Magi depart for Persia via a different route. But they would also have warned Joseph and Mary to be careful. Joseph also received a dream warning him about Herod and telling him to flee with the family to Egypt.
“When they had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. ‘Get up,’ he said, ‘take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the child to kill him.’ So he got up, took the child and his mother during the night and left for Egypt, where he stayed until the death of Herod. And so was fulfilled what the Lord had said through the prophet: ‘Out of Egypt I called my son.” (Matt. 2:13-15)
As soon as the Magi left, Joseph and Mary depart for Egypt. The gifts of gold, incense and myrrh probably came in handy to finance the trip.
As it happened the time was now mid-June. This was exactly the right time to flee as the River Nile which used to flood every year in about the same period, was at its lowest in the month of June. It may be that the family could not have crossed the River Nile and reached Egypt when the river was in flood. Thus, the two month delay was to their benefit.
Merry and True 