It's true that we take some uncomfortable trips at times. Going to the doctor in another state because the doctor in your hometown couldn't fix that thing that is hurting in his office is not the most fun journey. Traveling to a town a hundred miles away to bail a friend out of jail because he got into some legal trouble is not the trip we may have wanted to take. Mary and Joseph perhaps wanted to have the baby Jesus in Nazareth because family, friends, and Joseph's business was right there. Perhaps they had a favorite midwife or healer who had a 100% success rate in delivering babies in their hometown. Bethlehem? Who lives in Bethlehem that we know? I hear they don't even have a decent inn at Bethlehem.
We don't know why Joseph and Mary journeyed while Mary was near to baby time, but that is what happened. Not the best time to make a mother expecting her first child ride a donkey 70 miles it would seem to us, but down the road to Bethlehem they went. Then again, what if the Adversary could keep Jesus from fulfilling just one prophecy, like maybe the one about the Messiah coming forth from Bethlehem?
It may be that Joseph and Mary wanted very much to have Jesus born in Bethlehem, but faced all manner of obstacles in getting there. Joseph may have seen a sudden rush of jobs in the carpenter shop that needed finishing. Mary's father might have refused permission until that decree came from the Roman emperor. Mary may have struggled in her first pregnancy with illness. To think that Joseph and Mary didn't want to make the trip may well be unfair. If the Devil could have stopped the birth of Jesus... Ha, who are we kidding? When the Almighty says something is going to happen, there's just no stopping His sovereign will!
Praise God for the virgin birth in Bethlehem of His wonderful Son, Jesus!
Bucky
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