Road Trip!

Tuesday, the second week of Advent

Today’s Reading:  Micah 5:2-4 / Luke 2:1-5

 

I can but only imagine the tension mixed with an atmosphere of excitement that was in the air as Mary and Joseph packed their things in preparation for the trip to Bethlehem.  To many it must have seemed to have been the worst timing ever for the Roman Emperor to have decreed a Census of the people under his authority.  With Mary in the final trimester of her pregnancy, a journey of that magnitude would be unbearable.  But nowhere in the recorded manuscript of the event do we find the principle cast members ever uttering a single word of complaint!  Mary and Joseph had cast the care of their lives and that of the special baby into the hands of their God, and nothing was going to sway them away from their intended course.

God used the reach and authority of the reigning heathen power of the world at that time to unknowingly set the stage for His grand plan.  The timing was perfect, and every detail was in place for our intrepid travelers to set out on a trip that most scholars say would take about a week.  The Romans had built an extensive system of roads designed for them to move their troops and equipment around the empire.  With the world experiencing a time of peace, Mary and Joseph were able to take advantage of the roadways and due to the broad scope of the Census, were able to safely travel with groups of others as they made their way to their hometowns.

If Joseph had been anything like me, I am positive that he would have done some research into the prophecies concerning the adventure that they had been chosen by God to fulfill.  He would have read from the writings of Micah as to the location where the Christ child would be born.  He would have learned that the name Bethlehem meant “the house of bread”, and while probably not knowing the significance of that as Mary’s child would later refer to Himself as the “bread of life” (John 6:35), he would have understood that Micah’s prophecy “respects the personal character of the Messiah, and the discoveries of himself to the world, (and how) it distinguishes his human birth from his existing from eternity.” (Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary – Micah 5:1-6)   

As the drama began to unfold on that first day of the journey, I can picture Joseph smiling at his lovely wife to be, holding her hand with a comforting grasp and uttering the calming words that “everything was going to be alright!” They may not have known the multitude of situations that they would have to deal with along the way, but they were confident that the hand of their Lord was upon them.  They were aware that they were part of a well-orchestrated plan that had been set in motion many years before. 

When they turned to take one last look at the city limits of Nazareth, I would imagine the words from Mary’s son’s namesake Joshua was buzzing in their hearts saying “I’ve commanded you to be strong and brave.  Don’t ever be afraid or discouraged!  I am the LORD your God, and I will be there to help you wherever you go.”  (Joshua 1:9 Contemporary English Version)  With that they would have turned and set their faces toward Bethlehem and the task that was set before them.

As this year comes to an end and you take your final considerations of all that you successfully accomplished, as well as those things that were not done as well, or maybe not at all in 2012, I would encourage you to be like Mary and Joseph.  Let your heavenly Father’s words of encouragement and faithfulness fill your heart and then set your face toward all that He has for you in the New Year to come!  Have a great day!  Stay in tune to His Word, and keep asking yourself… “What GOOD THINGS am I expecting today?”