Jehovah had selected this as the birthplace of Jesus; hence
here the birth must take place.--Matthew 2:5,6; Micah 5:2.
[138]Away to the north in Galilee stood the humble and despised city of
Nazareth. It was the home of Joseph the carpenter, a meek, little-known,
yet honest, man. He was espoused to Mary. We should expect that Jehovah
would time everything exactly; and so he did. The scepter had departed
from Judah; the Romans were in control of Palestine, and the time for
the birth of the mighty One was due. Exercising his perfect wisdom and
power, Jehovah was overruling all things to the accomplishment of his
purpose. Augustus Caesar, then the emperor and ruler over all Palestine,
issued a decree that all the people should be taxed. Every one must go
to the city of his nativity, there to be numbered and taxed. Joseph the
carpenter, although a resident of Nazareth, was of the house of David,
and hence must go to the city of David to be numbered and taxed.
Naturally his espoused virgin would accompany him to that city. She
likewise was of the house of David through another line--another reason
why she should go there. But above all, the Lord directed them there
because it was a part of his arrangement.
[139]At that time there were no means of easy and rapid transit. It was
a long journey, a tedious and tiresome one. Joseph, with his espoused
seated upon an ass, journeyed through the hills along the Jordan
probably for three days, and late in the evening reached the city of
Bethlehem.
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