A Place of Resemblance!

"O Bethlehem of Judah, you are not just a lowly village in Judah, for a ruler will come from you who will be the shepherd for my people Israel." Matthew 2:6

DAY 23- It has been a long couple of days, but we are finally coming into Bethlehem. Today we will hear all about the moments leading up to the birth of Jesus.

Joseph: It was a long trip for Mary and me, we were lucky enough to have found a donkey to carry Mary. It was beginning to get hard for her to walk; she had already walked such a long distance. Finally arriving into Bethlehem we immediately went to register.  We got everything taken care of and headed over to the Village Inn to try and get a room.

On our way Mary started to go into labor and we both knew it would not be very long after.  Things began to get a little rushed, we went in to try and get a room but there were none available and no exceptions were being made.  So we walked around trying to find a place that would be suitable enough for Mary and the baby.

That is when we came across a stable! Our stables back then were not like your stables today. They were caves that were dark, cold, and dirty, but provided some protection from wind and rain. It was the best we found and at that time seemed just fine for Mary and I, and we really didn’t have that much time anyway.

There were no bed’s just hay and feeding troughs (mangers) that had been carved out of the rock wall of the stable used to place food in for the animals. Mary and I talked and decided with some fresh hay, well as fresh as we could find, we would place the baby in one of the troughs (mangers).

It worked for us and we were thankful just to have somewhere to go. Of course just like you we thought we would have had our baby in Nazareth, but the work of the Lord and the timing of Augustus’ decree decided otherwise. 

But the prophecy of long ago "O Bethlehem of Judah, you are not just a lowly village in Judah, for a ruler will come from you who will be the shepherd for my people Israel." (Matthew 2:6) would soon be fulfilled.

My friends upon hearing this story I hope you leave here today with a heart of thankfulness, a heart that will reflect on the place your Savior would be born. We should not be so consumed with the things of this world that will only perish, but with the very things of Jesus. We should be thankful for the warmth of our homes, and beds, and the clothes we have. But most of all my friends remember this. This place, this very cave that was dark and dirty would represent the world, a dark, dirty place full of sin in desperate need of a Savior that would bring light, hope, and warmth.