By Sharon Loomis

Micah 5:2 – “Bethlehem, Ephrathah, you are small among the clans of Judah; one will come from you to be ruler over Israel for me. His origin is from antiquity, from ancient times.” (CSB) (Prophesied around 750 B.C.)

Luke 2:4-6 “So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born,” (NIV)

When I had my first child, the hospital was two minutes away! My water broke, and I was convinced that we couldn’t possibly make it to the hospital in two minutes. I was tired and anxious… a total bundle of nerves.

As Mary’s delivery time drew near, she and Joseph had to leave their home in Nazareth and travel seventy miles south to Bethlehem. They were required by law to register in their ancestral city for the purposes of taxation. In today’s world, a car would have taken them there in an hour or so, but Mary was probably on a donkey and Joseph on foot. Going as the crow flies and without any unforeseen circumstances, it was a four-day journey. That route, however, would take them through treacherous Samaritan territory. The safer route would add days to the journey … maybe a week or more.

Mary had been chosen by God to deliver Jesus and she had the faith to obey. She was sure of God’s plan and protection. Still, as the birth time draws near, every woman begins to expect each twinge is a short prelude to the baby’s arrival. Riding on a donkey, or perhaps walking, surely made her exhausted. Anxious thoughts are a prelude to first time motherhood… Would they arrive in time? Where would they stay? Would she ever get off that smelly donkey?

Luke 2:4-7 journals a long trek in a short number of verses. The Lord of all Creation was, as foretold by Micah over 700 years prior to the event, born in Bethlehem and laid in a manger, the humblest of all circumstances.

Food For Thought

Has your life ever been changed by an inconvenient journey? Can you provide comfort for others currently on a difficult journey?