5 Days to Bethlehem-Day 1

The journey of Joseph and Mary from Nazareth to Bethlehem probably took 5 or more days. Imagine what those five days were like.

Day One-The Journey Begins

Joseph was nervous. He had a lot on his mind. The woman he was betrothed to was pregnant, and not by him. A couple months ago he had a dream in which an angel explained that Mary was with child not from another man, but by the Holy Spirit of God Himself. According to the angel, they were to give the child the name Jesus, meaning The Lord Saves. The child was to be the Savior, the Messiah. No small responsibility there.

Of course, no one else believed the story. Mary was pregnant, and that only happened one way. Either Joseph had known her, or someone else had. Joseph knew it wasn't him. That left two options. Mary had been unfaithful, or that dream was no ordinary dream. She had a similar story, not of a dream, but of a visit by Gabriel, God's very own messenger. She begged Joseph to believe it was true.

Joseph considered his options. He loved Mary. He believed in God. As fantastic as their situation was, he took hold of his faith and trusted. He bore the insults, jokes, and shame. It wasn't easy. The more evident Mary's condition became, the worse his family and friends treated them. She would deliver their child soon, but Joseph knew that wouldn't end the harassment. The stress of it all weighed on him heavily.

Now, of all times, something else. A decree from Rome. Everyone had to travel to their ancestral home towns to be registered. Why? Taxes. As if the hand of Rome wasn't squeezing them tightly enough already. Now Caesar sought to place his foot on their necks.

Joseph, and everyone else for that matter, couldn't afford more taxes. Neither could they afford to refuse to register, though. Rome was two things when it came to money: Insatiable and efficient. Those who registered would be plundered. Those who didn't would likely be killed.  What a choice.

The timing couldn't be worse. Not only the stress, but the logistics of the whole thing was near to pushing Joseph over the brink. His wife-to-be was pregnant with the most important child ever to be born, ready to deliver any day, and now he faced a 5 day journey to Bethlehem, his town of registration.

He'd waited as long as he could, but God's timing wasn't his. The child remained in Mary's womb. Joseph could wait no longer. He'd miss the deadline, and he had no doubt as to what that would mean. God had His timing, and Rome had hers. Joseph and Mary found themselves trapped in the middle.

With no choice, Joseph made the preparations. 5 days there, hopefully no more than a day in Bethlehem, and 5 days back, plus a Sabbath day when they could not travel. With any luck, they'd be back in less than two weeks. Maybe, just maybe, God would wait that long. Surely He would, wouldn't He?

Those first steps were the hardest. They always are. Joining a band of others making the same journey, Joseph tried to put on a brave face. It wasn't going to be an easy trip, especially for his wife. He tried to encourage her, but she knew what she was facing. They prayed, they embraced, they hoped.

They had each other. They had God.

That would have to be enough.

To be continued.