Up from Galilee…unto the City of David
Take a moment and pray that the Lord will speak to you in this time of study.
Read Luke 2:1-7 (King James Version)
In Luke 2:4-5 of our reading today, we see: And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David:) To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child.
We know that the distance between Nazareth and Bethlehem is between 80 – 90 miles, depending on how you travel. In the time of Joseph and Mary, the Jews often refused to travel through Samaria, which lay on the west bank of the Jordan River between Nazareth and Jerusalem. For reasons of safety and because the Jews hated the Samaritans, people would cross eastward over the Jordan River from Nazareth, travel down the east bank, then cross back westward at Jericho, and travel up to Jerusalem. From there it was a 4-1/2 mile trek to Bethlehem.
Scripture tells us they traveled upward from Galilee, because Jerusalem is on top of a mountain (2550 ft. above sea level). Jericho, however, is 1200 ft. below sea level. That would have been quite a climb on foot. We always see Mary riding on a donkey in pictures yet, while it is very possible she traveled in that manner, scripture does not tell us how she traveled. The journey from Nazareth to Bethlehem was usually about a four-day trip. People often traveled in caravans for safety. However, with Mary being pregnant, their journey could have taken as long as a week.
Certainly their trip was arduous. They suffered much in their journey by any standard. Yet the angels had given each of them fantastic messages. (Luke 1:30-33; Matthew 1:20-23) As they traveled on their journey, they finally came to the great city of Jerusalem. Passing through Jerusalem they would go by Mount Moriah (where Abraham offered up Isaac), by the hill of Zion, across the top of that mountain, that plateau on which Jerusalem sits. Ultimately they would come to their destination, the village of Bethlehem. Bethlehem, the town of Ruth and Boaz; Bethlehem, the place where Jacob’s first love Rachel died and was buried, and, most importantly, the town where David was born — David, the greatest king that Israel had ever known. We can only speculate as to whether or not Mary and Joseph fully comprehended their role in history, a history that would change the entire world forever.
As you pray today, for a moment imagine yourself as Mary and Joseph. Imagine what it must have been like to be on that journey. Are we not like them in many ways? Do we find ourselves in times of hardship not fully understanding what God might be doing or why we are experiencing what we have to go through? And yet we see in the case of Mary and Joseph that God was carrying out events that would bring redemption to all of God’s people. The Savior, the Messiah was coming . . . and they were a part of that great event!
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