Interesting that you posted this while I was chatting about it with "the gals" up at Don Pablo's earlier today.
I read someplace, not on a blog, that when Mary and Joseph took off for Bethlehem to register for the Roman census, they expected it to be a permanent move.
Mary, especially, was very familiar with the scriptures and knew that the Messiah was to be born in Bethlehem. They somewhat naturally assumed that that meant that he was to be raised there, too.
So they packed up all their stuff and moved to Bethlehem. Having all that gear certainly must have added to the problem they had in finding a room.
After Jesus' birth and the visits by the shepherds, on the eighth day they were required to bring Jesus, a first born son, to the Temple in Jerusalem, a few miles away, for circumcision and the presentation.
Then, three weeks or so later, Mary had to return to the Temple for the "purification" ceremonies required for women after childbirth.
By that time, all the visitors to Bethlehem had registered with the Romans and returned to their homes and Mary and Joseph could go house-hunting and had no troubles then.
It would make sense that the Star of Bethlehem did not appear until the time of Jesus' birth.
When the "Wise Men/Astrologers/Kings" saw it from their homes, 1,000 miles away, they studied it for a while before they decided to pack up and visit the "new born king" that their research had informed them about.
It might have been a couple of years before they arrived in Bethlehem to visit the "Baby Jesus."
Why else would Herod have decided to kill all the boys under two years old.
And the gold, frankincense and myrrh came in handy for the trip to Egypt that might have lasted several years also. That would have been a very trough trip for a newborn infant.
Just some practical thoughts during this Christmas season.
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You know - the child Jesus may have been about two years old when the Holy Family took flight to Egypt.
Two years old? I did not know this.
ReplyDeleteTom
In a way that makes it even harder. Imagine leaving in the middle of the night to hit the road to Egypt with a toddler.
ReplyDeleteInteresting that you posted this while I was chatting about it with "the gals" up at Don Pablo's earlier today.
ReplyDeleteI read someplace, not on a blog, that when Mary and Joseph took off for Bethlehem to register for the Roman census, they expected it to be a permanent move.
Mary, especially, was very familiar with the scriptures and knew that the Messiah was to be born in Bethlehem. They somewhat naturally assumed that that meant that he was to be raised there, too.
So they packed up all their stuff and moved to Bethlehem. Having all that gear certainly must have added to the problem they had in finding a room.
After Jesus' birth and the visits by the shepherds, on the eighth day they were required to bring Jesus, a first born son, to the Temple in Jerusalem, a few miles away, for circumcision and the presentation.
Then, three weeks or so later, Mary had to return to the Temple for the "purification" ceremonies required for women after childbirth.
By that time, all the visitors to Bethlehem had registered with the Romans and returned to their homes and Mary and Joseph could go house-hunting and had no troubles then.
It would make sense that the Star of Bethlehem did not appear until the time of Jesus' birth.
When the "Wise Men/Astrologers/Kings" saw it from their homes, 1,000 miles away, they studied it for a while before they decided to pack up and visit the "new born king" that their research had informed them about.
It might have been a couple of years before they arrived in Bethlehem to visit the "Baby Jesus."
Why else would Herod have decided to kill all the boys under two years old.
And the gold, frankincense and myrrh came in handy for the trip to Egypt that might have lasted several years also. That would have been a very trough trip for a newborn infant.
Just some practical thoughts during this Christmas season.