Micah 5 contains the prophecy that the ruler of Israel will be born in Bethlehem. There are hundreds of fulfilled prophecies about Jesus in the Old Testament, but this is certainly a stand-out one. We not only reenact it every Christmas, but we see it in play in the gospels. The know-it-all Pharisees are sure that Jesus couldn’t be the Messiah because He was from Nazareth, and they knew that the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem.

Jesus doesn’t correct this thinking. He could have pointed out that He was born in Bethlehem, but He doesn’t. He lets them be sure of themselves in their error.

We are at His mercy.

He can expose our deception or leave us in it. He can let us be turned over to our sin, or He can bring us to repentance. He can put a hedge of protection around us or give permission to sift us like wheat.

How does God, the Father, make sure His Son is born in Bethlehem? He arranges everything just so in order for the time to give birth to coincide with Mary being required to be in Bethlehem for the census count.

All descendants of David had to go to Bethlehem. Mary and David were both descendants of David. That means their parents and siblings, etc. were also all descendants of David. They all had to go to Bethlehem.

We see Mary, Joseph, and Jesus traveling with a huge family group to go to Jerusalem when Jesus was twelve. They would have been doing the same this time. I do believe Mary had her mother with her holding her hand. Certainly some woman knew how to help with a birth. Our Father is good and I’m sure He was taking care of Mary.

I also believe she was probably around seventeen. She would have been full grown. God made her body and knows how it works. I assume the idea of her being thirteen comes from an American understanding of puberty.

And wrapping Jesus in cloths wasn’t a mark of poverty. That’s what you do for a baby. It’s still how they “dress” babies on the other side of the world.