Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1905-12-18

on account Of the wonders that / per-
FORM" Then when the people again
said, by what right dost thou claim
to be the promised Messiah?" he could
answer, Because fulfill in my person
the predictions of your own prophets,
and at the very beginning was that ut
terance of Micah the prophet, who
wrote over seven centuries ago, But
thou Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou
be little among the thousands or
Judah, yet out of thee shall he come
forth unto me that is to be a ruler in
Israel. whose goings forth have been OF
old, from everlasting Did not the
prophet foresee my birth? Was / not
miraculously born, according to the
prediction?s Jesus would not have
been able to give this convincing an
swer If Joseph had not been the man he
was.
BY a decree of Rome in reference to
the leyying of taxes Caesar Augustus
wanted to know how much money ne
could collect from his provinces; there
fore he ordered a census to be taken.
All the people of Palestine had to an
swer to that enrolment. But, though
Judaea was a conquered province, the
Roman law allowed itself to be har-
monized with the Hebrew law. In
other words, it allowed the Hebrew
people to be enrolled by families, as
they had always been accustomed to
do, instead of by districts. Thus all
the descendants of David assembled at
the proper time in the Bethlehem vii
lage. where their great ancestor was
born. And that was the reason Joseph,
the native of Nazareth, travelled all the
way from the north to be enrolled in
Bethlehem at that particular time when
Jesus was born. Now, Mary would
not have taken this journey had Jo-
seph belonged to any other family than
that of David Why? Under the Ro-
man law a woman, unless she was
property holder, did not have to an
swer the call of the census. Mary was
no property holder. Mary in her crit
ical state of health would naturally
have stayed at home, but Joseph had
cause he had no one with whom to
leave his wife is the reason he took
her along. Thus we find that this
important fact, fulfilling the ancient
prophecy, which would be so vital to a
Jew, was brought about by the tender
ness of Joseph, the husband of Mary.
On such small matters do great events
hang. Is it not an impressive thought
that God plans all the events of our
lives, as we see in the arrangement of
the circumstances that brought Jo-
seph and Mary to Bethlehem at this
time?
Why Joseph Went to Bethlehem.
Joseph, being a descendant of Da-
vid, was the cause of the Bethlehem
birth of Jesus Christ. You in the same
way may be an essential factor for
the divine birth of some immortal soul.
You may say you are humble man,
as was Joseph. You may say you oc-
cupy only mechanics position. You
may say you wear a laborer's garments.
But your words and your acts are go
ing to decide the eternal destiny of
some immortal soul. 1t was the false
words of a cowardly peasant guide at
Waterloo that sent Napoleon life eX
lie to st. Helena. When the battle
ragged the fercest the little COrsican
turned to the peasant who was tied to
the saddle of his horse and said, rs
there any obstacle in the way for a
-, n ~
ant answered, No" With that Ma.
poleon ordered Marshal Ney to hurl
the Old Guard against the British pha-
lanXes, but instead of hurting the
French cavalry against the English
ranks he led them on a fatal gallop
into the ravine of Chain, where they
tumbled in and were slaughtered by
thousands. 1t was a false guide that
destroyed the French army at Water
loo. Is it possible that you by light
words or by your inconsistent life may
become a false guide to some seeking
soul? Be careful and strive rather to
be, like Joseph, faithful to the call of
duty. He it was who, obedient to the
divine direction, Travelled to Bethle-
hem and so made it possible for Jesus
to be born in the city of his ancestors,
according to the word of the prophet.
The protection and development OF
Christ during the days of his helpless
| infancy were provided for by Joseph's
| love and care. Christ had to have care
during his infancy, just as any other
newborn babe needs care Christ's
childhood days were passed in much
the same way that other children live
out their earlier years. The baby Christ
had to be washed and dressed and fed.
He had to be taught to creep and run
and play. He had to be developed
physically and mentally, like any other
| baby boy. Now, as Christ's boyhood
days were to be SO helpless, it was
necessary ''for God to provide a pro-
tector. for. the helpless Mary and her
infant child" Thus God chooses this
humble carpenter and says: Joseph,
go and look after my Son. You are to
stand in my place and be to him an
earthly father" And Joseph. in obedi-
ence to this command, went and stood