Milford chronicle., 1905-12-22
lie INsURANcE PRoRE
Of Washington Company
z Reforms He Instituted.
|. Dec. 20.-An lnnulrY mo

on aceO1nf of tlduCe investigating
form . Then wIohn Tatlock, presi-
said, by what ri,y was called to
to be the promised MESSIAH he 'coul
answer, Because l fiiAill in my perso
the predictions Of yorktown prophet
and at the very beginning was that vi
terance of Micah the pTNphet, VIII
wrote over seven centuries Nlgo, Blu
thou Bethlehem Ephratah, though tho
be little among the thousands o
Judah, yet out Of thee shall he COM
forth unto me that is to be a ruler il
Israel, whose goings forth have been @
old, from everlasting Did not the
prophet foresee my birth? Was 1 no
miraculously born, according to the
prediction 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 tC
| the levying of taxes Caesar Augustus
wanted to know how much money he
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
to go because he was man. And be-
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
he divine birth of some immortal soul.
You may say you are a humble man,
IS was Joseph. You may say you oc-
supy only a mechanics position. You
nay say you wear laborer's garments.
But your words and your acts are GO
g to decide the eternal destiny of
Z me immortal soul. 1t was the false
rds of cowardly peasant guide at
.aterlOO that sent Napoleon a life ex-
to st. Helena. When the battle
ed the fiercest the little Corsican
led to the peasant who was tied to
saddle of his horse and said, "Is
e any obstacle in the way for a
ge in yOnder directionT The peas
answered, mo" With that Ma
On ordered Marshal Ney to hurl
Old Guard against the British pha-
xes, but instead of hurling the
neh cavalry against the English j
/ ks be led them on a fatal gallop ,
Ib the ravine of Ohain, where they !
II kbled in and were slaughtered by
Y tsands. 1t was a false guide that
q foyed the French army at Water :
% Is it possible that you by light
7oas or by your inconsistent life may 4
eed pc false guide to some seeking
OH Be careful and strive rather to
e, Ie Joseph, faithful to the call of
uts He it was who, Obedient to the
iv direction, Travelled to Bethle-
en- nd so made it possible for Jesus
} u born in the city of his ancestors, 4
eco ng to the word Of the prophet.
II protection and development Of
hr during the days of his helpless
lfa4 were provided for by Joseph's
We care. Christ had to have care
lri bis infancy, just as any other
ewly b babe needs care. Christ's
lildu ID days were passed in much
e e way that other children live
it tltf earlier years. The baby Christ
Id tS washed and dressed and fed.
e his o be taught to creep and run 4
Id lxit He had to be developed
lysitr and mentally, like any other
by 81 Now, as Christs bOyhood
US e&e to be so helpless, it was
cess;f "for God to provide a pro-
ctOr W. the helpless Mary and her
fant L." Thus God chooses this
mble penter and says: Joseph,
and ff after my Son. You are to
md Il ~ place and be to him an
rthly Ger" And Joseph, in Obedi-
ce to / command went and stood