We know about census-taking. It happens regularly. The results are very important. They determine how we will be represented. They determine our tax base. They determine financial resources for which different areas will be eligible. Taking censuses in our time is important.
Israel also knew what taking a census was about. It knew about the census taken at Mount Sinai and just before they entered the Promised Land. It knew about the census King David authorized. Those censuses had pretty negative consequences. Joab, his general, tried to discourage David from taking these censuses. For David, taking the census showed arrogance. God disapproved. The census was followed by a pestilence (I Chronicles 21).
In the faithful teaching of the Rabbis, Israel knew about these censuses. The residence of Nazareth and Joseph would have known these Biblical narratives too. For them, there would be no choice but to follow the decree. How God would deal with it was beyond their control.
Joseph might also have known the prophecies that the Messiah, the Promised One, would be born in Bethlehem. There was no other way than by obeying this decree that Mary was going to have her baby any place other than Nazareth.
We do pray and hope the censuses being taken in the nations of the world will serve purposes that God can bless. We give great thanks that the census decreed by Caesar resulted in the fulfilling of the Biblical promises regarding Bethlehem, our salvation, and the salvation of the world!
THE PRAYER: O Advent Lord, we pray Your blessings on those who authorize the censuses of our times, those who administer them, and those who read them. Continue to work Your purposes for now and for the future. Amen.
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