How Smart Is God

So Much Smarter than You, Thank God

See, http://www.inspirationalfilms.com/

Ever wonder why there was no Room in the Inn? Why did God make Joseph and the very pregnant Mary ride a donkey (try doing that while almost 9 months pregnant on bumpy dirt roads!) go to a very crowded Bethlehem at the time of the census to have Jesus be born in a barn/shed/stable? That doesn't sound very nice to Mary. Why would he make them have to go to Bethlehem when she was that pregnant? Why couldn't Mary deliver in the comfort of her mother's home with her mother helping?

He's God- why wouldn't he want the King of the World to be born at the Bethlehem Ritz? OK, we'll settle for the Bethlehem Hyatt or Marriott. But a Barn? A Shed? Amidst the smell of animal excrement with Mary lying on a pile of hay- a trough for a cradle? There was literally no place else in the entire city they could go? Why didn't God make sure Joseph had more money for better accommodations? Was there really no vacancy anywhere because of the census. Were there that many more people flooding Bethlehem than the usual hotel accommodations? Yup-and God had that all perfectly planned. They were to go all the way on a long donkey ride to Bethlehem but not officially check in anywhere. They were official guests nowhere-they could hide in a stable.

Most people pick up on the fact that he was born into poverty as inspiration telling of the fact that Jesus was born essentially homeless so he loves the poor. Other people use it as a metaphor to help people overcome their circumstances. Other people speak of his humility.

That all may be true, But God is smarter than all that. God was hiding him and had a plan. God's timing is not our timing. His timing is perfect timing. It may look like lousy timing from our perspective- I am sure Mary didn't appreciate it- and the ride could very well have induced labor. But that was the point- the ride induced labor- because Jesus had to be born exactly when he was born. It aligned with the Northern Star perfectly. (Now you know why there is a Star on top of every Christmas Tree)
Jesus was born on the road. He was born while on Travel. Because if he stayed too long in one place, he would be dead in a week.

Remember that Herod was after him. Everyone knew the Messiah as foretold was coming imminently. There was this phenomenal brilliant North Star phenomenon that the astrologers all followed (which actually led shepherds in the hills to the spot of his birth)
Herod sent the Wise Men (one or more of whom could read these stars) to track down the birth of this so called King of the Jews- because Herod was insanely Jealous and wanted to be hailed as the only King of the Jews. The Wise Men actually found Jesus following the Northern Star. God knew that Jesus was not going to be born without a Jealous rageful storm of demonic proportion surrounding his birth- because God knew that the Devil knew he was done.

Herod commissioned the wise men to report on his location - but the Wise Men, after they found him, didn't go back the same way they came to report back to Herod- they left him clueless.

Mary had just given birth. God knows that the last thing someone who just delivered a baby wants to do is get up and travel, move after delivering a baby.--Except if it were so bloody uncomfortable lying there without a bed of any kind on hay sticking in her back and she wanted to see her baby in real blankets in a more protected place. God made it just uncomfortable enough that Mary willingly, eagerly would quickly go-even after just giving birth (without an epidural people). They didn't circumcize Jesus in Bethlehem. They were not there for even a full week. They had to circumcize him within the week according to custom, and they made their way to Jerusalem, a much larger city bound to have better accommodation, used to many travelers because the Temple was there. They circumcized him in Jerusalem and presented him at the Temple.

God knew they didn't have much time. They bought time by the Wise Men outsmarting Herod. But Herod was on a jealous revenge rampage binge. He was out to KILL EVERY MALE CHILD under the age of 2 in Bethlehem to make sure he got Jesus. Joseph, Mary and Jesus registered for the census there in Bethlehem because that is where Joseph was born, but they really were not from there. Neither of them were really from there. Herod assumed that they lived there. In fact the Jewish prophesy of the Messiah was that he would come out of Bethlehem and Herod knew this. But this tricked Herod.

Jesus could not be found by Herod's people in Bethlehem- because he had no permenant address at the time he was born, and they got out of dodge in time. If Joseph and Mary and Jesus lived permenantly at 123 Main Street, Bethlehem, with a sign on the door and neighbors who knew where they were all the time, throwing a baby shower and bringing food over to see the baby, Herod would have no trouble finding them in a heartbeat. And Jesus would have been dead in a week. As it was, the only people we know for sure that knew Jesus was where he was were the random shepherders who hung in the hills, pretty much removed from city/town society, and Wise Men from afar who were wise enough to keep their mouth shut and not report back to Herod. Neither could Herod's people find him in Jerusalem- because they quickly went to Egypt.

The Angel Gabriel came to Joseph in a dream and said to him after Jesus' birth- listen-you don't have much time, get out of here now- Herod's people are coming....so they went to Jerusalem then Egypt. God had a plan to hide the infant Jesus in Egypt just as he previously hid the infant Moses in Egypt. And so they got out of dodge in a hurry, carried what they carried with them already packed for travel and they missed the Holocaust slaughter of the male children under 2. They stayed there until that Herod died. {The Jesus movie above skips the Egypt part when in fact they only went to live in Nazareth after that Herod died-there were several Kings named Herod, this was not the one who beheaded John the Baptist}

When you look at a cresche sceen, the manger, the hut-like barn, this Christmas remember how smart God is- that God is so much smarter than you. Remember that God's timing is perfect timing- even when you wished things happened on your schedule. You may rather not be living in a hole in the wall temporarily, you may be someplace you don't like all that well, some place that is beneath your dignity- but God may want you packed for travel because God is sending you someplace you really need to go. God is really smarter than you.

And his plan has always been for your Salvation.