I don’t think it was ideal for Mary and Joseph to go and live in Nazareth after Jesus was born. They had already packed up and moved, like, two or three times before this. (I know what it is to have to move. I’ve moved quite a bit in life, and it’s a boring and tedious chore.)

Anyhow, I am sure it was nothing for Mary and Joseph compared to how it is for us these days, with all of our gadgets and big couches. So, moving around and packing up probably wasn’t the issue. But, I don’t think Nazareth was a great place to go, based on the tone of it in the Bible. Especially Nathanael’s sarcastic remark in John 1:46, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” I think based on that we can assume it wasn’t a great or special place.

But alas, it was prophesied a long time ago that the Christ would be called a Nazarene, and so God had to make a way for the prophecy to be fulfilled and had to get Mary and Joseph over there somehow. And so, he put Archelaus the lout, the son of Herod the baby killer, as an obstacle in Judea and, in essence, forced Mary and Joseph, by way of nudgings and graduality, into the unexpected but blessed goals and plans of God for their lives.

And I wonder how many obstacles God has put in my life so that I may fulfill some goal or dream he has for me? How many obstacles has he put in my life in order to steer me away from danger?

Also, I wonder, have I resisted and forced some obstacles out of my way, in order for me to have my own way, and in the long-run, prolonging my time outside of his good promises, and dreams, and goals for my life?