Joseph and Mary have to take a long journey to Bethlehem because of a tax census that his being taken. It was probably a very hard trip with a pregnant Mary but they were able to arrive safe in sound. Bethlehem is Joseph's home town. He works there as a carpenter fixing things like roofs and doors. He is a handy man in a city that probably had between 500 and 1000 people. This probably would of made it hard to find work sometimes.
As they approach the city, Joseph probably has a realization. He realizes that with everything going on, the baby, the angel, the census, that he forgot to contact his family to let them know he was coming home with Mary and needed a place for the two of them to stay while they were there to be counted. Because he forgot to do this, I am sure that a lot of his relatives have come into town to be counted in the census. After such a long trip he probably went from door to door visiting the family that is already there and asking if they can stay there.
Of course the family would have to turn them down because there was no where to sleep or for that matter have a baby. All the their relatives houses were filled with friends and other relatives that have come for the census. If he would of called first or sent word that they would need a room, people would of known.
The other thing that might of kept him out of relatives houses is the fact that Mary was with child and that would of been a hard thing to explain to your relatives. You know how hard it is to talk to relatives. Nothing gets by them, they seem to notice anything that is different or ark just the right questions to get information. Who would of believe Mary and Joesph when they said that she was pregnant with the son of God. How crazy would of that been to explain. It took an Angel to tell both Joseph and Mary about the situation. I am sure that Grandpa Saul or Grandma Rebecca might of had a hard time believing or understanding that!
So here they are in Bethlehem and they don't have a place to stay. Joseph didn't make a reservation at the inn. A pregnant Mary who is exhausted from riding a donkey and Joseph who has walked all this way and whos feet are tired and probably badly in need of a pedicure. After they tired all his relatives houses, they are standing at the end of the road looking down at the inn. Joseph decided that even though the census is happening and a lot of people are in town, he would try to see if he could get a last minute room at the inn.
I wonder what the Inn Keeper thought and said to him?
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