He Was Born into Poverty and Humility
Eight days later, when the baby was circumcised, he was named Jesus, the name given him by the angel even before he was conceived.
Then it was time for their purification offering, as required by the law of Moses after the birth of a child; so his parents took him to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord.
The law of the Lord says, “If a woman’s first child is a boy, he must be dedicated to the Lord .” So they offered the sacrifice required in the law of the Lord—“either a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons.”’
Mary and Joseph went to the temple 8 days after Jesus was born. There were all kinds of miracles, prayers and prophecies pronounced over Him. It was far from normal.
One super-normal part of the whole thing: poverty. Remember that Joseph was a ‘righteous man’ as mentioned earlier in the gospel? When the time came for the dedication of his son, he would do it right. He would have followed the Law of Moses to a t.
“When the time of purification is completed for either a son or a daughter, the woman must bring a one-year-old lamb for a burnt offering and a young pigeon or turtledove for a purification offering. She must bring her offerings to the priest at the entrance of the Tabernacle. The priest will then present them to the Lord to purify her. Then she will be ceremonially clean again after her bleeding at childbirth. These are the instructions for a woman after the birth of a son or a daughter. ”If a woman cannot afford to bring a lamb, she must bring two turtledoves or two young pigeons. One will be for the burnt offering and the other for the purification offering. The priest will sacrifice them to purify her, and she will be ceremonially clean.”’
The offering is for the firstborn son and for the purification of mom. Did you notice the animals? They are supposed to bring a year-old lamb, but if they can’t afford that, they can bring two young pigeons. Joseph and Mary show up with two young pigeons, so we can only assume that was all they could afford.
He had to be born in a stable. At his dedication and circumcision, His family had to take the discount option. What would normally be a great celebration, maybe even a party, was done with the budget option allowed by Moses.
As we follow this Savior, we can appreciate and love Him even more for humbling Himself SO MUCH. He was worthy of the highest palace, but was born in stable-dust. His dedication should have warranted hundreds of bulls and sheep to be sacrificed, but his family could only afford 2 little birds. Everyone should have made a way for His arrival, but nobody would even make room for His active-laboring mother.
Jesus loves you so much. He went through everything to come your way and prove His care for you. We can bring every struggle and problem to Him and know that He understands and cares as we pray. That closeness was His intent from the beginning.
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