I often think of the Bible as a family photo album. God’s family extends back to Adam and Eve and includes an amazing assortment of people whose lives have been recorded in the Bible. Sometimes photo albums have little notes on the edges of the photos or on the back saying who was in them, what they were doing and where they were. The Bible also shares this kind of information with us, telling us a lot about the people, places, and activities of ancient times. The places mentioned in this passage all have histories in the Bible.
So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child.
Luke 2: 4-5
When you read through the Bible it takes a while for the faces and names to become familiar. The Bible is not a book that is read once and then fully understood. The Bible is as deep and wide as space itself. Yet, by reading it through, again and again, relationships and places become clear. The “pictures” of the people in the books of the Bible start to come into focus.
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