Joseph Protected His Family

 Months earlier, in his hometown of Nazareth, Joseph's life changed forever after his engagement to the daughter of Heli. Joseph knew Mary as an innocent, faithful young woman.  But then he learned that she was pregnant!  He intended to divorce her secretly to protect her from scandal.  However, an angel spoke to him in a dream, explaining that Mary was pregnant by means of Jehovah's holy spirit.  The angel added that the son she bore would "save people from their sins." He further reassured Joseph: "Do not be afraid to take Mary your wife home." -Matthew 1:18-21. 

Joseph, a righteous and obedient man, did just that.  He took on the weightiest of assignments: raising and caring for a son who was not his own but who was most precious to God.  Later, in obedience to an impartial decree, Joseph took his pregnant wife to Bethlehem to register.  It was there that the child  was born."

Joseph did not take the family back to Nazareth. Instead, they settled in Bethlehem, just a few miles from Jerusalem.  They were poor, but Joseph did all he could to protect Mary and Jesus from want or suffering.  In a short time, they took up living in a humble home.  Then,when Jesus was no longer a baby but a small child-perhaps over a year old-their lives suddenly changed again.

A group of men arrived, astrologers from the East, like from  faraway Babylon.   They had followed  a star to the home of Joseph and mary and were looking for a child who was to become king of the Jews.  The men were deeply respectful. 

Whether they knew it or not, the astrologers had put little Jesus in great peril.  The star they had seen led them first, not to Bethlehem, but to Jerusalem. There they told wicked King Herod that they were looking for a a child who was to become king of the Jews.   This inflamed the man with jealous rage.  

Next time: Conclusion of Joseph Protected His Family

From the Watchtower magazine, 2012