LUKE 2:16. “And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger.” A CARPENTER AND HIS VIRGIN WIFE.
From eternity past came the plans of God to be unfolded, revealed, fulfilled. From the time of the first parents came the promise of God, precise, unusual. From the source of divine love, the heart of God, came the assurance - real. The seed of the woman would come: the carpenter’s virgin wife’s Son - mankind delivered.
From the calendar of history not yet enacted, the place of divine design. From the table where the plans of redemptive grace were laid out before earth came. From the carefully carried out events of a tiny nation that became a world power. The throne of David would be filled forever: the heritage of the carpenter and his virgin wife.
To a despised community looked down on because of poverty and position. To a laborer’s shop where daily toil was needed to provide basic necessities. To a young woman not long removed from childhood and insignificance. The messenger came with heavenly news: to the carpenter and his espoused virgin wife.
To the soul of a young virgin longing for a life of meaning and purpose. To the mind of the carpenter in a dream, hoping for a life of happiness with his wife. To the two of them from high in heaven above, each separately, not yet one. The Son of God, call His name Jesus: coming from God to the carpenter and his virgin wife.
From Nazareth they went, to Judea as prophesied, to Bethlehem, to be taxed. From inn to inn, from house to house, no place could be found – to rest, to stay. From the place of men to the place of animals, from shelter to a manger. Alone, with God and the heavenly host: the carpenter and his virgin wife, and the Babe.
From the throne of God to the shepherds in the field with their flocks. From the Word of God in a far and distant place, to searchers who had long looked.
From the angel and the heavenly host who hastened to obey and rejoiced. Comes the glad announcement, “He’s here, born of a virgin”: watched by the carpenter and his virgin wife.
“What a glorious moment it was, O Holy God, when into this world was born Thy only begotten Son. It may have seemed obscure then, but it certainly is not now. Many will not believe on Him but by Thy grace, I have been brought to faith in the Lord Jesus Christ alone as my Savior. I thank Thee, praise Thee and worship Thee here. Amen.”