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I watched a movie yesterday afternoon, courtesy of David Jeremiah, re-enacting the Joseph and Mary story. Naturally, things were added to the story that are not found in the Bible, none of which altered the main story. Example: It showed Mary walking through the market picking out pieces of fruit, tossing them in the air, and caught by Joseph walking behind her, catching them in a basket. During this scene Dr. Jeremiah mentioned that Joseph was “pledged” to marry Mary. I never grasped the point being it was an “arranged” marriage. This morning when I noticed the post-it on the table where I had jotted down “arranged” I decided to do some investigating. I checked out gotquestions.org and then the study note for Matthew 1:18.

—> 1:18 Jewish marriage involved three basic steps. First, the two families agreed to the union. Second, a public announcement was made. At this point, the couple was “pledged.” This was similar to engagement today except that their relationship could be broken only through death or divorce (even though sexual relations were not yet permitted). Third, the couple was married and began living together. Because Mary and Joseph were engaged, Mary’s apparent unfaithfulness carried a severe social stigma. According to Jewish civil law, Joseph had a right to divorce her, and the Jewish authorities could have had her stoned to death (Deuteronomy 22:23-24). 1:18 Why is the Virgin Birth important to the Christian faith? Jesus Christ, God’s Son, had to be free from the sinful nature passed on to all other human beings by Adam. Because Jesus was born of a woman, he was a human being; but as the Son of God, Jesus was born without any trace of human sin. Jesus is both fully human and fully divine. <—

This got my mind thinking about the OT times where God instructs his people to kill entire villages, woman and children included. We often question this act, and it’s been brought up to me during a heated discussion about abortion. As I consider “without any trace of human sin” that could be passed on via genes, I think about the “genes” I got from my dad. The “genes” my granddaughter got through second generation from my husband. The “genes” that have passed on mental illness, high blood pressure, diabetes, generation after generation. I suppose there have been several unhealthy “genes” that an abortion stopped from being passed on. But I do believe that is God’s decision to make, not humans.