COVER FEATURE I Walked Today
Where Jesus Walked Written by Marvin J. Rosenthal
Our world appears to be infinite. The more
scientists measure the universe, the more
they realize it is immeasurable. The more
they seek to describe it within boundaries,
the more they realize it is boundless. The more
they try to comprehend it, the more they realize
it is incomprehensible. In years past, a rocket
was launched into space. Part of its payload was
a telescope. From outside of earth’s atmosphere,
it allowed scientists to peer deeper into the universe
than men have ever looked before. And
the more they saw, the less they knew.
Paradoxical perhaps, but the new knowledge
raised more questions than it answered.
Knowledge has a way of doing that.But, if “The fear of the LORD is the beginning
of knowledge” (Proverbs 1:7), men won’t
fi nd it on a distant star, the Milky Way, an unknown
galaxy or another planet.The truly important locale among the myriad
bodies that move unerringly through time
and space is the planet Earth. It is here on Earth
that God created the animal world – it is here on
Earth that God fashioned man from the dust of
the ground and breathed into him the breath of
life, and man became a living soul – it is here on
Earth that God gave man dominion and authority
to rule as king – it is here on Earth that God
chose to place His great name, display His nature,
and manifest His glory. The angels of Heaven fix their gaze on this terrestrial ball because
it is here on Earth, among fallen men, that
God chose to work out His plan of redemption.If Earth is the important planet in our universe
– and it is – then Israel is the important
place on this planet. It was to this planet and
this place only that the Son of God chose to
come. We may have chosen another land, another
people, another way – God didn’t. And if
you want to walk where He walked, you must
walk the land of Israel.I walked today where Jesus walked in
Bethlehem. Bethlehem was the village where
King David was born. And since Jesus was of
the royal lineage of David, He would also be
born there. God would use Caesar Augustus,
Emperor of Rome, to see to it. Augustus passed
a decree requiring everyone in the Roman
world to return to the city of their ancestry for a
census. Since Mary and Joseph were both of the
lineage of David, they were required to make
the difficult, hilly, 70-mile trip from Nazareth to
Bethlehem. And there she would give birth, and
God would visit this planet. . .