The Joseph family were direct descendants of royalty. They were not poor. They just did not get reservations in time.
Yes, Joseph’s family was descended from David and the kings of Judah. So was Mary’s.
For that matter, my genealogy leads back to the Kings of England, but it surely isn’t reflected in my bank account.
Luke, chapter 2, records Joseph and Mary’s visit to the Temple in Jerusalem when Jesus was almost six weeks old, to consecrate their firstborn son as required by the Law of Moses “and to offer a sacrifice in keeping with what is said in the Law of the Lord: ‘a pair of doves or two young pigeons.’ ” (verse 24)
After the birth, Mary was required to wait for almost six weeks until her “purification” was over as described in the Law of Moses. Then she was to take to the priest “a year-old lamb for a burnt offering and a young pigeon or a dove for a sin offering.” The priest was to sacrifice them “before the LORD to make atonement for her, and then she will be ceremonially clean from her flow of blood.” (Lev. 12:6-7)
As good Jews, Joseph and Mary did as the Law required and took their offering to the temple at the appointed time. However, they did not bring a year-old lamb.
Why?
As outlined in Leviticus 12:8, “But if she cannot afford a lamb, she is to bring two doves or two young pigeons, one for a burnt offering and the other for a sin offering. In this way the priest will make atonement for her, and she will be clean.’”
Joseph and Mary brought birds. They could not afford a lamb. They were demonstrably poor, unless you want to argue that they lied to the priest.
Our Lord, the King of Heaven and Earth, was born into modest circumstances and experienced life as an ordinary human like us. He understands our struggles. Hebrews 8.
Not my opinion, straight from scripture.
(One might argue that, if the magi brought riches, why didn’t Joseph and Mary use that to buy a lamb? The answer is that the nativity scenes we see so often at Christmas have it wrong.
The wise men didn’t show up until well after the birth. Matthew 2:11 records that they family had moved into a house by the time the magi arrived. Jesus may well have been a toddler by then. That timeline also explains Herod’s order to kill all male babies “two years and under.”
By that time, prompted by the divine dream, Joseph had enough loot to escape to Egypt.)