Live A Unique Life Of Obedience To The Lord
There is not much said in the scriptures about Joseph the carpenter. There was, however, something very special about him. He was a man who knew how to live a unique life of obedience to the Lord.
As he considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream. “Joseph, son of David,” the angel said, “do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife. For the child within her was conceived by the Holy Spirit. Matthew 1:20
Our verse for today says, “as he considered this.” What was he considering? Well, Mary, his fiancé, needed to tell Joseph at some time or another that she was expecting.
Mary, was engaged to be married to Joseph. But before the marriage took place, while she was still a virgin, she became pregnant through the power of the Holy Spirit. Matthew 1:18
That was probably a very interesting conversation. Whether it had to do with their talk or not, Mary left town for 3 months to visit her older relative, Elizabeth.
This gave Joseph time to process what she told him. He must have thought her story was pretty far-fetched because here is what he decided.
Joseph, to whom she was engaged, was a righteous man and did not want to disgrace her publicly, so he decided to break the engagement quietly. Matthew 1:19
Each night as his head rested on his pillow, Mary’s story was probably heavy on his mind. We don’t know the timing of Joseph’s dream. Maybe it was the night before Mary’s return back to Nazareth.
Joseph’s Revealing Dream
The verse we just mentioned says that Joseph was a righteous man. Then in our verse for today, the angel recognized his linage when he addressed him as, “Joseph, son of David.”
The linage of Joseph was just as important as Mary being a virgin. Because the Messiah would be born of a virgin in the linage of David.
Both Mary and Joseph confronted by the angel experienced a gender revealing before they were ever popular. Plus the angel confirmed to Joseph everything as told to Mary.
And she will have a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” Matthew 1:21
In the conversation the angel had with Joseph, he quoted a prophetic verse from the book of Isaiah.
All of this occurred to fulfill the Lord’s message through his prophet: “Look! The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel, which means ‘God is with us.’” Matthew 1:22-23
In my opinion, this prophetic word written hundreds of years prior, came to life that night for Joseph. Up until this point, an angel spoke to him.
But when the messenger quoted scripture, God spoke to him. Why? Because there is power in the Word of God. Because of his education in the scriptures, he realized that Isaiah 7:14 was coming alive right before his eyes.
Joseph heard the voice of God through the Angel. And it didn’t matter what he thought about the situation before. Or what his friends, neighbors, or family thought. Joseph would live his life in total obedience to the Lord.
When Joseph woke up, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded and took Mary as his wife. Matthew 1:24
You Can Live A Unique Life Of Obedience to God
Listen for God to speak to you. Often He will speak through His word. Other ways might include giving you a dream or speaking through someone else. No matter how He speaks, He will always confirm His message to you one way or another.
Even if you have made up your mind about something like Joseph did. Be sure that you are doing exactly what God wants you to do.
Lord, we don’t know much about Joseph. He was however a great inspiration to each of us when it comes to living in obedience to you. We desire to always be in the center of your will.
Joseph didn’t let anything distract him from his obedience to God. Here is a related post that you will enjoy called Unashamedly Living The Tough Truths Of The Gospel.
Check out the Matthew account of the Christmas Story.
