“… Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit. Because Joseph her husband was a righteous man and did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly. But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream …” (Matthew 1:18b-20a)
To the human eye Mary violated her vows to her betrothed. Jewish law was clear. Unless Joseph accepted Mary under these conditions, God’s plan would crash and burn. As He does with all men, God knew Joseph’s heart. He knew he was an honorable man and would listen to reason; thus the message from an angel. It is not revealed to us which angel, which give us a hint that God has control over all angels to do His bidding. I have no idea how often angels appeared to men and I also do not know what form he appeared to Joseph in. We are only told that angel appeared to Joseph in a dream, which tells us he was asleep. There is no recorded hesitation with Joseph. He woke up and did what the angel had commanded him to do (Matthew 1:24). This obedience on Joseph’s part kept Mary from being stoned as an adulteress.* God foresaw this entire event in time and wasn’t surprised by any of it.
Time is the realm that we live in; it is a realm that was created by God and for Him. God uses time as He so wills to accomplish His divine purposes. We are constantly running out of time. We are slaves to the clock. God is a slave to nothing. He saw the lives of Mary and Joseph unfold before Him. He led them to an inn with a manger. He led the shepherds and Magi to the manger. All this transpired in good time. We are not ever told that anyone in this scenario was in a rush. No one was running about. Everything was orchestrated by God’s mighty hand. It took place just as it was planned by God before time began.
Something we humans cannot seem to understand is that everything takes time. No matter how fast we move, it stills takes time. Nothing is instantaneous. Nothing is immediate. Just because we want things now doesn’t mean it won’t take time. Let us learn from this portion of the Christmas story that all things are arranged by God and come to fruition as He has planned for us if we will only slow down and rest in God’s grace.
In the fullness of time Christ came … .
WALK WITH THE KING TODAY AND BE A BLESSING!
* “It's important to note that betrothal was of a much more formal and far more binding nature than the "engagement" is with our culture. Indeed, it was held to be a part of the transaction of marriage, and as being the most binding part. The ceremony of betrothal consisted in the acceptance before witnesses of the terms of the marriage as contracted for.” “… the betrothed couple were legally in the position of a married couple, and any unfaithfulness was ‘adultery’”. (Deuteronomy 22:23; Matthew 1:19) [Marriage and Betrothal in Bible Times; Lion Tracks QnA; www.bibleistrue.com]
