… an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.” (Matthew 1:20b-21)
If it had not been for an angel of the Lord appearing to Joseph, the whole story might have been different; however, God knows the beginning from the end and knew Joseph’s heart. God knew he was a good, honorable man and also knew he would abide by the wishes of the angel for the Jews were a God fearing people (and practicing orthodox Jews still are to this day). The angel laid out the whole situation to Joseph and told him what to do. Joseph’s obedience was paramount. He needed to do as he was told and without hesitation he did.
In this day and age when obedience is side stepped in favor of personal desire, it would have been interesting to see how the same scenario would have played out. Right and wrong are whitewashed so as not to thwart our efforts to have some fun. Boundaries are hazy so we can do as we please. Adults, so busy working to pay for the opulent lifestyles they have obtained for their families, have no time to administer discipline or show love, support and encouragement to their kids. Parents give their children whatever they so desire in an attempt to win their affections. Television shows tell us of the deep abiding wisdom of children, while the parents are shown as blithering idiots. God is an afterthought, if He is thought of at all. In the midst of this chaos, God quietly stands with open arms bidding us all to come to Him. Unfortunately, He cannot be heard by the common man due to the cacophony of noise that we have allowed to become life.
Jesus came for a specific purpose. He was sent by His Father to pay the sin debt man had accumulated. In God’s economy sin must be paid for. Ideally, it is not to be committed at all, but God knows we have a propensity to sin. It is in our old nature and unless we surrender to the will of God in our lives we will never overcome our old nature. Jesus is the Greek form of Joshua, which means the Lord saves, and indeed He does. He saves us from our sins and ourselves, for without Jesus’ birth there is no hope of forgiveness for mankind.
WALK WITH THE KING TODAY AND BE A BLESSING!
