Devotion # 2 - The Obedient Joseph - Mathew 1:18-25



Devotion # 2 
The Obedient Joseph
Matthew 1:18-25

The Dilemma
Joseph and Mary were engaged and had not had any physical relationship, but when Joseph heard that Mary was going to have a baby by the Holy Spirit, he didn't seem to believe that story, and so decided to quietly break the engagement without making it a public issue. 

The Solution
But God immediately spoke to Joseph in a dream through an angel, confirming to him that Mary had indeed conceived by the Holy Spirit. The angel went further to foretell the gender of the child (Son), the name of the child (Jesus), as well as the purpose of this child's life (To save people from their sins). To prove further that this was of God, the angel even mentioned that this birth would be a fulfilment of a prophecy made by the prophet Isaiah many years ago in the book of Isaiah 7:14 - "The virgin will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel - which means, 'God with us.'" Joseph believes the angel and decides to marry Mary.

A Name with A Purpose
Has it ever been heard that an angel of God foretold the gender, name and purpose of a child's birth before it happens? All this was evidence enough that this birth was one of a kind - one that God had such an amazing plan for, that He would send His Angel to foretell these details in advance. 

What About Us?
Each of us has a name, and each of us have a purpose for our lives, and while our names might not necessarily be linked to our life's purpose, the queston that needs to be answered is, 'Have we discovered our true Identity and our Life's Purpose?' Until we discover answers to these 2 important questions, 'Who am I,' (Identity) and 'Why am I?' (Purpose), we will continue an unconscious, endless search through multifarious pursuits. It's only in connecting on a personal level with the God who created us, that we will discover our true identity and His purpose in creating us. And the only way that God has designed to reveal Himself to us is in the person of His Son Jesus Christ, which gives us  more personal and relevant significance to the birth of Jesus.

The Obedience
During a time when there were no prophets speaking on behalf of the Lord, it must have taken a lot for Joseph to believe that his dream was not just another dream that resulted from busyness of the day, but that it was really from God. So convinced was he that he did what was in total contrast to what he had earlier decided to to (break the engagement) - he decides to marry Mary and take her home with him. He had no physical relationship with her though until the birth of the boy (thereby proving the Virgin Birth), and then in obedience to the angel of God, named the baby, Jesus.

The Misconception
Many believe that Jesus was referred to as illegitimate by those around, but that's hardly likely, because Joseph obeyed the angel of the Lord and married Mary, and since then, Jesus was referred to as the son of Joseph the Carpenter.

The Adoption
There is a question concerning Jesus being born in the lineage of David, Abraham and Adam), when He was not really BORN in the lineage of David, since Joseph was not His real Father, but that's the beauty of it all - Jesus Himself was adopted, as it were, by Joseph, and brought up as His own Son, thereby receiving all the rights as a real son, including the rights of lineage, much like Moses was adopted by Pharaoh’s daughter and received all the rights of the royal family.

The First Glimpse
This, to me, is the first and best glimpse of the adoption of all of God's children who were not born Jews, where by the grace of God and through our faith in Christ, we get adopted into the family of God, receiving all the rights of true children. In fact, even Jews aren't true children of God, except through faith in Jesus.

Simple Obedience
How often do we find ourselves failing to obey simple instructions by the Lord and instead coming up with 'reasonable' excuses. But Joseph obeyed the Lord completely. When we walk with the Lord on a daily basis, then obeying Him won't be burdensome, but rather a joyful thing to us. 

A Reminder
Jesus connected our obedience to Him with our love for Him in John 14:15 - "If you love me, keep my commands."

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Michael Collins


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