The Coming Kingdom: Matthew 1.18-25 (4)
Pray Psalm 32.8, 9.
I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go;
I will guide you with My eye.
Do not be like the horse or like the mule,
Which have no understanding,
Which must be harnessed with bit and bridle,
Else they will not come near you.
Sing Psalm 32.8, 9.
(Hendon: Take My Life and Let It Be)
Teach me, LORD, how I should live; sound instruction ever give.
let me never stubborn be; let Your eye watch over me,
let Your eye watch over me.
Read Matthew 1.18-25; meditate on verses 24, 25.
What is the Lord commanding you to do today?
Prepare.
1. What did Joseph do when he awoke?
2. What did he do with Mary?
Meditate.
Joseph, we recall, was a just man. He knew the Word of God, and so he would have recognized that the word of the angel was the very voice of the Lord. He did not quibble with the Lord or hesitate to do what the angel instructed. For Joseph, his next step after getting ready for the day was to obey.
Immediately he went to Mary and reaffirmed his commitment to marry her. What a joyous renewal that must have been. Without recriminations, resentments, or reproaches. Just the assurance of God’s Word and the promise of a future together.
Then, following the birth of Jesus, Joseph and Mary knew exactly what His Name would be: Jesus. That Name would recall the name of Joshua and provoke visions of conquest, blessing, and the very Presence of God on earth. Names frequently carry a heavy load of significance in Scripture, which we will see more clearly in our next two installments in this series. But whatever may have been Joseph’s or Mary’s preference for names mattered not one whit. His Name would be Jesus. Period.
If you’re like me, you wish that Joseph featured more in the story of Jesus. He may have died young at some point before Jesus’ ministry began, because we only ever hear of Mary from the wedding of Cana forward. The one attribute cited of both Mary and Joseph is that of immediate and unquestioning obedience to the Lord.
That’s a good example to follow.
Treasure Old and New: Matthew 13.52; Psalm 119.162
Joseph was not allowed the flourish Scripturally that was documented for Mary.
Luke recorded her beautiful and much studied prayer (see Lk. 1.46-55).
We have her responses to the shepherds and to finding Jesus in the temple (see Lk. 2.19, 51).
We have words to her from Simeon regarding the emotional pain she will eventually suffer (Lk. 2.35).
Elizabeth summed it up: “Blessed is she who believed, for there will be a fulfillment of those things which were told her from the Lord” (Lk. 1.45).
Then there is Joseph. But Joseph, like Mary, was handpicked out of all the men ever born to be the earthly father and nurturer of the holy Son of God. Yes, what a splendid man he must’ve been!
He, unlike Abraham and Zacharias (Gen. 17.17; Lk. 1.18), never questioned God about the miraculous nature of the things that were to take place. He trusted God. He listened to God’s voice. And he obeyed.
He was also very wise. The angel did not need to get out the big grip crayons to help Joseph understand that he was not to have relations with Mary until after Jesus was born. Joseph just intuited it (Matt.1.25). He fully understood and believed all he had been told by God through the angel. And he justly did it.
He fully grasped his Personal Mission Field and embraced it gladly.
This man was not only just, but he was loving, trusting, gentle, and kind. He did not parade himself, nor was he egotistical. He did not behave rudely, nor did he seek his own way. He was not easily provoked, nor did he think evil about anyone. He rejoiced in the truth. He did bear all things, believed all things, hoped all things, and endured all things. Turns out, his love did not fail. And as we see clearly, this man Joseph, was the exemplar of Paul’s discourse on love (see 1 Cor. 13.1-8).
I would like to give Joseph’s thoughts a hearing. He, like Mary, would have been familiar with the Scriptures and would have known the story of Job. So, I think we can almost say that Joseph would have been happy to voice these same sentiments, regarding his life, his beliefs, and his response to the amazingly mysterious things in which he was involved.
“Indeed these are the mere edges of His ways, and how small a whisper we hear of Him!
But the thunder of His power who can understand?” (Job 26.13)
“For I know that my Redeemer lives,
and He shall stand at last on the earth;
and after my skin is destroyed, this I know,
that in my flesh I shall see God,
Whom I shall see for myself,
and my eyes shall behold,
and not another.
How my heart yearns within me!” (Job 19.25-27)
Indeed, Joseph, you did see Him for yourself!
Your complete obedience wrought wondrous things in your life.
May we all be as obedient.
Reflect.
1. What can you do to improve in the great commandment to love God with all your soul and strength?
2. What can you do to remind yourself of the command to love your neighbor as yourself?
3. When is the best time for you to review each day, listening for the Lord to show you more and better ways to obey Him?
Joseph did as the angel of the Lord had bidden him, speedily, without delay, and cheerfully, without dispute. By applying the general rules of the written word, we should in all the steps of our lives, particularly the great turns of them, take direction from God, and we shall find this safe and comfortable. Matthew Henry (1662-1714), Commentary on Matthew 1.18-25
Pray Psalm 32.10, 11.
Pray for our sad and weary world, that God’s grace may spread to them as we obey His Word and go joyfully among them in our Personal Mission Field.
Sing Psalm 32.10, 11.
(Hendon: Take My Life and Let It Be)
Though the wicked wail and weep, they rejoice whose souls You keep.
Trusting, we exult with praise, joyf’ly singing all our days,
joyf’ly singing all our days!
T. M. and Susie Moore
If you have found this meditation helpful, take a moment to give thanks to God. Then share what you learned with a friend. This is how the grace of God spreads (2 Cor. 4.15).
Other columns of interest: This week: The Read Moore podcast pushes on through our readings from Joy to Your World!. Our Crosfigell teaching letter continues its brief series on the early 6th-century Irish saint, Coemgen. The ReVision column finishes the study of Kingdom values and turns to consider how to grow the divine economy. Check out our other excellent writers. Click here to see all the other columns and writers available to you.
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Except as indicated, all Scriptures are taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. For sources of all quotations, see the weekly PDF of this study. All psalms for singing are from The Ailbe Psalter.
