JOSEPH: THE RESOLUTION

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In Christ, Mark

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. But he did not consummate their marriage until she gave birth to a son.

Matthew 1:24-25a

This ends today’s reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

We have watched Joseph transition through two phases as he tried to manage the difficult situation that presented itself. Mary, the woman he was engaged to (which in Jewish culture was akin to already being married), was pregnant and he knows he had nothing to do with it. He was a man who the scriptures say was faithful and obedient to the law and with that, Joseph saw that he only had two options available to resolve the quandary he faced. He could either have Mary publicly scorned, embarrassed, and stoned to death or he could simply choose to give her a certificate of divorce and send her away. Given that he wished Mary no harm but desired to stay true to the law, he decided to take the latter approach but before he had a chance to do so, the Lord sent an angel to him with a third option, a proposition for Joseph to consider, a proposal to ensure that God’s plan would happen just as He wanted.

What was the proposition?

Joseph was to go on with business as usual and take Mary to be his wife because she had not conceived by any man, thus preserving her virginity which was so sacred for the law to be upheld and for the prophecies of old, especially Isaiah’s (Isaiah 7:14), to be validated. The angel informed Joseph that Mary had been impregnated supernaturally through the Holy Spirit and when their son was born, they were to give Him the name Jesus because He was coming to save the people from their sins.

So Joseph was given the proposition. How would he reach resolution of the quandary he faced?

The answer is simple and a no brainer. All Joseph had to do was to carry out what God told him to do.

Sometimes we can be our own worst enemies when we are facing trials in life. Like Joseph, we think we can weigh every option available and analytically work our way through to the proper solutions. But the truth of the matter is that in our humanity, we are greatly limited in the way we can process matters and find our ways to the right outcomes. This is why we should just consult the Lord and allow Him to lead us to what He wants us to do because when we do that, and only when we do that, our results will be perfect because His plans are always perfect.

Well, Joseph did listen to God and carried out His proposition. Scriptures tell us that he woke up and did what the angel told him to do, taking Mary as his wife but not consummating their marriage until Mary gave birth to Jesus. This was to ensure that Mary would remain a virgin when she gave birth, again, to fulfill the prophecies.

God’s plan would soon come to full fruition and Jesus would come into the world as its Savior as well as its Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, and Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9:6). And it happened because Joseph stayed faithful and loyal to the Lord, trusting in His guidance and direction.

Tomorrow, we’ll start to look at Mary’s side and see how she faced a divine proposition.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

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