Samuel D. High
sdhigh@aristotle.net
-----Original Message-----
From: Apostle Tom <pressingon@hotmail.com>
Sent: Fri, 21 Dec 2007 08:12:51 -0600
To: <pressingon@hotmail.com>
Subject: Morning Manna (Dec. 22); BP: Mt. 1:18-25; RBTTY: Rev. 13; Micah 6-7
December 22 "On Living By Faith"
"Then Joseph, being raised from sleep, did as the angel of the Lord had bidden him and took unto him his wife and knew her not until she had brought forth her firstborn Son—and called His name Jesus."
Matthew 1:24-25
Truly, faith is "going without knowing where you’re going" (Heb. 11:8), but it’s always knowing with Whom you’re going (Heb. 11:6).
His whole world had been turned upside down.
For some time now Joseph, like any other Jewish bridegroom-to-be, had been working on his bridal chamber next to his father’s house. We don’t know how long he and Mary had been engaged, but we do know it was customary for a "son of Abraham" to start building the chamber after the couple’s fathers had negotiated the dowry and the betrothal was official.
Even now, we can see him toiling there in the hot sun. . .building the walls. . .putting on the roof. . .fixing the floor. . .hanging the door, etc. As a carpenter, he took pride in his work and wanted this special place to be one of the best that had ever been built.
But, then "it" happened.
Word came to him that Mary "was found to be with child" (v.18b). How he found out we don’t know; but it doesn’t matter, does it? Nope, not at all.
What does matter is that all of his plans suddenly seemed dashed against the hard rocks of reality. Perhaps, he threw down his hammer and ran like a wild man for the hills, weeping profusely as the word "Mary’s pregnant" kept whirling in his head. Or, if he was of a more subdued temperament, perhaps he just went into his room, closed the door and wept like there was no tomorrow.
No doubt questions like "Why, Lord?" or, like Mary, "How can this be?" kept ringing in his ears.
"Maybe she got pregnant while she was at Elizabeth’s house those three months" (Lk. 1:56), he said to himself. Or, he may have doubted the news of her pregnancy, countering with "No, it can’t be!" as he inwardly battled with his own myriad of emotions.
But, somewhere along the line, he saw Mary. . .her beginning-to-show pregnant stomach. . . and he knew the news was true. And, it was in the midst of all of this that he began to weigh his options and concluded the best thing to do was "put her away privately," out of leering eyes’ view and gossips’ wagging tongues.
How wonderful to read "the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream" (v.20a) and enlightened him as to what was going on (vv.20b-23). The angel’s reminder to him of Isaiah’s prophecy (v.23; Is. 7:14) quickened his fertile heart of faith, causing him to "do as the angel had bidden him by taking Mary to be his wife." It wasn’t for propriety’s sake that he acted; it was because of simple faith and obedience. He cared naught for what others thought, but cared only for what the Lord had said. May the Holy Spirit engender this same type of childlike trust in us today.
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