Morning Moments

The other day my friend called and told me of a sign he had seen that read something to the effect of "Joseph never said a word." It prompted me to look at the texts of Matthew and Luke again regarding Joseph, Mary's husband, and here is what I found. I pray God will use it in our lives...

Words are a generally agreed upon form of communication. They are important to us. The words of a friend, a parent, a celebrity, a movie clip, and so forth. Immortal words are words spoken that live beyond the life span of the person who spoke them and usually come from famous people such as presidents, philosophers, authors, etc..

In the case of this man who never said a word, it was not that he could not or would not speak, but the point is that nothing he ever said is recorded in Holy Writ, yet he played a most significant part in the Nativity story. His is a case of actions speaking louder than words and Joseph was a man of action. Now consider what I found about him...

1. He was JUST, not judgmental or jealous - We have no record of his conversation with his parents, Mary, her parents, nor anyone else, but if God says he was a just man, then we know that he was a man who rejoiced when right and truth prevail. Learning the news of the pregnancy of his fiance must have been a real shocker to him. As we look at the Biblical account of him, we MUST keep in mind that he was a JUST man. How easy it would have been for him to BOIL thinking that she might have betrayed him or that she was not the girl he had thought she was. Had he been judgmental and jealous, He would not have heard from God as he did.

2. He was RESPECTFUL, not ruthless, reckless, and vengeful. We know this because he had every right by law of man to take her to court to clear his name and to get the dowry promised for himself. He also had every right to make her a public example and have her stoned. He did neither. Further, he had the right to write a certificate of divorcement and claim "I divorce you" to but her to public shame. He did none of those things but sought sought a respectful and respectable solution to these things.

3. He was MEDITATIVE, not mad. This we see from the words, "as he thought on these things." It is far to easy to react than to respond. Because we tend to divorce Biblical characters from reality, and because much preaching is exegetical, but not applicational, we fail to connect with the character. Sanctified imagination is a good thing, but not one to build doctrine on. Okay let me draw the picture.

He was probably 18-20 years old and she was probably 13-16. He had seen her playing as a child and though, "Now she is adorable." He watched her grow up and had an eye for her. After all, he knew she came from a good family and had always conducted herself as a perfect lady. Who would not wish for a wife like her. So, he discusses this over time with his folks who had seen admiring way Joseph look at Mary.

The time came and the espousal was official, which permitted them lots of time together, but not time alone together. They got to know each other very well and both were pleased that their parents favored them and approved the choice. Joseph had always been a thinker. It seemed he thought more deeply than boys his age. He thinking about things had led him to good decisions before, so he "thought on these things."

(to be continued)

PRAYER: Father, we realize that customs and cultures may differ, but hearts remain the same. Help us to understand the importance of not merely knowing, but understanding the knowledge. Please help us to see beyond the surface and to pause and ponder before we proceed.