Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the Law of the Lord, and on His Law he meditates day and night.
Psalm 1:1-2

Joseph was a good man, a godly man who loved God and His Word. He was looking forward to marrying the girl of his dreams and raising a family with her. But now it seemed that his whole life and all his plans had fallen apart. Mary, the sweet girl he loved, to whom he was legally bound, had turned up pregnant.

Joseph knew the Baby wasn’t his. The mystery was how she had gotten pregnant, since, as was customary in Jewish families of that time and place, she was carefully sheltered and protected from contact with men. But that didn’t change the facts, and as a good man, he wanted a wife he could trust. But if he went public with the news that she had been unfaithful, the Law decreed that she should be stoned.

What was the right thing to do? What did the Bible say? He kept meditating on it, turning the Scriptures over in his mind.

He had pretty well made up his mind that he would just get a quiet divorce. He could just say that he had found something in her that displeased him, and let her have the baby. Everyone would assume the baby was his. She would live in her parents’ home and raise the kid as a single mom, but at least she would be allowed to live.

He went to sleep that night with all these thoughts in his head, and it happened: a vivid dream, clearly sent by God. An angel appeared and explained: was the fulfillment of a 700 year old prophecy; the Baby was the Son of God, the Savior that God had promised. He should go ahead, take Mary as his wife, and trust God.

All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet: "Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel" (which means, God with us).
Matthew 1:20-23

Mary, still a virgin, had conceived miraculously by a work of the Spirit of God, and this Baby was the Savior that the whole nation longed for. He would save His people, not from the Romans but from their own sins.

Joseph trusted God’s Word and obeyed. You know the rest of the story.

When everything seems to have crashed around you and you don’t know what to do, trust in God and wait for Him to show you the way through it, by His Word.

Lord, I don’t know everything and my friends have all kinds of advice. What do You say? Give me the understanding of Your Word that I need for today. Amen.

Pastor Dan Giles