BLESSED BE GOD OUR FATHER’S CHOICE OF A GOOD MAN TO IMPLEMENT GOD’S PROPHESIED PLAN
When my brother twenty years my senior was asked by me - while gathering information for writing our family history - to sum up our dad’s life in a just a few words, he simply said: “He was a good carpenter and loved his children.” Well, my immediate thought was: “Just like Joseph the father of Jesus” . . ! At that point of similarity, though, is where the comparison ends – for both my daddy and me!
When the time came to choose a man to implement God’s prophesied plan for saving repentant sinners from the punishment of eternal separation from God, Father God chose a good man (a good carpenter) who would love his children. Thus, Joseph of Nazareth became a “silent partner” with the LORD God of his ancestors.
Now - genealogy has been one of my favorite pastimes for quite some time - traveling hither to and yon, and then some, tracing the roots of my good carpenter dad who loved his children. What a journey it has been even though some of my family and friends have wondered about the craziness of such a time-consuming venture.
Yet, having discovered who my ancestors were, where they lived, what they did for a living, as well as what their relationship with God our Father appeared to have been, has helped me to better understand myself, my family, and how we all are connected - to God and to one another.
Moreover, in and through it all, there has emerged in my thinking a pattern of God’s redemptive plan for bringing about good for those who love Him . . . seek to abide by His rules of righteousness . . . seek to do His bidding while, through it all, praying: “Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven”.
Joseph (we are told by Matthew in chapter 1:1-16) was the product of a genealogy of ancestors back to Father Abraham - then for 14 generations to Jesse the father of David - then for 14 generations to the time of the exile - then for 14 generations to “Joseph, the husband of Mary of whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ”.
For 42 generations (each consisting of an average of 42 years) the LORD God was at work in and through it all - for 1000 years from the call of Abraham to the reign of Uzziah’s grandson Ahaz to whom Isaiah foretold the sign of all signs - a virgin birth that we now know would occur seven centuries later when God chose the right man to be the earthly father of the Righteous One to be born of the right woman - one virtuous maiden named Mary who was betrothed to Joseph - Matthew 1:18-25 . . .
The recorded Story of God’s Redemption actually begins in Genesis (3:15) --- with God’s pronouncement of the enmity He would put between the serpent (Satan) and the woman’s offspring (the Messiah) who would crush the serpent’s head (a reference to victory over death) even as the serpent struck her offspring’s heel (a reference to the Crucifixion) --- but the Story moves quickly (Genesis 12) to that part of the story uppermost in the minds of biblical writers inspired by God to record His Story – Call of Abraham to be the father of a nation through whom “all peoples of the earth will be blessed”.
A lifetime can be (has been) spent studying the historical events recorded in the Old Testament preceding the Main Event as told by Matthew whose gospel is the first of 27 books written (as stated by Luke) “that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, Son of the Living God, and that, by believing, you might have life in His Name.”
Matthew’s purpose was to convince non-Christian Jews that: the Messiah promised to Abraham and prophesied by Isaiah had come into the world so that the world through Him might be saved - and that JESUS (Yeshua), Son of Joseph, son of David, prophesied by Isaiah, born of the Virgin Mary, was He.
Matthew focused on the Name given the child . . . His Conception (conceived by the Spirit of God) . . . His mother’s virginity . . . His earthly father’s ancestry – all of which occurred exactly as prophesied. Never before had an event like this occurred – and we might add, nor since.
Before their betrothal had a chance to get off to a good start, Joseph’s plan for marrying Mary and making a happy home in Nazareth, in keeping with Jewish customs and values, was disrupted with the unwelcome news that his bride-to-be was expecting a baby which he knew was not his, but was to learn that the pregnancy occurred by a divine act of the Spirit of God for implementing God’s plan.
How we respond to crises that the Lord allows or directs to occur in our lives speaks volumes about Christian character. Actions do speak louder than words!
We have already concluded that God chose the right man to be the earthly father of His Son! But have you noticed something rather peculiar about the man God chose? A man of not many if any words! A Quiet Man! Yet, whose character comes through loud and clear!
Matthew described Joseph as “a righteous man”. To be known as such would mean that Joseph possessed all of those good qualities that define a dedicated and faithful believer in, worshipper of, the LORD our God. Nothing sacrilegious . . . Everything serious . . . about his devotion to the LORD! Good to know people like that!
Joseph was the one who could be counted on to “do right by” his LORD . . . his Ancestors . . . his Bride . . . his Family . . . his Profession . . . his Fellow Man . . . Whoever and whatever this man was expected, assigned, privileged or designated by inheritance to take care of, Joseph of Nazareth was that faithful servant about whom the LORD God and all who knew him could say, “Consider it done . . . right”.
No words of Joseph’s are recorded in the Bible! His loving actions rendered words unnecessary! The greatest compliment I’ve ever heard was that which was paid to a minister friend of mine at his funeral service: “Fred took seriously our Lord’s last instruction to His disciples: ‘Ye shall be my witnesses’. Our brother in Christ epitomized what it means to be an effective Christian witness - and, if necessary, he used words.”
Joseph’s righteous love . . . redemptive love . . . readiness-to-serve love in my opinion reflected as a foreshadowing the love that would characterize the Son to be born. Such love would not allow Joseph to make a spectacle of his beloved Mary nor cause her any harm or put her to shame. No! The righteous man chose to do right by the woman he loved. And his first wise move was to “sleep on it”!
God rewarded Joseph’s mercy by blessing him with a revelation of God’s redemptive plan which righteous Joseph would be expected, assigned, privileged, designated by inheritance to be a part of . . . How could Joseph not accept such a role?
Compelled by the love of God for mankind . . . for His chosen people . . . for His chosen birth mother . . . for His chosen care taker. . . Joseph readily accepted his assigned task to be the earthly father of Jesus - responsible for the upbringing of the most important child ever born! What a task! Consider it done!
“When Joseph woke Up . . .” God has a way of waking us up! When God wakes us up to the reality of situations . . . how we respond, what we do next, is vital!
Joseph woke up . . . got up . . . got ready . . . did what God told him to do! He “took Mary home as his wife” . . . had no intimate union with her prior to the birth of God’s son . . . gave the newborn baby the name JESUS.
Joseph’s obedience to God has stood the test of time as the example of a right response characteristic of a righteous person . . . whose trust in the Lord leaves no room for negotiation, but does whatever needs to be done, whenever it needs to be done, wherever it needs to be done, for as long as it needs to be done in obedience to God’s will!
Each morning when you wake up, then get up and get ready for your day, ask the Lord to direct you in the path of righteousness wherein you are willing to do right by your God . . . yourself . . . your loved ones . . . your neighbor. Amen!
