October 7 - Matthew 1-3
As we begin the book of Matthew, I would like to focus in on God's will. There are so many things of interest in this passage, and perhaps the Lord will direct you to something else, but what struck me this morning was how God communicated His will and how Joseph and others obeyed. Have you ever considered how important it is to God for us to know His will and what measures He takes to reveal it to us? Let's take a few minutes to consider how He did it for Joseph at Jesus' birth.
The first thing in the book of Matthew is the genealogy of Jesus. It tells us that Joseph was a descendant of David and of course, Abraham. Do you think that spoke to him later as he prayed about what was going on? Do you think he might have known that the Messiah would come through David's family? I think that is a strong possibility. Then, a very direct revelation is given by an angel as he was sleeping. He is told to go ahead and take Mary as his wife, because she was to be the mother of the Messiah. (1:21) We might think that would be enough for God to do, but He did not stop there. God confirmed this wonderful event by the prophecy from Isaiah 7:14. I am sure Joseph knew that passage, but now he was able to see it in a new light. It was to be a miraculous birth by the Holy Spirit, while Mary was still a virgin.
Joseph and Mary went ahead and obeyed the Lord, the baby was born, and they carried on in Bethlehem for about a year and a half before the Magi came to worship Jesus as the king of the Jews. Do you think that maybe they were beginning to ask the Lord what was going on? Do you think they needed further confirmation of His will and direction? I do. So God sent the Magi to give that confirmation. He sent another angel with more prophetic Scripture to show the way, and the Magi even brought gifts to fund their trip to Egypt. What a deal! God thought of everything. Then after spending time in Egypt, God sent another angel to direct them back to Israel and finally to free them to return to Nazareth instead of Going back to Bethlehem like they might have thought. How did He do that? There was another Scripture about the Messiah being called a Nazarene. Isn't God good! He directed them in all of these ways very specifically without the direct indwelling of the Holy Spirit as we have today.
However, we are told that the Holy Spirit was very active in Jesus' conception, and then we see the Holy Spirit at Jesus' baptism in chapter 3. It was not that He was not at work. He just used even more means than He does today. At the baptism God made His plan so very clear to John, so he could further prepare the way for Jesus. God does not want us to miss any part of His will, but we have to be sensitive to all that He is saying to us and doing around us. What is God telling you to do right now? Yes, there is something. You need to watch very closely and be totally obedient like Joseph and Mary and John, the Baptist.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Matthew 4-6.
The first thing in the book of Matthew is the genealogy of Jesus. It tells us that Joseph was a descendant of David and of course, Abraham. Do you think that spoke to him later as he prayed about what was going on? Do you think he might have known that the Messiah would come through David's family? I think that is a strong possibility. Then, a very direct revelation is given by an angel as he was sleeping. He is told to go ahead and take Mary as his wife, because she was to be the mother of the Messiah. (1:21) We might think that would be enough for God to do, but He did not stop there. God confirmed this wonderful event by the prophecy from Isaiah 7:14. I am sure Joseph knew that passage, but now he was able to see it in a new light. It was to be a miraculous birth by the Holy Spirit, while Mary was still a virgin.
Joseph and Mary went ahead and obeyed the Lord, the baby was born, and they carried on in Bethlehem for about a year and a half before the Magi came to worship Jesus as the king of the Jews. Do you think that maybe they were beginning to ask the Lord what was going on? Do you think they needed further confirmation of His will and direction? I do. So God sent the Magi to give that confirmation. He sent another angel with more prophetic Scripture to show the way, and the Magi even brought gifts to fund their trip to Egypt. What a deal! God thought of everything. Then after spending time in Egypt, God sent another angel to direct them back to Israel and finally to free them to return to Nazareth instead of Going back to Bethlehem like they might have thought. How did He do that? There was another Scripture about the Messiah being called a Nazarene. Isn't God good! He directed them in all of these ways very specifically without the direct indwelling of the Holy Spirit as we have today.
However, we are told that the Holy Spirit was very active in Jesus' conception, and then we see the Holy Spirit at Jesus' baptism in chapter 3. It was not that He was not at work. He just used even more means than He does today. At the baptism God made His plan so very clear to John, so he could further prepare the way for Jesus. God does not want us to miss any part of His will, but we have to be sensitive to all that He is saying to us and doing around us. What is God telling you to do right now? Yes, there is something. You need to watch very closely and be totally obedient like Joseph and Mary and John, the Baptist.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Matthew 4-6.