Date: December 14, 2011 9:34 PM
Topic: +DEV+ The Dilemma
The Dilemma
"Because Joseph her husband was a righteous man and did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly" (Matthew 1:19).
Scripture Focus: 1 Peter 2:24-25
Joseph's intention to leave Mary was understandable. The two were pledged to be married, a notion similar to engagement only more serious. Betrothal had all the responsibilities of marriage, minus consummation. So when his beloved left for three months (to visit Elizabeth) and returned pregnant, what was he to think? Disappointment thrust him into logical solutions: he would not expose her, but he must divorce her. He would do so quietly to protect her from shame and ñ worse - from the stoning the law required if she alone were guilty. But God intervened by dispatching His messenger again, this time to redirect Joseph's sensible plans onto God's sovereign plans. Had Joseph been a godless fellow, he would have dismissed that dream as a delusion. But honorable Joseph knew it to be the dependable Word of God.
By taking Mary for his wife, he was taking on her shame and guilt. Do you see the foreshadowing of how Jesus would bear the shame and guilt not only of His parents, but of the entire world? He came for us!
Insight: Joy to the World! The Lord is come! The coming emerges from tears and hardship in order to fill our hearts with gladness.
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