19And Joseph her [promised] husband, being a just and righteous man and not wanting to expose her publicly to shame, planned to send her away and divorce her quietly. 20But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, descendant of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, for the Child who has been Lit begotten.conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. 21She will give birth to a Son, and you shall name Him Jesus (The Lord is salvation), for He will Those who, by personal faith, accept Him as Savior are saved from the penalty of sin and reconciled with the Father.save His people from their sins.” 22All this happened in order to fulfill what the Lord had spoken through the The prophets in the Bible always have the ability to foretell the future as revealed to them by God. Scripture provides stringent criteria for testing a prophet’s ability to foretell future events (Deut 18:22).prophet [Isaiah]: 23“Behold, the “Virgin” (Gr parthenos) clearly confirms that Mary was a virgin when she gave birth to Jesus.virgin shall be with child and give birth to a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel”—which, when translated, means, “God with us.” 24Then Joseph awoke from his sleep and did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him, and he took Mary [to his home] as his wife, Matthew 1:19-24 AMP
Joseph was at a crossroads at this point, he was engaged to be married to Mary who was found to be pregnant, though they had not had sex. At that time, like any other time, alleged infidelity is grounds to annul a marriage, to find that the one that you are to be married to is already pregnant is another level of betrayal and disappointment. At the point that Joseph was about to not only end his marriage, but also interfere with God’s plan, God showed up. In this passage, like numerous other points in the Bible, God showed up and spoke in a dream to reassure, confirm, and direct the steps of Joseph like he does many others. Oftentimes we are too distracted by life and all that it involves for us to hear and recognize God when he speaks to us, so instead he will instead choose to speak through dreams.
13“Why do you complain against Him? That He does not answer [you with] all His doings. 14For God speaks once, And even twice, yet no one notices it [including you, Job]. 15In a dream, a vision of the night [one may hear God’s voice], When deep sleep falls on men While slumbering upon the bed, 16Then He opens the ears of men And seals their instruction, 17That He may turn man aside from his conduct, And keep him from pride; Job 33:13-17 AMP
In the old testament during Job’s affliction, Elihu informed him that God does speak to man, even when we don’t realize it. In the early story of Jesus we see on 3 separate occasions where God spoke to Joseph in dreams to instruct him on what to do and where to go. Even the 3 “wise men” who visited a young Jesus within his first 2 years of life (not at his birth as many Christmas scenes depict), were instructed in a dream to not return to Herod after finding Jesus. The same rules and situations apply today, God still speaks to each of us, whether through a dream, prophecy from a spiritual leader, instruction/insight from another person who God has chosen to speak through, and even through those un-explainable thoughts, feelings, and desires that seem to never give you any peace until you develop the faith to carry it out. God speaks clearly, yet sometimes silently, and oftentimes it is our own fear or lack of quality time spent with God and his word that prevents us from recognizing AND fulfilling what he has told you to do.
Reflection Time
How has or does God speak to you? In what ways have you desired God to speak to you, or better said, what ways have you imagined God speaking to you? During Lent, I ask that you pray AND fast (if you’re led to do so) which I know will help you to get in position to hear from God. I believe that if you spend the time reading his word and praying, then you will identify where and how God has or is speaking to you.
