Lessons from Joseph

Isn't it grand when daddies keep teaching and teach by how they live?

Joseph is an amazing person when you think about it.

Joseph valued God’s Law and knew what God meant when He said He wanted tender hearts instead of sacrifice. He showed mercy when the Law said stoning. Mary was pregnant and he was not the father.

Joseph immediately obeyed God. [I wonder how many can say they immediately obey God.] I believe that when the Angel of the Lord appeared to him in his dream that Joseph got up immediately and got Mary that night from her house and brought her home to be his wife. This did numerous things, but one thing it did was eliminate any shame Mary might be subjected to because of her pregnancy. Joseph didn’t say, ‘But God…’ He didn’t drag his feet trying to figure out “what it all meant”, he just got up and went and did God’s bidding.

Joseph was a young man and passionate (they had eight kids including Jesus), but he was able to keep his hands off his wife until Jesus was born. That took considerable self-control, or perhaps God had a hand in that to help him… who knows? Joseph realized the importance of the virgin birth and behaved accordingly.

And if the Angel of the Lord wasn’t enough, Joseph had the testimony of the Magi who brought Gold Frankincense and Myrrh. These were gifts signifying the royalty of the child. Gold was given to kings. Frankincense and Myrrh were spices used in the embalming process developed by the Egyptians. Only royalty and nobles received the ultimate type of embalming where these spices were used. That kind of embalming cost about $2000. I believe God had these Magi give these gifts so that Joseph and Mary could sell the spices in Egypt for a good price in order for them to live comfortably until it was time to go home to Galilee.

Joseph was a man of action, self-control, patience and a good daddy bringing up his boys in fine Jewish tradition and in the Lord. I think he was an amazing man.