Interlude-The Savior Reigns-Advent 8, 2021

“Joy to the world, the Savior reigns

Let men their songs employ

While fields and floods, rocks, hills, and plains

Repeat the sounding joy…”

The Savior reigns, all joy indeed because it’s a Savior we needed due to our estrangement from our Lord and God. It was all our fault. Human sin created an obstacle to God being with us and a world without God is hell.

Joseph knew mankind’s estrangement in the long, silent Interlude.
Perhaps his yearning for Messiah prepared him for this encounter.

“After he had considered [divorcing Mary quietly], an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.” All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”).” (Matthew 1:20-23)

In the birth narrative of Jesus as recorded by Matthew, Joseph has a significant role. The fulfilling of prophecy is clearly outlined. First, he is identified as “Joseph son of David.” He is the second (and therefore legal) witness to the fact of the virgin conception, first by the angelic pronouncement in a dream, but also directly identified as fulfilling the prophecy from Isaiah 7: 14 “Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.”

Matthew 1:24-25 “When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. But he did not consummate their marriage until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus.”

It will be the first of several integral, Scripture fulfilling events which Joseph’s role made possible. He is often considered an ancillary figure, but that would be to diminish the truth of what Joseph brings to the narrative. He was God’s chosen man for the moment to be the earthly father of our Savior, Jesus, named as Scripture says “because He will save his people from their sins.”

Questions for further study:

Identify the things that Joseph did, contributing both to the birth narrative and prophecy fulfillment. (Matthew 1:20-25)

Read Luke 2:1-16. Joseph is there, too. Identify ways in which his role contributed to the birth narrative.

After Jesus was born, there was more fulfillment of Scripture directly related to Joseph’s faithfulness. Read Matthew 2:13-23.

Many women bristle at male leadership. I do not. I marvel at what Joseph did as faithfulness and how vastly different the Scriptures would be if Mary had been the one receiving all the revelations/dreams and had been dragging their family around. Take a moment and thank God for the gift of Joseph in the Christmas narrative. This world needs more godly men who will lead with righteousness.

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Advent 2021 began Sunday, November 28th and continues to Friday, December 24th as we explore the multi-faceted Interlude between the promise of a Deliverer and the birth of our Messiah and King. By signing up on the sidebar of my Home Page you can receive these daily “Interlude” devotionals. Or they will be reposted on SeminaryGal’s Facebook page as well.

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Last year’s Advent Devotional Series Divine Intervention began on November 29, 2020 and explored God’s activity on behalf of a hurting world and nations in tumult– Intervention for you and for me when our status as sinners required nothing short of a miracle.
God’s Christmas list explored what might be on God’s Christmas list, learning what He wants from us. It began December 1, 2019.
Storyteller began December 2, 2018 and entered into the Christmas story through its telling.
The 2017 series Still Christmas, began December 3, 2017 and was the Advent complement to the Lenten series, Be Still and Know that I AM God.
The 2016 season devotionals were called “Timeless: The Message of Christmas for All Ages” and explored how the message of Christmas is timeless truth, for all ages of people, and for all ages at all times. Timeless hope, encouragement, grace, peace, and love as we looked into the Word, saw the face of our Lord Jesus, and experienced restoration in His presence. His goodness and His Gospel are truly Timeless. The 2016 devotionals began November 27, 2016.
The 2015 season devotionals were titled Incarnation and involved digging deep–and yes, I mean deep– in this important mystery of Christian theology. They began November 29, 2015.
Carol Me, Christmas! remains one of my most popular offerings and tells the Christmas story through our most beloved Christmas hymns and carols. You can access all of the numbered devotionals from 2014 via the archives. They began November 30, 2014.
The 2013 series was Emmanuel: When LOVE Showed Up in Person and examined the Prologue to the Gospel of John. It began December 1, 2013.
The 2012 series focused on Expecting the Unexpected…the unexpected, unlikely, and uniquely divine qualities of God’s perfect plan outlined in Luke’s account of the Christmas story. It began December 1, 2012.