I remember a message I used to hear as a child of the 80’s. My television show would be interrupted by some annoying squawking sounds followed by this statement:
This has been a test of the emergency broadcast system. If this had been an actual emergency, you would have been instructed where to tune in your area for news and official information.
These messages came due to a government program that existed from 1963 to 1997. The intent was to have a way for the President to directly address citizens in case of war. It was never used for that specific purpose, but it was used thousands of times for other types of emergencies (weather, for example). The idea was simple: the government has the responsibility of interrupting whatever we are watching or listening to if doing so may save lives.
The Christmas season reminds me of an emergency message of sorts that was sent to Joseph, the earthly father of Jesus. He received a word that was much more convincing than anything that ever came to me through television or radio airwaves. It was a divine mandate sent through a heavenly messenger.
Matthew’s Gospel gives us this account:
Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly. But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet:
“Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son,
and they shall call his name Immanuel”(which means, God with us). When Joseph woke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him: he took his wife, but knew her not until she had given birth to a son. And he called his name Jesus.
Matthew 1:18-25
Courtship and marriage didn’t happen back then the same way they do now. Mary was probably a teenager when her family set out to find her a suitable husband. Joseph was probably a few years older so that he could be a little more financially established. Keep in mind that you did well to live into your 50’s or 60’s back then, so there wasn’t much time to waste.
Their families arranged this marriage for them. In other words, Mary and Joseph probably had little say in the matter and simply trusted their parents.
Joseph and Mary would have made a legal contract before witnesses. Money may have been exchanged between families. This was the beginning of the betrothal period we see mentioned in Matthew’s Gospel. They were not yet allowed to live together—the wedding ceremony and subsequent cohabitation usually came about a year later. But unlike modern-day engagements, they were legally bound to each other. The only way their relationship could end was through a legal process of divorce.
It was in this context that Joseph discovered Mary was pregnant. He concluded that she had been unfaithful and betrayed her contract. He figured his marriage was over before it started.
Joseph had two options:
The first would be a public divorce. This would have exposed Mary to public shame and even the possibility of capital punishment (the Old Testament penalty for adultery).
His second option was a private divorce. That would mean just making a writ of divorce in front of a couple of witnesses.
Joseph was a “just man” and chose to “divorce her quietly” (vs. 18). It was the most merciful and honorable decision he could have made. But it was the wrong decision. Joseph’s plan would have been disastrous if he had followed through.
God intervened and interrupted Joseph’s well intentioned plan. He sent an angel to Joseph in a dream with new instructions. Joseph obeyed and became the earthly father of Jesus Christ—an honor that’s hard for us to fathom.
Bob Hall, one of my seminary professors, read this story years ago in a class. He made a point that went something like this: “Joseph’s intentions were good, but he was about to make the wrong decision. Sometimes we simply have to make the wisest decision we can, then trust God to show us if we are wrong.”
I can’t tell you how encouraging that insight has been for me over the years. It’s taken away my fear of somehow missing God’s will for my life.
I want to be clear about something: I am not talking about living disobediently then expecting the Lord to intervene or send a “sign.” I am speaking of times when I have prayed, read the Bible, sought godly wisdom, but still needed the Lord to intervene. I’ve never had an angelic vision, but I have seen the Lord move in unmistakable (and surprising) ways to reveal His will to me.
I still have those times when I’m not 100% sure I’m making the correct move. Life decisions are much weightier now that I have a family to care for. But I think about God’s work in Joseph’s life and I am encouraged. My prayer goes something like this:
“Lord, I believe this is the right decision. But I ask you to intervene and show me if there’s something I’m missing. My life is Yours, and I am open to divine disruptions.”
