Matthew 1:18-20 NASB
[18] Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows: when His mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child by the Holy Spirit. [19] And Joseph her husband, being a righteous man and not wanting to disgrace her, planned to send her away secretly. [20] But when he had considered this, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying,“ Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife; for the Child who has been conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. …
Isaiah 54:4-5 NASB
[4] “Fear not, for you will not be put to shame; And do not feel humiliated, for you will not be disgraced; But you will forget the shame of your youth, And the reproach of your widowhood you will remember no more. [5] “For your husband is your Maker, Whose name is the LORD of hosts; And your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel, Who is called the God of all the earth.
I think we looked at this story about Joseph during the season of Advent, but in my prayer time this morning the Lord used those verses from Isaiah 54 to remind me of that story of Joseph and how he responded to Mary when she discovered she was pregnant. It is important to remember that when Mary first told Joseph that she was pregnant by the Holy Spirit, Joseph did not believe her. Even though he did not believe her, he was not prepared to carry out the requirements of the old order, which would’ve been to have Mary’s sin exposed, and for her to be stoned to death publicly. Instead, it says that Joseph, being a righteous man and not wanting to disgrace her, planned to send her away secretly. I think that many of us, because we live with a guilt consciousness (which is from the enemy) think of righteousness as the absence of bad behavior, but the truth is, righteousness is the presence of godly behavior, and the godliest behavior of all is grace. Joseph displays righteousness by showing Mary mercy, and grace, even though his heart must have been breaking because of the feelings of betrayal and rejection. When I see those verses in Isaiah 54 I realize that Joseph was displaying the true heart of the Heavenly Father. He was revealing the true nature of God. The heart of the Father is to not put shame and humiliation on us. He does not want to disgrace us, and as a matter-of-fact it says in those verses that not only does he not put shame on is, he wants us to forget our shame, and our reproach. That’s what a godly husband does, and if you look back again at Matthew 1:19, Joseph is referred to as Mary’s husband, because as a Jewish man when you are engaged you are considered a husband already. Joseph was righteous in his expression of mercy because he was revealing the true nature of our Heavenly father. I don’t know about you, but this brings me great joy when I think about my heavenly Abba. If you are hounded with a sense of guilt and shame, and reproach, then it is important that you know this is not coming from your Heavenly Father, but from the enemy, that he should never be trusted because he is a liar and has been from the beginning. Dare to believe the truth that you stand before God beyond reproach, Colossians 1:22.