The Joseph Trilogy (Part 2)

Here is part two of Jon Bloom's The Joseph Trilogy from over at Desiring God.

A Stable of Desperation by Jon Bloom

The first Christmas night was a holy night. But it was not a silent night. All was not calm. After walking a hundred miles, Joseph arrived in an overcrowded Bethlehem, with a wife in advanced labor. And “there was no place for them in the inn” (Luke 2:7).

“We are completely full. We can’t take another person.”

“Please, my wife is about to give birth! We’ll take anything with a little privacy.”

Compassion and exasperation mixed in the fatigued innkeeper’s eyes. His tired hand rubbed over his head. “Look, I would give you our own quarters, but we’ve already given them to others. People are in every nook and cranny. There is no room, especially to have a baby.”

Back in Nazareth, Joseph had felt so confident. He knew nothing about assisting in births. That was women’s domain. But God had sent his angel to Mary and to him. God had caused Mary to get pregnant. God had turned the stream of mighty Augustus’s heart (Proverbs 21:1) so that the Messianic prophesy about Bethlehem would be fulfilled. Surely God would provide their needs when they arrived. After all, this Child was God’s Son!

But now Joseph was growing desperate. Bethlehem was overrun with people. The Roman census got the Messiah to Bethlehem, but it left him no place to lay his head.

“Are there other inns here?”

“No. Bethlehem can’t keep two inns in business — usually. You don’t have any family in the area?”

They heard Mary cry out in pain. Nearly frantic, Joseph spared his words. “No. Please! Is there anyone who could take us in?”

“Everyone I know is already housing guests.”

Please, God! Please! We need a place! Give us a room! Send your angel! Do something!
The two men looked vacantly at each other for a tense five seconds. Then Joseph choked out, “Please, we’ll take anything!

At that moment a woman appeared behind the innkeeper and said, “We have a stable in the back.”

“Rachel, his wife is about to give birth! We can’t put her in the stable!”

“I heard,” she answered. “But there’s no more time and it’s better than the street, Jacob. I’ll get some blankets and clean straw.” She looked at Joseph, “I’ll meet you in the back. I can help with the birth too. Tell her it will be okay. God will help you.”

“Thank you!” Joseph said. Thank you, God!

But as he turned toward Mary relief collided with regret inside of him. Rachel’s help was a gift. But a stable? That’s the best he could provide for his trusting wife and the Son of the Most High? How could God’s Son be born in a stable?

“Joseph!” Mary’s cry was more urgent.

No more time. With gentle swiftness Joseph picked Mary up and carried her toward the back of the inn. Mary was breathing was labored. “They have a room?”

Joseph felt a stab of shame. But Mary needed reassurance. “All they have is the stable. It’ll be okay. We’ll make it clean, And the innkeeper’s wife is going to help us. God is providing.”

“Thank you, God!” she whispered. And then clutched Jacob’s neck tightly as another pain seized her and pushed the Light further into the world.
________
A stable was not where Joseph wanted to be that night. It held no romance for him. He was only there out of desperation.

But the stable was not about Joseph or Mary. It was about the Son of God making himself nothing (Philippians 2:7). He had come to humble himself to unfathomable depths. So he borrowed a stable for his birth. Later, after an excruciating death to make propitiation for our sins (1 John 4:10), he would borrow a tomb (Matthew 27:59–60).

And in that is a Christmas word to us. There are times, while seeking to follow God faithfully, we find ourselves in a desperate moment, forced to a place we would not choose to go. It’s then we must remember: we are not our own (1 Corinthians 6:19–20).

Our lives and circumstances are not ultimately about us. They are about Jesus Christ. The Father has purposes for us and our hardships that extend far beyond us. And often what appears like a misfortune or a lack of provision in the moment later proves to be a means of great mercy.

So maybe what we need most this Christmas is not less turmoil, but more trust. For God chooses stables of desperation as the birthplaces of his overwhelming grace.

The Joseph Trilogy

Let your mind roam as John Bloom over at Desiring God lets his imagination hit the paper detailing what might have been going on with Joseph during the first Christmas season.

A Painful Decision by Jon Bloom

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. (Matthew 1:18-19)

Joseph felt a twinge of anxiety. He sensed something unusual in Mary’s request that he come.

When he arrived she was standing under the tree near her father’s house where, as a betrothed couple, they were given some supervised privacy. Mary wasn’t herself. She was staring at the ground. She seemed burdened.

“Mary, is something wrong?”

She looked up at him intensely. “Joseph… I’m pregnant.”

A blast of shock and disbelief hit him, blowing away all his coherent thoughts for a moment. His legs quavered. He grabbed at the tree to steady himself. It felt solid, rooted.

He stared at her. He was numb. No words came. Everything seemed surreal.

Mary was still looking at him with her intense eyes. He saw no shame in them. No defensiveness, no defiance. Not even tears. They looked…innocent. And they were searching his eyes for an answer.

Mary broke the charged silence. “What I need to tell you next I don’t even know how to say.”

Joseph leaned harder into the tree, bracing himself. He looked down to Mary’s feet. Her feet. They looked just the same as they did when he believed she was pure.

That was what made everything so strange. Mary looked as chaste as she ever did. If she had been the flirtatious type or had some discernable character weakness, this news might have been comprehendible. But Mary was literally the very last person Joseph would have suspected of unfaithfulness. He could not imagine her with another lover.


He didn’t want to know who it was.


“What I’m going to say will be very difficult to believe. But will you hear me out?” Still looking at Mary’s feet, Joseph’s nod was barely detectable.

“I have not been unfaithful to you.”

Joseph lifted his eyes to hers. Rape? That might explain her innocence. But why wouldn’t she tell me —

“God has caused me to become pregnant.”

This statement flew around his mind, looking for a place to land. It found none.

“Joseph, I know how it sounds. But I’m telling you the truth.” Then Mary described an angelic visit and the message she had received. She was to bear a son, conceived by the Holy Spirit, who would be called the Son of the Most High who would sit on David’s throne forever. God was the baby’s father. Mary was pregnant with the Messiah.

Mary sounded as sane as ever. Nothing about her was different— except that she was claiming to be pregnant with God’s child. He felt like his brain was exploding. Was she adding blasphemy to adultery? He could not conceive of her being capable of either.

“I…I don’t even know what to say to you, Mary. I can’t even think straight. I need to be alone.”

Joseph spent the late afternoon walking up on the brow of the hill that overlooked Nazareth. Things were clear up there. From this 500-foot perspective he could see the Sea of Galilee to the east, and to the west he could just see the blue Mediterranean on the horizon. But he could not see how Mary’s story could be true. He could not recall anything like it in the Torah. God, show me what to do, he pleaded.

The sun was setting as Joseph walked back toward the nearly finished house that was to be their home — the house he had dreamed just that morning would someday know the happy voices of his children — Mary’s children. That dream was now dead. His decision was made. Mary’s claims were too incredible, maybe even delusional. He needed to end the betrothal, but he resolved to do it as quietly as possible, shielding Mary from avoidable shame. He still loved her.

That night he fell asleep, exhausted from grief. And then the angel came to him and his world was flipped right side-up.

________

There is an encouraging lesson to draw from this story. Joseph was a just man (Matthew 1:19) and assessed the situation in the integrity of his heart, and, I assume, with a deep trust in God. He made the best decision regarding Mary that he could. It turned out to be the wrong one. But God, full of mercy, intervened. He gently corrected Joseph and gave him the guidance he needed.

God does not spare us from all awkward and painful decisions. Neither does he spare us from all wrong decisions resulting from our fallen finiteness, even if they are made in the integrity of our hearts. God has his purposes in all of these. But what we can trust him to do is faithfully give us the correction and guidance we need at the time he deems right.

Desiring God National Conference

One of the main things God has used in maturing me as a Christian during the last couple of years is John Piper’s ministry Desiring God and his preaching. The deep truths of God and what He is up to in this world, and how I and my circumstances fit into His great play has been an anchor that has been unmovable in my life, even when the waves of two heart surgeries for my newborn Anna Grace were crashing down all around me. I have learned these deep truths first from the Scriptures by the power of the Holy Spirit, and watched them be illuminated by John Piper to the glory of God. I am so forever grateful for Dr. Piper.

Let me put forward a question. If you thought the Living God who is the Cause and Source of all things might be speaking today, would you want to listen? Would you lend your mind and an ear to try and hear? I not only believe God has spoken (the Bible and creation), but continues to speak to this very day. He speaks through His prophets every Sunday when His prophets preach from His Bible with fullness and clarity. But, I also believe God has set apart a few unusual men to speak through to reach multitudes of His children. I believe John Piper is one of those men. He preaches with a trembling and awe of the Most High. With quotes like “if the Bible does not support and teach what I’m teaching, or if you do not see what I’m saying in the Bible, DO NOT BELIEVE IT” demonstrates he stands under the authority of Scripture – under the very authority of the Living God.

I think any person who truly wants to know God better and understand more fully what is happening in this world should read Desiring God. Something happens when you read, dig, press and work through a tough book. There is a blessing that comes from reading you just cannot get anywhere else. But I know some do not like to read, and hey look that’s ok. People who love to read are not the only ones who are blessed. God blesses all those who with a sincere heart seek Him in whatever way they can – prayer, media, etc. So below is an hour long crash course into Desiring God and Christian Hedonism. Be prepared to be challenged and stretched. I’m confident you will be blessed for taking the time out of your busy schedule to lend an ear.

My prayer for you –
Father in heaven, you are glorious and magnificent. Please bless whoever decides to listen or read Piper’s Desiring God. I pray lives will be changed when they see you are a happy and most joyful God. Lord, if there is error in any of this teaching, I pray you protect your flock and lead them not astray. May we as your children grow in Christ Jesus, in our joy and happiness in you, and may you be exalted in our joy for the glory of Jesus Christ beautiful name.
Amen



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Love Your Trials

Trials come in all forms and sizes. They are always personal and no matter the size of the trial, they always have a large impact on us physically and emotionally. From personal trials as serious as brain cancer, to the earthquake victims in Haiti and all trials in between (loss of a loved one, loss of a job, martial problems, teenage problems, children sick, etc….), it seems everyone has them, and the ones we have affect us deeply. I’ve heard it said that “You’re either going into a trial, in a trial, or coming out of trial.” This statement I believe is very true.

I ran across the below statement in a book I am reading Make My Life a Prayer. The book is a collection of diaries and short concert messages from the late Keith Green who was killed in plane crash when he was 28. You can find more information about Keith Green by clicking on this link.

Anyway, the below short message from Mr. Green spoke to me so I thought I would repost it here. I pray whatever trials you are experiencing that Mr. Green’s short devotion does the same for you.

Love Your Trails

1 Peter 1:6-7

In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.

Every Christian should be yearning for a deeper walk with the Lord than what he or she has. Maturity is a never-ending process because we never can reach perfection in this life. We’ll always be making mistakes or misunderstanding our circumstances to some degree, but as we grow those times should be less and less.

And as much as we all like to get the goosebump feelings that signal an emotional high, it’s not then that we really grow any deeper in the Lord. Instead God chooses to use trials to deepen our faith and to conform us to the image of Christ. Sure, we go “ouch” or “that hurts!” but God is using those trials to sand us like a fine diamond. The problem is that most of us run from the trials God sends us. We don’t want to grow if there’s a bit of pain involved. But if we open our arms, embrace the trials God sends – give it a big hug, it will disappear as a trial and return as a blessing. If you love your trial, it isn’t a trial anymore. If you can say, “Thank You, Lord. I don’t want to be any other place but where I am right now, because I know this is the place where You want me,” then that place becomes God’s safe place for you.

That attitude removes the trouble from the trial. The way to victory over a trial isn’t to run away from it, which is our natural inclination, but to love it. The same is true with a person. We all have someone in our life who is obnoxious or maybe just a trial to us. Our natural response is to stay away from such a person until God answers our prayer to “change him, God, change him!” Instead, let your prayer become, “God, don’t change him until You’re through using him the way he is in my life. I want to learn how to love him the way he is.” When you pray that way and mean it, that person is no longer a trial to you.

Today is the day for you to embrace your trial, whether it’s circumstances or another person. Turn the trial into blessing and watch God move.