This morning, while I was pondering the cost of obedience, the Lord brought to
my mind the Scripture from 1 Samuel 15:22, when Samuel said to Saul:
"Has the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices,
As in obeying the voice of the LORD?
Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice
As I thought about what this really means, I decided to look for people in the Bible who were willing to be obedient and thus; were blessed more richly for their obedience than what they had to sacrifice for the obedience.
It didn't take long to find the first example. It was in the first chapter of Matthew as I read about Joseph:
Matt. 1:18 - Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows: After His mother Mary
was betrothed to Joseph, before they came together, she was
found with child of the Holy Spirit.
1:19 Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not wanting to
make her a public example, was minded to put her away secretly.
1:20 But while he thought about these things, behold, an angel of
the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, "Joseph, son of
David, do not be afraid to take to you Mary your wife, for that
which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit.
1:21 And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name JESUS,
for He will save His people from their sins."
1:24 Then Joseph, being aroused from sleep, did as the angel of the Lord
commanded him and took to him his wife,
1:25 and did not know her till she had brought forth her firstborn Son.
And he called His name JESUS.
What obedience!! Joseph was engaged to Mary and before they were married
he found out she was expecting a baby!! What man wouldn't want to run from
that situation, end the engagement! What must Joseph have felt as he heard
the news? At the very least - total rejection!! This was the women he loved,
the woman he wanted to spend the rest of his life with!! How could this be?
It is so easy for us to read the story and not stop and really see what was going
on in the lives of those involved. We know the "rest of the story," and we know
it had a wonderful ending. But Joseph - he didn't have the rest of the story!!
All he knew was that all his dreams and hopes and expectations for what he
thought life with his new bride would be, because of unbelievable
circumstances, would be changed forever.
We see in Matthew 1:19 that Joseph came up with a plan. He made a decision
about what he would do. He would put her away secretly. He would divorce her
on the grounds of infidelity. What else could he do? He certainly couldn't marry
her when the child wasn't his. Nor could he risk the chance of his reputation
being taken down with Mary's. He was trapped, he had no choice. He loved
her yes, but the sacrifice was too great. What he would have to give up
by believing her was more than he knew he could possibly live through.
Yes, he would put her away secretly. That would be best for them both..
Then it happened. While he was sleeping an angel of the Lord appeared to him
in a dream, sayng "Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take to you Mary
your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit."
I love that the angel addressed Joseph's feelings first. "Joseph, do not be
afraid." He knew Joseph would be afraid. He knew how hard this all was
for Joseph. So, before he even told him what to do, he met him at his deepest
need! He let Joseph know that he understood. I can't help but wonder if that
was why it was possible for Joseph to be obedient to what the angel instructed
him to do. Think about it, he woke up from the dream. Nothing had changed.
Mary was still "with child," they still weren't married, nor had he ever known
her. People would still destroy their reputation, Mary would be shunned, all
the repercussions of the situation were still as real when he woke up as before
the dream.
But in Matthew 1:24 we read, Then Joseph, being aroused from sleep, did
as the angel of the Lord commanded him and took to him his wife,and
did not know her till she had brought forth her firstborn Son. And he called
His name JESUS. He was obedient to God in spite of the sacrifice.
Did you see that Joseph named JESUS? How did he know what his name
would be? Look at the angel's instructions once again. The angel told Joseph
"you shall call His name JESUS" This was a reward for his obedience that
could only be given by God!!
So what does this have to do with my life - with your life? Everything!!
Have you ever felt called to obedience in something where you felt the
sacrifice would be too great? Did you weigh the cost - the sacrifice - and
decide it was too high to be obedient? If we could only have "an angel
of the Lord" come to us in a dream and tell us what to do. Then, of course,
we would step out in obedience no matter what the cost! But that was
for Joseph - not for us. Right? Wrong!! We have the Holy Spirit to guide
and direct our path. We have the written Word of God to give us instruction.
So what have I learned from the example of Joseph?
1. I don't have to know what is ahead - just be obedient
2. I can be sure my Father understands my apprehensions and
fears of the unknown
3. I can look with anticipation toward the future and what HE
has for me because of my obedience.
4. And most of all - The reward for my obedience is greater than
the cost of my sacrifice.
I am so thankful for Joseph and the lesson his obedience has taught me.
So how about you? What lessons have you gleaned from Joseph? One
of my favorite things about sharing is to hear from you and how the
Lord has spoken to you concerning the same Scriptures. We have so
much to learn from each other, and in sharing we grow in insight and
knowledge of the Word of God. It just doesn't get any better!
How I desire for my life to shadow the obedience of Joseph. I want
to walk in the Truth that "Obedience is Greater than Sacrifice!"
