Matthew 1:18-19

Matthew 1:18-19 (HCSB)

18 The birth of Jesus Christ came about this way: After His mother Mary had been engaged to Joseph, it was discovered before they came together that she was pregnant by the Holy Spirit.

19 So her husband Joseph, being a righteous man, and not wanting to disgrace her publicly, decided to divorce her secretly.

            Whenever I read this it took me by surprise.  Why? You might ask.  Well The reason is because I’ve never seen or heard the part of this story where Joseph decides to divorce Mary.  I’ve always heard it being that the angel came to both of them and they both knew what was going on, and there wasn’t a time in my mind that they didn’t trust one another.  I’ve never heard of him wanting to divorce her.  I feel completely dumb at this point.  I should have read this before. I should have known about this.  To me this is like one of those life changing turning points, and all because of one sentence.  This teaches me that God does reveal new things in his word.  Also this is a lesson on how we need to read things first hand.  My youth pastors drilled into me all throughout high school that I should never take what they say to be the truth, and that I need to look it up for myself in the Bible.  I need to find out for myself what the Word says, this not only helps us learn, but it allows us to really know what the Bible says.  I guess I always heard that I should read things for myself, but did I ever do it? No. Their words are truly hitting home with me now.  I’d never heard that Joseph decided to divorce Mary.  I never bothered to read the story for myself.  I decided to trust the glossy Christmas pageants and colorful storybooks I’d been given as a child.  This HAS to change.  And that is what this blog is all about.  Digging deep into the Word, finding out for ourselves what it says, and praying and seeking God’s wisdom on what we read.  This is what I’ve decided to do with my life.  I hope you guys do too.  I know that there are way more things I could have gotten out of these verses, but this is what God spoke to me.