Dreams 2 … and 3!
by Sal Huckel
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When they had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream (Matthew 2:13a).
Read Matthew 2:13–23
I smiled when I read this passage and saw that Joseph had two more dreams instructing him where he should take his family. We usually think of Jacob’s son Joseph as ‘the dreamer’, yet Mary’s husband Joseph seems to come a close second! Jacob’s son Joseph’s own life was saved through his dreams and ability to discern the dreams of others. Mary’s husband Joseph’s dreams saved the life of Jesus, Son of God!
We might wish we had dreams like this to make our decisions easy or give us a ‘hotline’ to God’s plans. However, we must accept that we have all we need in Scripture, and we have the prayers that Jesus taught us to seek the Lord and his will for our lives. We have the promises of Scripture and new life in Christ through our baptism.
Yet still, the Scripture reading for today is full of tragedy and grief with the slaughter of the innocents. Jesus was saved so that we might all be saved – but many children were killed through the orders of Herod. Again, we are reminded of the sin in the world that Jesus came to redeem us from. Ever since the Fall, death and murder have never been very far away. When we are devastated by the news that we read about and think that we must be in End Times, we have much to look over in Scripture to show that people are still doing the evil things they were doing centuries and centuries ago. We have Jesus’ promise of a new heaven and a new earth to look forward to – and today’s reading and faithfulness of one man protecting his family and following the Lord’s instruction is one part of that story.
Lord, thank you for coming into the world to save sinners. Help me to trust you and throw off the sinful nature daily, putting on my baptism clothes and walking in the freedom I have through your death and resurrection. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Sal is married to Pastor Matthew Huckel, and they live in Victoria with their six children, enjoying their ministry with Moorabbin–Dandenong Lutheran Church. Their two eldest children are excited to study at undergraduate and postgraduate levels during term time in Sydney. Theology, music, philosophy, literature and history are passions the family shares and explores together. Sal loves writing, speaking and walking to the beach at every opportunity.
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