Joseph - a faithful man
Matthew 1:1 - 2:23.
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Matthew 1:19-20 - a just man: these verses describe how Joseph, who was betrothed to Mary, has just found out that she is pregnant. She would have told him about the visitation of the angel but it is still a big shock to Joseph and he considers secretly breaking the betrothal because he wouldn't want to make a public example of her. Although Joseph is troubled by what is happening, verse 19 gives a clue as to why Joseph was carefully thinking about things. It was because he was a just man. He wasn't a man who would burst into a tirade of anger and accusation but a man who could control himself and think about what was happening to Mary as well as himself.
Matthew 1:20 - a spiritual man: Fortunately while he is considering these things an angel of the Lord appears to him in a dream and instructs him to take Mary as his wife because what she says is correct and she is pregnant by the power of the Holy Spirit. Does Joseph pass all this off as a crazy dream and try and convince himself that there is a "logical" reason for all that is happening? No! Joseph immediately believes what the angel has said and takes Mary to be his wife. He does this despite the likely community criticism and possible parental strife. He now knows that God is control of their lives and he puts his trust in God.
Matthew 1:24 - an obedient man: After the angel spoke to Joseph about taking Mary to be his wife, he doesn't hesitate. He immediately does away with the formal betrothal and wedding process and takes Mary to be his wife. How this actually worked out in reality is difficult to tell but because he trusted God, being obedient was not a hard thing to do. Obedience is based on trust.
Matthew 2:13-14 - a courageous man: After Jesus is born and the wise men have visited His parents an angel of the Lord warns Joseph in a dream that Herod will soon seek to kill Jesus and to flee to Egypt immediately. Joseph doesn't dither and immediately leaves by night. Again we see Joseph's attributes on display. He believes the angel and immediately sets about the task and shows great courage by leaving for Egypt not knowing where they would live, how long they would be in Egypt, how they would earn an income and how extensively would Herod seek to hunt them down. The one thing that Joseph would rely on was that the angel had said "stay there" (in Egypt) "until I bring you word" (Matthew 2:13). Joseph knew that God's doesn't lie so he would have been confident that they would return to Judea at some stage.
Matthew 2: 19-23 - a patient man: As the biblical narrative tells us, Joseph, Mary and Jesus live somewhere in Egypt patiently waiting for the time when the angel of the Lord would tell them to return to Israel. We don't know how long they lived in Egypt but it would have been a frustrating time. They were in a foreign country with a despotic king looking for them. Joseph would have wondered if they were going to be living in this country for months, years or even decades? The fact was he didn't know and he had to hold onto to the angel's promise that they would be told when to return to Israel.
In due time, an angel of the Lord does tell Joseph in a dream to return to Israel as King Herod had died in late March 4 BC. Unfortunately, when Joseph, Mary and Jesus return to Israel, they find that Herod's son Archelaus was now ruling Judea. Knowing that Archelaus was as cruel a ruler as his father Herod was, Joseph was now afraid to return to the Judea region. Joseph was likely to have expected to return to Bethlehem in Judea as he was of the tribe of Judah but, this time, God himself speaks directly to Joseph in a dream and warns him not to go back to Judea (Matthew 2:22). Yet again Joseph has to patiently accept changes to his (and Mary's) plans and he obediently heads for Nazareth where he and Mary had lived before fleeing to Egypt (Luke 2:4).
Matthew 1:19 - 2:23 - a trusting man: What we see from these verses is that Joseph did all that God asked of him without question. He simply quickly did what was needed to be done. Further, what things that he had no control over he patiently left for God to guide him.
Summary: What is amazing about Joseph is that after Jesus' early years, Joseph almost totally disappears from the New Testament narrative. He is mentioned when Jesus was twelve and incidentally mentioned at the start of Jesus' ministry and that is it. Why this happened is unknown but I think it simply relates to the fact that Joseph was the right man for the job. Joseph's patient and obedient character ensured that Mary and Jesus would be safe until the time that God would reveal Jesus to Israel. Was Joseph "tossed aside" after returning from Egypt? Not at all! He and Mary went on to have at least six children and he would have continued to be the right man for this new task which was being a father to a large family. I suspect he undertook this new task just as he did earlier showing the same attributes of being a just and obedient man.
And what does the Lord require of you
But to do justly,
To love mercy,
And to walk humbly with your God?
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