Life Recovery Bible - Flipbook - Page 11
PROFILE
JOSEPH & MARY
Trust can be rebuilt when it has been broken, but this does not happen
automatically. Such a process takes work and commitment, especially
when a relationship has been threatened by unfaithfulness. This was
the challenge that Joseph and Mary faced.
Months before their planned wedding, Mary became pregnant.
Because Joseph knew that this was not his child, he assumed that she
had been unfaithful to him. Though he was troubled by doubts and
anger, he chose to break off the engagement as inconspicuously as
possible. He was a man of integrity and mercy, so he did not want to
hurt or embarrass Mary.
God had other plans, however. He sent an angel to speak to Joseph
and assured him that Mary’s baby had been supernaturally conceived
by the Holy Spirit. The child’s name would be Jesus, and he would
be the Savior of the world, the one who would offer spiritual recovery to all. Because Joseph believed God, his perspective changed.
Mary and Joseph’s mutual commitment to and trust in God served
as the foundation upon which their trust in each other could be
reestablished.
Mary and Joseph humbly and joyfully entered a new life together.
Joseph did all that was possible to protect Mary and the baby Jesus
when he was born. He became a loving father who carefully taught his
son the carpentry trade. Mary was an attentive and caring mother. This
relationship demonstrates that it is possible to rebuild trust and repair
love in relationships that were once very fragile.
10
11
12
13
14
Hezekiah was the father of Manasseh.
Manasseh was the father of Amon.*
Amon was the father of Josiah.
Josiah was the father of Jehoiachin* and
his brothers (born at the time of the
exile to Babylon).
After the Babylonian exile:
Jehoiachin was the father of Shealtiel.
Shealtiel was the father of Zerubbabel.
Zerubbabel was the father of Abiud.
Abiud was the father of Eliakim.
Eliakim was the father of Azor.
Azor was the father of Zadok.
Zadok was the father of Akim.
15
16
STRENGTHS AND
ACCOMPLISHMENTS:
• Joseph and Mary’s relationship
was founded on their commitment
to God.
• They were open to God’s will and
willing to change their opinions.
• They obeyed God despite the
embarrassment they would suffer.
WEAKNESSES AND MISTAKES:
• Joseph did not give Mary the benefit
of the doubt early in her pregnancy.
• They failed to understand Jesus’
need to spend time in his Father’s
house.
LESSONS FROM THEIR LIVES:
• Relationships should not be destroyed
by unsubstantiated doubts.
• Trust can always be rebuilt if God
is at the center of a relationship.
• Things are not always what they
seem to be.
• Trust in God is foundational for
trust between people.
KEY VERSES:
“Joseph . . . did not want to
disgrace her publicly, so he decided
to break the engagement quietly. As
he considered this, an angel of the
Lord appeared to him in a dream.
‘Joseph, son of David,’ the angel
said, ‘do not be afraid to take Mary
as your wife. For the child within
her was conceived by the Holy
Spirit’” (Matthew 1:19-20).
The story of Joseph and Mary is told
in the Gospels, notably in Matthew
1–2 and Luke 1–2. Mary is also
mentioned in Acts 1:14.
Akim was the father of Eliud.
Eliud was the father of Eleazar.
Eleazar was the father of Matthan.
Matthan was the father of Jacob.
Jacob was the father of Joseph,
the husband of Mary.
Mary gave birth to Jesus, who is called
the Messiah.
All those listed above include fourteen generations from Abraham to David, fourteen
from Da
vid to the Bab
ylonian exile, and
fourteen from the Babylonian exile to the
Messiah.
17
:10 Greek Amos, a variant spelling of Amon; also in 1:10b. See 1 Chr 3:14. 1:11 Greek Jeconiah, a variant spelling of
1
Jehoiachin; also in 1:12. See 2 Kgs 24:6 and note at 1 Chr 3:16.
1197
