Matthew 2:22b "And being warned by God in a dream..." How many times do
we see warnings by God in dreams since beginning this exploration of Matthew?
·
1:20
Admonishment to Joseph to take Mary as his wife.· 2:12 Warning to the Magi not to go back to Herod.
· 2:13 Warning to Joseph to flee to Egypt.
· 2:19 Message to Joseph to return to his homeland.
· 2:22 Warning to Joseph not to settle in Judea.
In addition to all these divine warnings/messages are the Magi and
their understanding of the Star of David, "We have seen His star in the
east and have come to worship Him."
God is interested in his people! He speaks to men!
But does this mean he still sends messages via dreams?
Read Hebrews 1:1-4, "God, who at various times and in various ways
spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, has in these last days
spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom
also He made the worlds; who being the brightness of His glory and the express
image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He
had by Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on
high, having become so much better than the angels, as He has by inheritance
obtained a more excellent name than they."
...and now Hebrews 2:1-4, "Therefore we must give the more earnest
heed to the things we have heard, lest we drift away. For if the word spoken
through angels proved steadfast, and every transgression and disobedience
received a just reward, How shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation,
which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed to us by
those who heard Him, God also bearing witness both with signs and wonders, with
various miracles, and gifts of the Holy Spirit, according to His own
will?"
So God speaks to us in these last days by His Son, Jesus the Christ...
And not just the red letters either, but every page of the New Testament speaks
of Christ. How and why He came, and what
He accomplished, and to whom He did it for, and when and where all this took
place.
"For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily"
(Col. 2:9)
"For all the promises of God in Him are Yes, and in Him Amen, to
the glory of God through us." (2 Cor. 1:20)
"For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness,
who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of
God in the face of Jesus Christ." (2 Cor. 4:6)
God DOES still speak to us! But
He does it through Christ. The trouble
is that we often do not want to hear what He has to tell us! Oh and aren't we proud. Aren't we sophisticated. Aren't we critical. Oughtn't we to be humble? Is it not a spirit of humility we should be
clothed in?
Let us resolve to honor God's final word to us, Christ, for we have His
message! For God so loved the world that
He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish
but have everlasting life. "God demonstrates His own love toward us, in
that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." (Rom. 5:8)
The clarity of being led by His Word, and not worrying about whether a dream is "from God" or just imagination.
ReplyDeleteI love the way Jesus is referred to as the "word of God" in John 1 and Hebrews 4.
He reveals, expresses and explains God, as well as speaks the Word of God.
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. 4 In him was life,and the life was the light of men. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
6 There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. 7 He came as a witness, to bear witness about the light, that all might believe through him. 8 He was not the light, but came to bear witness about the light.
9 The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. 10 He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. 11 He came to his own,[b] and his own people[c] did not receive him. 12 But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, 13 who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.
14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. John 1:1-14
1 Let us therefore strive to enter that rest, so that no one may fall by the same sort of disobedience. 12 For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. 13 And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account. Hebrews 4:11-13