- Joseph was a great husband, protecting and trusting his wife, who technically could have been executed for promiscuity while still living in her father’s household (Deut 22:21).
- No evidence that the Jews practiced execution, apart from cases of murder and false prophecy. Monetary commutation was the rule.
- However, in the first century, “any cause” divorce was the norm.
- Isaiah 7 – original and secondary fulfillment—“dual prophecy."
- Translation: parthénos (virgin) and ‘almah (young woman)
- ‘immānû-’ēl = with-us-god
- God the Son came to our world in body and blood. He became flesh, entering our world of hardship, pain, dust and grime.
- Are we willing to "get our hands dirty," acting "incarnationally," serving others and following our Lord (Phil 2:6-8)?
Next: The Outsiders Get It, the Insiders Don't (Matt 2:1-12)