December 13, 2020                                                                Rev. Thomas M. Cox

A) Joseph’s E______________

B) Joseph’s P______ : S______ put and W______ for Word from the Lord.

C) Divine Intervention

D) Prophecy Fulfilled
➢ Herod’s J____________ genocide in vss. 17-18
(see Jeremiah 31 re: New Covenant)

E) Joseph’s Obedience: He R______ & R__________ed...
❑ He obeyed the angel A___ the W____, R________ A______,
and with a H________ spirit.

F) Exploring Obedience: The Example of Saul—see 1 Samuel 15
1. I__________________ obedience is N__ obedience at all.
2. He B________ -shifted and tried to cloak it in R______________.
3. He was more concerned about his R______________ than obeying.
4. To O______ > S________________
5. We are S________ by Christ’s A___________ obedience
(See Romans 5:18-21)

Matthew 2:19-21 (ESV)

But when Herod died, behold, an angel of the Lord
appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, 20 saying, “Rise,
take the Child and His mother and go to the land of Israel,
for those who sought the Child's life are dead.” 21 And he
rose and took the Child and His mother and went to the
land of Israel.
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1 Samuel 1517 And Samuel said, “Though you are little in your own
eyes, are you not the head of the tribes of Israel? The Lord anointed
you king over Israel. 18 And the Lord sent you on a mission and said,
‘Go, devote to destruction the sinners, the Amalekites, and fight
against them until they are consumed.’ 19 Why then did you not obey
the voice of the Lord? Why did you pounce on the spoil and do what
was evil in the sight of the Lord?” 20 And Saul said to Samuel, “I have
obeyed the voice of the Lord. I have gone on the mission on which
the Lord sent me. I have brought Agag the king of Amalek, and I have
devoted the Amalekites to destruction. 21 But the people took of the
spoil, sheep and oxen, the best of the things devoted to destruction, to
sacrifice to the Lord your God in Gilgal.” 22 And Samuel said,

“Has the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices,
as in obeying the voice of the Lord?
Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice,
and to listen than the fat of rams.
23 For rebellion is as the sin of divination,
and presumption is as iniquity and idolatry.
Because you have rejected the word of the Lord,
He has also rejected you from being king.”