“Now when they had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream, saying, ‘Arise, take the young Child and His mother, flee to Egypt, and stay there until I bring you word; for Herod will seek the young Child to destroy Him. When he arose, he took the young Child and His mother by night and departed for Egypt…” Matthew 2:13-14

“Now when Herod was dead, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, saying, ‘Arise, take the young Child and His mother, and go to the land of Israel, for those who sought the young Child’s life are dead. Then he arose, took the young Child and His mother, and came into the land of Israel.” Matthew 2:19-21

“But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning over Judea instead of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. And being warned by God in a dream, he turned aside into the region of Galilee. And he came and dwelt in a city called Nazareth…” Matthew 2:22-23

We can see Joseph’s character in this story. He was obedient to God. Wherever and whenever God told him to go, he went without questioning. In chapter 1, we see how he honored Mary despite what he learned about her.

“Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows: After His mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Spirit. Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not wanting to make her a public example, was minded to put her away secretly.” vv. 18-19

Joseph learned that Mary was pregnant but he didn’t know that Mary was pregnant because of the Holy Spirit. The word “betrothed” means engaged to be married. They were engaged. It must have hurt him deeply to know that Mary, his fiancée, got pregnant while they were planning (or preparing?) for the wedding. It says in verse 19 that he wanted to put her away.

Despite the pain, however, he showed how much of a gentleman he was. He did not want to destroy Mary’s reputation. Yes, he wanted to put her away, but he wanted to put her away “secretly”. He still protected Mary.

“But while he thought about these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, ‘Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take to you Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name JESUS, for He will save His people from their sins.'” Matthew 1:20-21

“Then Joseph, being aroused from sleep, did as the angel of the Lord commanded him and took to him his wife, and did not know her till she had brought forth her firstborn Son. And he called His name JESUS.” Matthew 1:24-25

What a beautiful soul Joseph was. He was obedient to God. He obeyed God’s command to take Mary. He obeyed to go to Egypt from Bethlehem, then to Israel. Because of his obedience, the prophecy that Jesus would be called a Nazarene was fulfilled (v. 23).