Two things stood out to me in today's Bible Reading Plan. First, in Matthew 1, we see Joseph being told to take Mary as his wife because God Himself was the Father of her child, meaning that she was still a virgin. Verse 24-25:
24Then Joseph, being aroused from his sleep, did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him: he took [her to his side as] his wife. 25But he had no union with her as her husband until she had borne her firstborn Son; and he called His name Jesus.
Notice the word "until"! Some people would like to believe that Mary remained a virgin forever! That is simply NOT true! Joseph refrained from being having sexual contact with Mary UNTIL Jesus was born! THEN they became like a regular married couple! They had children, meaning Jesus had 1/2 brothers and sisters! They all had doubts about the ministry of Jesus, even Mary! But they got born again after His Resurrection from the dead and then Spirit-filled! The other interesting verse is 1 Kings 5:17:
17The king commanded, and they hewed and brought out great, costly stones in order to lay the foundation of the house with dressed stone.
Solomon was in the process of building the Temple. Here is a commentary note on these stones:
These great foundation stones remain to this day. One of them is almost thirty-nine feet long, one of the most interesting stones of the world. It is the chief cornerstone, placed in its present position 3,000 years ago. Markings on the stones represent the culture of Phoenicia, the region around Tyre from which Solomon received building materials for the temple.
Here are some pictures that we took of these stones when we were in Israel!
THAT was how long these stones are! One huge piece of stone! I LOVE how very interesting the Word of God is, don't you? Keep studying, it is well worth your time! Amen!
Shalom in Him!
