From the very beginning, when Mary learned that she had conceived a child born of the Spirit and Joseph had found out and was considering ways they could quietly divorce God intervened Joseph's plans of separation by means of sending an angel to him through a dream.
Matthew 1: 20-21 But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, "Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins."
The wise men were asked, upon coming across Herod when they were following the star towards Bethlehem, to come back the same way and let Herod know where the newborn King was so that he might go there himself to worship him. Herod's motives were not pure and his real intention was to annihilate any future chance of his position and glory from being threatened. His plan was to kill the infant Jesus. God thwarted Herod's plans by sending the wise men a dream in which they were warned to return home a different way.
Matthew 2:12 And being warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed to their own country by another way.
In the very next verse God uses an angel to appear in a dream to Joseph warning him of the impending danger that he and his family faced and to provide direction in which way they were to flee.
Matthew 2:13 Now when they had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, "Rise, take the child and mother, and flee to Egypt and remain there until I tell you, for Herod is about to search for the child, to destroy him".
When Herod had died and it was safe to return to Israel God once again used an angel in Joseph's dream to tell him it was safe to go back.
Matthew 2: 19 But when Herod died, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, 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."
If Joseph had never returned back to Israel with Jesus the storyline of the Bible would be dramatically different. Dreams were a powerful tool God used to communicate to those who had contact with Jesus to ensure his safety during the earliest years of life when he was the most vulnerable. All over scripture one can find all kinds of dreams God used to send to man to warn them, help them, encourage them and direct them. God used dreams as a bridge to communicate to the minds and hearts of His children. God used these particular dreams during Jesus' early years to spare His only son an untimely death and guide, by the mercy and love of His hand, Jesus into just the right places where he needed to be to live out prophecy, providing salvation for mankind.
So that makes me wonder, what do you think about dreams people have today? Do you feel God still communicates to people through dreams? Have you ever felt God was speaking to you or revealing something to you in a dream? If you feel comfortable, please share :)
