Joseph was a simple carpenter of meager means. (We see this from the offering made when presenting the baby Jesus at the temple. See Luke 2:22-25)

(For forty days after the birth of a son the mother was ceremonially unclean and could not enter the temple. At the end of her time of separation, the parents were to bring a lamb for a burnt offering and a dove or pigeon for a sin offering. The priest would sacrifice these animals and declare her to be clean. If a lamb was too expensive, the parents could bring a second dove or pigeon instead.

In the law of Moses, as stated in Leviticus 12:8, if a woman couldn't afford a sheep, she was to take two turtledoves or two young pigeons. One was for the burnt offering and the other for the purification offering. The priest sacrificed them as atonement for her, so that she would be ceremonially clean.)

We learn, from the few Bible passages in which he is mentioned, that he was a very godly man who had a great belief and trust in God.

Can you identify with what Joseph must have been feeling? Looking forward to a life married to Mary and directing his own life as the leader of his family. But then came the day he learned that his future wife was already pregnant. The disappointment must have been overwhelming and there must have been anger as he thought that he had been deceived.
Yet Joseph was a good and compassionate man. According to Matthew 1:19 Joseph, her fiancé, being a just man, decided to break the engagement quietly, so as not to disgrace her publicly.

Any plan he’d had for his life was about to change drastically, when God began to direct him, but Joseph proved to be a man who would obey God without question.

The First Dream
An angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and told him not to be afraid to take Mary as his wife because the baby was conceived by the Holy Spirit and would save His people from their sins. You can read about it in Matthew 1:20-25. Joseph obeyed this message from God.

The Second Dream
Matthew 2:13 After the wise men were gone, an angel appeared to Joseph in a dream. “ Get up and flee to Egypt with the child and Mary, ” the angel said. “ Stay there until I tell you to return, because Herod is going to try to kill the Child. ”
And he did as the Lord commanded.

The Third Dream
Matthew 2:19-21 After Herod died, an angel appeared to Joseph in a dream and told him, “Get up and take the child and his mother back to the Israel, because those who were trying to kill the child are dead.” So Joseph returned immediately to Israel with Jesus and his mother.

The Fourth Dream
Matthew 2:22-23 When he learned that the new ruler was Archelaus, Herod’s son , he was afraid. Then, in another dream, he was warned to go to Galilee. So they went and lived in a town called Nazareth. This fulfilled what the prophets said concerning the Messiah: “He will be called a Nazarene.”

Little else is known about the man who was chosen to be Jesus’ foster father here on this earth. We learn from him that God may instantly change the planned direction of our life, but to readily obey is to be included, for eternity, in God’s Kingdom. And when we take that step of obedience in faith, God will honor it and will continue to guide us.

Bible verses are paraphrased.
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