Why Dreams?

Why Dreams?

“An angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream.” Matthew 1:20; 2:12, 13, 19, 24 (NIV)

Why did the Lord communicate with Joseph and the Magi in dreams? Instead of sending an angel to speak to them directly as He did with Zachariah and Mary he chose to speak to Joseph and the Magi in dreams. When the Lord spoke to Zachariah he was ministering in the Temple. When the Lord spoke to Mary she was sitting in her house but when He spoke to Joseph he was asleep.

I think that one of the reasons why God spoke to Joseph through dreams was because Joseph was a very hard working and busy man. He did not have time for interruptions by people who claimed to be angels. He worked hard and slept deeply and he was not use to having dreams. He went to bed tired and slept too deeply to dream. When he dreamed he knew it was something special. In his dream he knew that it was an angel and he was quick to obey the Word of the Lord by the angel.

Today we often dream about things that are loosely connected with the activities of the day. Our dreams are usually foolish versions of those activities. However, in Joseph’s time dreams were different. Men did not dream very often and when they did they knew that it was something significant. Remember Joseph’s dreams concerning his brothers and Jacob’s dream about the staircase to heaven. Daniel also had dreams that had major significance. Dreams were to be regarded seriously. Joseph may have been able to say that the visitor to his shop was just another person but he could not deny that the one in his dream was really an angel.

We need to remember that God is not tied to any set method. Sometimes He may speak to us through His Word, other times through one of His servants and at other times through dreams and visions. However, one thing is certain; if God speaks to us through dreams or other people He will never contradict His Word. We can always check the validity of the message with the Word of God. Joseph knew the Word and he knew that the angel’s message in the dream was in keeping with the Word.

The Magi were different. They were used to having dreams and having them interrupted for them by the wise men in their country. They knew the significance of dreams so when they had the dream about not returning to Herod they knew that it was a message from the Lord.

God will speak to us through His Word but He also speaks to us through others. If we are to know the truth of their message then we have to be students of the Word. After all, God will not contradict His Word.