Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly. 20 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. 21 She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” 22 All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet: “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel” (which means, G-d with us).
When Joseph woke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him: he took his wife, but knew her not until she had given birth to a son. And he called his name Jesus.
Matthew 1:18-25 ESV
There is a segment in Matthew with which I will not bore you. There are several highlights I would like to point out as points in support of the concept of desire in Matthew’s gospel.
Abraham desired a son. And as a result, G-d got what He desired (a nation).
Jacob desired a wife of fire, and as a result, he got twelve tribes.
Salmon desired Rahab a prostitute, and as a result, G-d got the Boaz which He desired for Ruth, a faithful and just husband.
Boaz desired Ruth, a Moabite and a guile-free Servant, and as a result, G-d got to illustrate his desire for mutual life-giving between Israel and Moab.
G-d desired Jesse, and as a result, He got the Branch that came from Jesse.
David desired Bathsheba, and as a result, G-d desired Jedediah (Solomon).
Hezekiah desired 15 years, and, as a result, Manasseh the wicked king was born.
Manasseh, in his later years, desired forgiveness out of his repentance, AND G-D GAVE IT TO HIM. BECAUSE G-D OFFERS MERCY FREELY TO ALL. Desire yields much fruit, and G-d gave Mannaseh what was not deserved.
Josiah desired to fight Pharaoh Neco, and as a result, he lost his life prematurely due to his stubborn pride.
Desire may lead to that which is bidden, or that which is forbidden.
And desire leads a child to be birthed of Holy Spirit. Desire creates a safe place for children to be found and raised. Desire leads to many things. The inward attitudes of the heart as reflected by the reality that G-d recognizes through the text of the Tenth commandment lead to many great things full of wonder when desire is rightly aligned, and can lead to many dangerous or destructive things which desire is misaligned.
Joseph’s actions were not yet known; he was pondering what he should do. All of the dialogue was internal. He was wondering, in the presence of the King who was residing in his wife’s womb, what he should do. He weighed the risks, inside his own spirit and mind. He knew what would happen if he exposed her to open shame. And in the end, the angel of the L-rd had to encourage him, against the spirit of fear that was working internally, to do the very thing that would destroy his reputation among the leaders of the day.
Our responsiblity, in the midst of potentially risky or destructive situations, is to ask the L-rd what His input is for us. Should we risk to do the thing we desire, or not?
There may be many thing we see or feel or experience inside of us, but the real question is, how are those desires reflected in our actions.
The more you read the Gospel of Matthew, the more you will see the desires that are inside a man’s or a woman’s heart guide him or her to act accordingly.