Perfect Timing!

But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, 5 To redeem them that were under the law . . . Galatians 4:4–5

God’s sending of His Son into the world as a little baby was at just the right time under the exact circumstances that would allow for the complete fulfillment of prophetic utterances in preparation for the perpetuation of the gospel message after His ascension. God is seldom early, but He is never late.

John the Baptizer had been conceived and was to arrive on the scene as the forerunner as announced by the prophets Isaiah and Malachi. Isaiah 40:3 “The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, Make straight in the desert a highway for our God.” & Malachi 4:6 “And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, And the heart of the children to their fathers, Lest I come and smite the earth with a curse.” (Spoken in fulfillment by Zacharias through the Spirit: Luke 1:17, 76)

Although Joseph and Mary were living in Nazareth, a far cry from where the birth of Jesus was to find its fulfillment of Micah 5:2 in “Bethlehem of Ephratha”, God in His providence had a census for taxation called by the Roman government officials. A trip then was planned by Jesus’ parents to go to Bethlehem in Judah, as recorded in Luke 2:1-7. Thus, they complied with the order of the government and greater Governance of God since both Joseph and Mary were of the lineage of David!  This all occurred in the nick of time, as upon arrival in Bethlehem, “the city of David”, the Christ-child was delivered by the virgin Mary!!  

Furthermore, the timing of Christ’s birth and earliest years came under the ruthless rule of Herod the king or “The Great”. Upon Herod hearing of the birth of the King of the Jews and inquiry into the child’s birthdate, an attempt comes upon the child’s life. Although the assassination of Jesus is unsuccessful, it gives rise to the fulfillment of Jeremiah 31:15 as recorded in Matthew 2:18 with Rachel weeping over her descendants that would suffer massacre. Bethlehem was the burial place of Rachel.

There is no timing like God’s timing in history that can give us abiding assurance of God’s care than as seen in the birth of our redeemer. Jesus came for you, and will come to you if you will only believe. “Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation” (2 Corinthians 6:2)!