My Favorite Christmas Scripture...
... is Galatians 4:4a. "But when the fullness of the time came, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman..." (NASB)
"Fullness of time" - what does that mean? It means "perfect" timing.
It absolutely amazes me how God works, not only in the individual lives of men and women, but in "time" (past, present and future) as well. How He "works" everything together just boggles the mind.
The following is excerpted from a piece I wrote titled, "From Malachi to Matthew."
In speaking of the "400 'silent' years", I said:
"Yes, God may have been silent, but that does not mean He was not at work!
The Babylonians carried the Children of Israel into Exile, but it was during that period that the books of the Bible were compiled and the Synagogue system of worship created.
The Persians allowed the Israelites to return to their homeland. The temple was rebuilt and temple worship reinstated.
The Greeks (Alexander the Great) brought the Greek culture or Hellenization to the world. This brought a way of life, trade, diplomacy, and most importantly, the Greek language. It became the language of commerce and thus of the world.
The Romans (the Caesars) were geniuses at "movement" and engineering. They created a system of roads whereby the whole world could travel.
It is into this setting, at what Galatians 4:4 calls "the fullness of time" when the whole known world could travel and could communicate that we find (which, by the way, was written over 700 years before) "…unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace…"
At just the perfect time!"
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"Fullness of time" - what does that mean? It means "perfect" timing.
It absolutely amazes me how God works, not only in the individual lives of men and women, but in "time" (past, present and future) as well. How He "works" everything together just boggles the mind.
The following is excerpted from a piece I wrote titled, "From Malachi to Matthew."
In speaking of the "400 'silent' years", I said:
"Yes, God may have been silent, but that does not mean He was not at work!
The Babylonians carried the Children of Israel into Exile, but it was during that period that the books of the Bible were compiled and the Synagogue system of worship created.
The Persians allowed the Israelites to return to their homeland. The temple was rebuilt and temple worship reinstated.
The Greeks (Alexander the Great) brought the Greek culture or Hellenization to the world. This brought a way of life, trade, diplomacy, and most importantly, the Greek language. It became the language of commerce and thus of the world.
The Romans (the Caesars) were geniuses at "movement" and engineering. They created a system of roads whereby the whole world could travel.
It is into this setting, at what Galatians 4:4 calls "the fullness of time" when the whole known world could travel and could communicate that we find (which, by the way, was written over 700 years before) "…unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace…"
At just the perfect time!"
*************************************************************
I pray that you have a wonderful Christmas season. Watch and listen for God's perfect timing. Remember, God doesn't make mistakes!
betty
posted by Betty Newman at 7:45 AM
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