PERFECT TIMING

Let’s go back to Bethlehem and settle into the sweetness, and quiet stillness of the manger scene. Mary, holding God’s Treasure, is said to have “treasured up all these things pondering them in her heart.” (Luke 2:19) Time, in this private place to ponder the grand mysteries and marvels of God’s sovereign plan as she enfolds this tiny baby who is God wrapped in flesh.

The shepherds, who appear to have been the only witnesses to the arrival of the King, had left the scene glorifying and praising God and telling all they had seen and heard. (Luke 2: 17-18) Time now for Mother and Child to be quiet, calm, secluded, peaceful. A time for purification according to the Law of Moses. After 8 days of solitude Mary could be present at Jesus’ circumcision and naming, the name revealed to Mary by the angel Gabriel. After another 33 days Joseph and Mary would present Jesus at the temple in Jerusalem. They would dedicate The Lord of the Temple in the Temple of the Lord!

These 40 days were all about purification from legal and ceremonial uncleaness and the presentation for redeeming the first born son. In this instance, the very Son who would bring redemption!

I remember a time when I was teaching through The Book of Leviticus, (yes, it is amazing!), and one of my girls commented on Leviticus 12, how unfair that women then were deemed unclean after childbirth and were separated and sequestered with their babies. Imagine, not being allowed to cook or clean or entertain visitors or go back to work! The conversation quickly moved to how very little time women today have to rest, heal, or bond with their babies. We also discussed the importance of keeping the mother and infant safe from noise, confusion and infection. We concluded that the Grace of God is a beautiful thing in protecting mother and infant.

When Mary and Joseph presented Jesus at the Temple, a sacrifice was required. The finest choice was a year-old lamb, (note the irony of the parents holding the Lamb of God who would be sacrificed to take away the sin of the world) but apparently they could not afford the little lamb and offered, according to what the law allowed, a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons. (Luke 2:24) (Another reason to think the Wise Men had not yet arrived with a wealth of gifts)

After hearing the prophetic words spoken by the righteous and devout Simeon in the Temple in Jerusalem, Mary, Joseph and Jesus must have returned to Bethlehem where some time later the Wise Men found them living in a house in Bethlehem. (Matthew 2:7-11). There these travelers worshipped the Child and presented their treasures, treasures that would provide for the trip to Egypt, that God instructed Joseph to take to protect Jesus from the maniacal plan of Herod to murder all the Bethlehem babies two years old and younger! (Matthew 2: 13-15)

Obedient Joseph didn’t waste any time and did exactly as an angel of God told him in a dream. He arose and took the Child and His mother by night, and departed for Egypt.

From Nazareth to Bethlehem, to Jerusalem and back to Bethlehem, on to Egypt and then back to Nazareth, God sovereignly appointed each of their steps, perfectly. And even when it might not have looked perfect, we know from the Bible, the perfect outcome in His timing!

God’s plan and protection and placing and timing always perfect!

Image by jcomp on Freepik