Day 22: Bethlehem –
Caesar’s decree
Read Luke 2:1-7
Isaiah 46:9-10 - Remember the former things of old; for I am God, and there is
no other; I am God, and there is none like Me, declaring the end from the
beginning and from ancient times things not yet done, saying, ‘My counsel shall
stand, and I will accomplish all My purpose.’
God’s plan had been stated many hundreds of years earlier: the Messiah would be
born in Bethlehem, the Bethlehem near Jerusalem where David had been born. As
we read in Luke 1:26, Mary and Joseph were living in Nazareth – about 80 miles
from Bethlehem. Women who were about to give birth or who had young children
did not often travel far in this culture.
But God had a plan for them to be in Bethlehem before Jesus was born, and He
used Caesar Augustus, in far-away Rome, to get Joseph and Mary to Bethlehem.
Please note how specific Luke, the writer of this book, is about fixing the
time of Jesus’ birth. Though we do not know the year for certain, it was about
6 BC as we count our calendar today.
We need the same confidence in God. Yes, God’s plans for good for our future
are sure, even when we cannot see how good can happen. We must give all our
plans and desires to Him so He can fully work His plans out in our lives.
*What is one promise in the Bible you wonder if, and how, it can come true?