But when the right time came, God sent his Son, born of a woman, subject to the law. God sent him to buy freedom for us who were slaves to the law, so that he could adopt us as his very own children. Galatians 4:4-5
Did you know that there is a gap of over 300 years between the Old and New Testaments? It was a time when God did not speak to Israel in the way He had been speaking. In other words, many may have felt that God was silent. They were waiting for Him to act and work and send the promised Savior of the world. While this time may have felt like a pause, their waiting was not in vain, and God was still working. We know from history that God’s timing for sending His Son, Jesus Christ, the Savior, was impeccable. Paul wrote clearly in the book of Galatians 3 about God’s perfect timing. “And that’s the way it was with us before Christ came. We were like children; we were slaves to the basic spiritual principles of this world” (verse 3). In other words, we were slaves to the things of this world before Christ. This news is bleak, but Paul continued his teaching in Galatians 4 with good news. He continued, “But when the right time came, God sent His Son, born of a woman, subject to the law. God sent Him to buy freedom for us who were slaves under the law, so that He could adopt us as His very own children (verses 4-5). Paul taught us that Jesus came at just the right time. In light of this, the question becomes, “Why was the time right?” Why did God’s people wait so long? One of the reasons was that there had to be a common language understood by all. When Jesus was born, Greek, the language of the New Testament, was becoming a widely-known universal language, which made the words of Scripture translatable across the world. Secondly, this was when Rome was building roads that made transportation better than ever before. It made the spread of Scripture and God’s message easier than ever before. The time was just right for the world to hear and know about Christ. My friend, we can trust God’s timing. At just the right time, He sent Jesus, and His message through the written and spoken Word, was able to spread across the world. So whatever you are waiting on today, find hope in God’s perfect timing, who is never late but right on time.
Is there an area of your life where God’s timing seems slow or where He seems silent? Write it down. While God may seem “slow” or “late,” His timing is always perfect. How do you find encouragement from the story of Scripture and the 300+ years between the Old and New Testaments? Write this down, too. May you take comfort in the truth that God’s timing is perfect.
Galatians 4:1-7 (NLT)
"Think of it this way. If a father dies and leaves an inheritance for his young children, those children are not much better off than slaves until they grow up, even though they actually own everything their father had. 2 They have to obey their guardians until they reach whatever age their father set. 3 And that’s the way it was with us before Christ came. We were like children; we were slaves to the basic spiritual principles of this world.
4 But when the right time came, God sent his Son, born of a woman, subject to the law. 5 God sent him to buy freedom for us who were slaves to the law, so that he could adopt us as his very own children. 6 And because we are his children, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, prompting us to call out, “Abba, Father.” 7 Now you are no longer a slave but God’s own child. And since you are his child, God has made you his heir."
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