What Old Testament examples show God's timing differs from human expectations? Luke 1:21 – Human impatience meets heavenly schedule “Meanwhile, the people were waiting for Zechariah and wondering why he took so long in the sanctuary.” The crowd thought the priest should be in and out quickly, yet God was orchestrating a supernatural announcement that required more time than anyone outside could imagine. Scripture repeatedly shows this contrast between what people expect and the timetable the LORD sets. Old Testament portraits of divine timing • Abraham & Sarah – a twenty-five-year gestation of promise “Is anything too difficult for the LORD? At the appointed time I will return to you—in about a year—and Sarah will have a son.” (Genesis 18:14) “Sarah conceived and bore a son… at the very time God had promised.” (Genesis 21:1-2) • Joseph – thirteen years from dream to deliverance “He sent a man before them—Joseph… until his word came to pass, and the word of the LORD proved him true.” (Psalm 105:17-19) • Moses & Israel – four centuries in Egypt, then forty years in Midian, then forty more in the wilderness “Now the duration of the Israelites’ stay in Egypt was 430 years. At the end of the 430 years, to the very day, all the LORD’s divisions went out.” (Exodus 12:40-41) • David – anointed as a youth, crowned at thirty “Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him… and the Spirit of the LORD rushed upon David.” (1 Samuel 16:13) “David was thirty years old when he became king.” (2 Samuel 5:4) • Hannah – long-term barrenness answered “in due time” “So in due time Hannah conceived and gave birth to a son.” (1 Samuel 1:20) • The Babylonian exile – seventy appointed years “This whole land will become a desolate wasteland… seventy years.” (Jeremiah 25:11) “I… understood from the Scriptures… that the desolation of Jerusalem would last seventy years.” (Daniel 9:2) • Prophetic reassurance – waiting written into the vision “For the vision awaits an appointed time… Though it lingers, wait for it.” (Habakkuk 2:3) Threads that tie these stories together • Every delay is purposeful; God’s promises land “at the very time” He determines. • Waiting refines faith—Joseph’s irons, David’s caves, Hannah’s tears all prepared hearts for blessing. • God’s calendar is precise: 430 years “to the very day,” seventy years “until the completion,” an “appointed time” for Sarah, for Habakkuk’s vision, and ultimately for Christ’s arrival. • Because Scripture is accurate and literal, each fulfilled timetable becomes a fresh credential for trusting the next promise. Luke 1:21 shows the pattern again: what looked like a holdup in the temple was the exact moment heaven chose to speak. |
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