At This Time

"The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham and said to him,
'Get out of your country and from your relatives,
and come to a land that I will show you.'
He moved to this land and God gave him no inheritance in it,
not even enough to set his foot on.
But even when Abraham had no child,
He promised to give it to him for a possession,
and to his descendants after him.
So Jacob went down to Egypt; and he died, he and all our fathers.
But when the time of the promise drew near which God had sworn to Abraham,
the people grew and multiplied in Egypt
till another king arose who did not know Joseph.
This man dealt treacherously with our people,
and oppressed our forefathers,
making them expose their babies, so that they might not live.
At this time Moses was born, and was well-pleasing to God."

~ From Acts 7

God asked Abraham: 'Come, follow Me.' And Abraham followed. A promise was given to Abraham, which Abraham believed (although at the time of the promise, Abraham did not even possess the means to receive the promise). He received no inheritance. Abraham's grandchildren and great-grandchildren had to flee their 'possession', which as yet was still not theirs, in order to get enough food to eat. They entered Egypt as guests, and stayed there over four hundred years.

But a king arose without any respect for Joseph. He did not know him. And Israel suffered. If I had been among them in these days, I would have brooded over the national decline. The loss of civil liberties. The horrible oppression. Surely God had forgotten them: it can't be His will that they be oppressed.

At this time Moses was born. The time of decline. The time of misery. The time of babies left to die. The time of beatings and forced labor. Do you ever wish you were born for another time? I do. Constantly. I don't like this time in history. I long for quietness and peace and security.

But it says that Moses was well-pleasing to God at this time. In this hour of treacherous oppression.

And before that, it said:
"When the time of the promise drew near
a king arose who did not know Joseph."

I am reminded of something Jesus said.
He described a whole lot of terror coming upon the world.
But then to His disciples He said,
"When you see all these things beginning, look up.
Your redemption draws near."

Look up.
Here at this time -- the time in which you are born, please Him well.
At this time.
In this treacherous hour.
The time of the promise draws near.