2nd Sunday- “Still, In His Time!''

“Years passed, and the king of Egypt died. But the Israelites continued to groan under the burden of slavery. They cried out for help, and their cry rose up to God. God heard their groaning and He remembered His covenant promise to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. He looked down on the people of Israel and knew it was time to act.”

Exodus 2:23-25, NLT

2nd Sunday- “Still, In His Time!''

The span of years inevitably yields to reflection. We come to recognize that there is a moment in time that God creates the circumstances that shape our destiny. The late sage and theologian, Dr. Howard Thurman said, “Fate is what we are given, destiny is what we do with our fate.” The famine in ancient Canaan, led the patriarch Jacob, his sons, their wives, and children into Egypt. Pharaoh was favorable to Joseph. His family enjoy a season of comfort, until that Pharaoh died. Although the invitation to immigrate to Egypt was necessary for survival, Jacob sensed that his descendants would inevitably experience slavery in Egypt. After Joseph died at the age of 110, the hope and liberation of Israel, came as a result of God's divine plan for Moses. Harrowing years occurred because at least two pharaohs ascended the throne, who were no longer favorable to Joseph's descendants. The birth of Moses, to God summoning him back to Egypt to lead his people out of bondage, comprised some 80 years! Conspicuous by its absence in Chapters 1 and 2 in the Book of Exodus, is no mentioning of God. It is when we come to this passage in Exodus 2:23-25, that God (Elohim) is mentioned. From within a pale of human bondage, misery, task masters, and woeful cries, God appears. He redefines the moment, and determines a new destiny for his people. It would be this seminal moment, that would engage the memories of God's people for generations to come. It is the time God acts most decisively that we remember. It is our history with God!