The proverb says, “The king’s heart is a stream of water in the hand of the Lord; he turns it wherever he will” (Proverbs 21:1). God is sovereign over all, orchestrating the events of world history. We see this vividly demonstrated when it was time for Jesus to come.

Galatians 4:4-5
But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons.

After the Roman emperor, Julius Caesar, was assassinated in 44 BC, his two sons, Antony and Octavian, shared the throne. However, Antony fell in love with the Egyptian queen, Cleopatra, and together they plotted against Octavian for sole power. In the Battle of Actium, which occurred in 31 BC, Antony and Cleopatra were defeated, after which they ended their lives.

Octavian became the lone ruler of the Roman Empire—the Caesar. Four years later, he named himself the “Chief Citizen” of the empire and gave himself the name “Augustus.” Caesar Augustus controlled the world. The poet Virgil called him the “present deity,” the “restorer of the world.”

The emperor needed to know how many people inhabited his domain, so “a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered.” The decree sent a couple living in Nazareth on a journey to his hometown of Bethlehem as God prepared the world for Christmas.

God moved Mary and Joseph to Bethlehem by a ruler’s edict, fulfilling the prophecy foretold in Micah 5:2. God still moves in the hearts of world leaders to work out his perfect purposes…in the fullness of time.

Father, you have always been and you will always be sovereign over every ruler of every empire on earth. May the history of your work embolden our future with a renewed trust in you. In Jesus’ name. Amen.