The timing of God

Luk 1:5 It came to pass, in the days of Herod, king of Judaea, that there was a certain priest, by name Zachariah; and that he had a wife of the daughters of Aaron, and, her name, was Elizabeth. Luk 1:6 Now they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and righteous appointments of the Lord, blameless; Luk 1:7 and they had no child, inasmuch as Elizabeth was barren, and, both, had become, advanced in their days. Luk 1:8 But it came to pass, as he was doing priestly service in the order of his daily course, before God, Luk 1:9 according to the custom of his priesthood, it fell to his lot to offer incense, entering into the Temple of the Lord; Luk 1:10 and, all the throng of the people, was praying outside, at the hour of the incense offering. Luk 1:11 And there appeared unto him a messenger of the Lord, standing on the right hand of the altar of incense; Luk 1:12 and Zachariah was troubled when he beheld, and, fear, fell upon him. Luk 1:13 But the messenger said unto himDo not fear, Zachariah! Inasmuch as thy supplication hath been hearkened to,and, thy wife Elizabeth, shall bring forth a son to thee, and thou shalt call his name, John; Luk 1:14 And there shall be joy to thee and exulting, and, many, over his birth, shall rejoice; Luk 1:15 For he shall be great before the Lord, and, wine and strong drink, in nowise may he drink, and, with Holy Spirit, shall he be filled, already, from his mothers womb; Luk 1:16 And, many of the Sons of Israel, shall he turn towards the Lord their God;

The priests (Josephus saith) was very careful to marry within their own family, that they might maintain the dignity of the priesthood and keep it without mixture. They would have married young, as was the custom and have been sincerely praying to the LORD for a son - an heir. They were very righteous but still they had no offspring. Barrenness was considered as a curse by the Jews.
The prayers thou now makest, and all thy prayers, are accepted of God, and come up for a memorial before him (as the angel said to Cornelius, when he visited him at

prayer, Act_10:31); Elizabeth and Zacharias had an ongoing prayer for a son. They continued the prayer despite knowing that they were both very advanced in age to have a son of their own: and this shall be the sign that thou are accepted of God, Elisabeth shall bear thee a son. It is very comfortable to praying people to know that their

prayers are heard; and those mercies are doubly sweet that are given in answer to prayer. They would have remembered how the Lord answered Abraham and Sarah in their old age with a son. There is a parallel in both their situations, God answering them in an impossible situation.

Abraham:
Gen 15:1 AFTER THESE things, the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision, saying, Fear not, Abram, I am your Shield, your abundant compensation, and your reward shall be exceedingly great. Gen 15:2 And Abram said, Lord God, what can You give me, since I am going on [from this world] childless and he who shall be the owner and heir of my house is this [steward] Eliezer of Damascus? Gen 15:3 And Abram continued, Look, You have given me no child; and [a servant] born in my house is my heir. Gen 15:4 And behold, the word of the Lord came to him, saying, This man shall not be your heir, but he who shall come from your own body shall be your heir. Gen 15:5 And He brought him outside [his tent into the starlight] and said, Look now toward the heavens and count the stars--if you are able to number them. Then He said to him, So shall your descendants be.(1) Gen 15:6 And he [Abram] believed in (trusted in, relied on, remained steadfast to) the Lord, and He counted it to him as righteousness (right standing with God).(2) [Amplfied] Abraham was 75 years old when he came out of Haran and he had lived in the land of Canaan for 10 years when the word of the Lord came to him with this promise. (Gen 16:1) NOW SARAI, Abram's wife, had borne him no children. She had an Egyptian maid whose name was Hagar. (Gen 16:2) And Sarai said to Abram, See here, the Lord has restrained me from bearing [children]. I am asking you to take my maid as your wife; it may be that I can obtain children by her. And Abram listened to and heeded what Sarai said. (Gen 16:3) So Sarai, Abram's wife, took Hagar her Egyptian maid, after Abram had dwelt ten years in the land of Canaan, and gave her to her husband Abram to be his [secondary] wife. Abraham was 86 years old when Ishmael was born. Gen 16:11 And the Angel of the Lord continued, See now, you are with child and shall bear a son, and shall call his name Ishmael [God hears], because the Lord has heard and paid attention to your affliction. Ishmael was the first person in the Bible to be named before his birth. (others Isaac, Josiah, Solomon, Jesus & John the Baptist)

Shall a child be born unto him that is an hundred years old? and shall Sarah, that is ninety years old, bear?

Gen 17:1 WHEN ABRAM was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to him and said, I am the Almighty God; walk and live habitually before Me and be perfect (blameless, wholehearted, complete). Gen 17:5 but thy name shall be Abraham; for a father of many nations have I made thee. Gen 17:15 And God said unto Abraham, As for Sarai thy wife, thou shalt not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall her name be. Gen 17:16 And I will bless her, and give thee a son also of her: yea, I will bless her, and she shall be a mother of nations; Gen 17:17 Then Abraham fell upon his face, and laughed, and said in his heart,

Gen 17:18 And Abraham said unto God, O that Ishmael might live before thee! Gen 17:19 And God said, Sarah thy wife shall bear thee a son indeed; and thou shalt call his name Isaac: and I will establish my covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, and with his seed after him. (Gal 3:16 AMP) Now the promises (covenants, agreements) were decreed and made to Abraham and his Seed (his Offspring, his Heir). He [God] does not say, And to seeds (descendants, heirs), as if referring to many persons, but, And to your Seed (your Descendant, your Heir), obviously referring to one individual, Who is [none other than] Christ (the Messiah).

How true it is of us also, God makes a covenant with us but we try to help God by producing Ishmael.

Samuel:

(1Sa 1:1 AMP) THERE WAS a certain man of the hill country of Ephraim, named Elkanah (1Sa 1:2 AMP) He had two wives, one named Hannah and the other named Peninnah. Peninnah had children, but Hannah had none. 1Sa 1:5 But to Hannah ... the Lord had given her no children. 1Sa 1:6 [This embarrassed and grieved Hannah] and her rival provoked her greatly to vex her, because the Lord had left her childless. 1Sa 1:7 So it was year after year; whenever Hannah went up to the Lord's house, Peninnah provoked her, so she wept and did not eat. 1Sa 1:10 And [Hannah] was in distress of soul, praying to the Lord and weeping bitterly. 1Sa 1:11 She vowed, saying, O Lord of hosts, if You will indeed look on the

shall touch his head. 1Sa 1:12 And as she continued praying before the Lord, Eli noticed her mouth. 1Sa 1:13 Hannah was speaking in her heart; only her lips moved but her voice was not heard. So Eli thought she was drunk. 1Sa 1:14 Eli said to her, How long will you be intoxicated? Put wine away from you. 1Sa 1:15 But Hannah answered, No, my lord, I am a woman of a sorrowful spirit. I have drunk neither wine nor strong drink, but I was pouring out my soul before the Lord. 1Sa 1:16 Regard not your handmaid as a wicked woman; for out of my great complaint and bitter provocation I have been speaking.

affliction of Your handmaid and [earnestly] remember, and not forget Your handmaid but will give me a son, I will give him to the Lord all his life; no razor

1Sa 1:17 Then Eli said, Go in peace, and may the God of Israel grant your petition which you have asked of Him. 1Sa 1:18 Hannah said, Let your handmaid find grace in your sight. So [she] went her way and ate, her countenance no longer sad. 1Sa 1:19 ... and the Lord remembered her. 1Sa 1:20 in due time bore a son and named him Samuel [heard of God], Because, she said, I have asked him of the Lord.

Here we see Eli - he had lost his discernment and did not correct his sons.
1Sa 2:1 HANNAH PRAYED, and said, My heart exults and triumphs in the Lord; my horn (my strength) is lifted up in the Lord. My mouth is no longer silent, for it is opened wide over my enemies, because I rejoice in Your salvation. 1Sa 2:2 There is none holy like the Lord, there is none besides You; there is no Rock like our God.

Job:

(Job 2:9 KJV) Then said his wife unto him, Dost thou still retain thine integrity? curse God, and die. Job 2:10 But he said to her, You speak as one of the impious and foolish women would speak. What? Shall we accept [only] good at the hand of God and shall we not accept [also] misfortune and what is of a bad nature? In [spite of] all this, Job did not sin with his lips.

His friends come to mourn with him and comfort him but only made Job feel self righteous and ending in self pity.
(Job 40:1 KJV) Moreover the LORD answered Job, and said, (Job 40:2 AMP) Shall he who would find fault with the Almighty contend with Him? (Job 42:1 KJV) Then Job answered the LORD, and said, (Job 42:2 KJV) I know that thou canst do every thing, and that no thought can be wthholden from thee. (Job 42:3 KJV) Who is he that hideth counsel without knowledge? therefore have I uttered that I understood not; things too wonderful for me, which I knew not. (Job 42:5 KJV) I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear: but now mine eye seeth thee. (Job 42:6 KJV) Wherefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes. Job 42:10 And the LORD turned the captivity of Job, when he prayed for his friends: also the LORD gave Job twice as much as he had before.

Wait for God's promises to be fulfilled. Do not try to run ahead of Him. Trust and keep praying. Let not man's mockings provoke you and cause you to loose faith. Do not be righteous in your own eyes but repent and see His Glory.

Mary

Luk 1:30 And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God. Luk 1:31 And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS. Luk 1:32 He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David: Luk 1:33 And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end. Luk 1:34 Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man? Luk 1:35 And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God. Luk 1:36 And, behold, thy cousin Elisabeth, she hath also conceived a son in her old age: and this is the sixth month with her, who was called barren. Luk 1:37 For with God nothing shall be impossible. Luk 1:38 And Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word. And the angel departed from her.

My time is in your hands O God! In the fullness of time God sent forth His Son into the earth.