The people of Israel had lived in Egypt for 430 years.

Exodus 12:40

As we read the account of the deliverance of the Israelites from Egypt, we come upon a comment that the Lord kept his promise by bringing his people out of the land after 430 years of captivity. Scholars debate the details, but the main point of the narrative is clear. The Lord was faithful and this faithfulness must be celebrated.

I believe this and can join in the celebration. But I must confess that 430 years seems like an awfully long time. It’s hard even for me to wrap my mind around so many years. Exactly 430 years ago today, the English sea captain Sir Francis Drake was exploring what we know today as the coast of California. That was almost thirty years before the founding of Jamestown in Virginia, and more than forty years before the Puritans landed in Plymouth. 430 years ago, almost everyone believed that the earth was the center of the universe. Galileo was only fifteen years old at the time, and wouldn’t get in trouble with the Church over his heliocentric views for thirty-seven years. 430 years ago, there were no pianos, telescopes, pencils, toilets, or mercury thermometers. 430 years is a long, long time.

I believe God is sovereign over history and that he is also gracious and merciful. He must have had good reasons for allowing his people to suffer in slavery for over four centuries. But I must confess that I find this puzzling. I am reminded today that God’s thoughts are nothing like mine (Isaiah 55:8), especially when it comes to the perception of time. As we read in Psalm 90:4: “For you, a thousand years are as a passing day, as brief as a few night hours.”

QUESTIONS FOR REFLECTION: How do you deal with the fact that God’s timetable is often not your own? What helps you to trust the Lord when his timing seems so very slow?

PRAYER: Dear Lord, I know the point of this passage is the fact that you saved your people, miraculously delivering them from bondage in Egypt. Here I see a powerful image of your saving power, and in this I rejoice.

But, Lord, I must confess that I get tripped up by the 430 years part of the story. I think of all the people, generations upon generations, who languished in Egypt, who never had the slightest hope of being free. I wonder why you waited so long to act.

I don’t expect an answer, Lord. I know I don’t deserve one. You are God, and you know what you’re doing. Today, I just want to say that your timing can perplex me. Sometimes I wish you were easier to figure out. Amen.