Why a Census?

“In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken on the entire Roman world.” Luke 2:1 (NIV)

Have you ever wondered why God allowed this census to take place? When He wanted Zachariah or Mary to know about the birth of their children He had sent the Angel Gabriel to give them the message. When He wanted Joseph to know that it was proper for him to take Mary as his wife or when he was to take the child to Egypt God spoke to Joseph in a dream. When Joseph had a dream he obeyed the message without a question. However, when God wanted His Son to be born in Bethlehem He did not use dreams or angels but rather He played musical fruit basket with the entire world.

Can you imagine the turmoil it caused when the Roman Emperor made such a decree? Families from all over the world had to pack up and travel to another part of the country so that they could register because they had been from there originally. They may not have lived there for years or maybe they had never lived there but the decree was the law and to disobey would mean fines or imprisonment. It was decreed and they had to obey.

Christians are quick to quote Romans 8:28 which tells us that we can know that all things work together for the good of God’s people. When the Scripture says that we can know it does not mean that we will necessary know the details but rather that we can have the confidence that it is in the sovereign plan of God.

All things did work for good. God had His Son born in Bethlehem as it was prophesied by Micah the prophet, but how many people knew that it was God’s intention to do it that way? Most of the people probably grumbled and complained about the government and the lack of concern for the people of the land. Most people endured the ordeal without thinking about a higher purpose.

Suppose there was a couple, maybe even an elderly couple, who had been originally from Galilee and had settled in Bethany. When the decree came they had to pack up their belongings and travel north to Galilee. It could have been a very difficult time for the elderly couple; one of them if not both could have been crippled and found the trip extremely painful. The wife may have said something like this, “Judah, why would God allow such a thing to happen? Surely He knows that we cannot afford to travel at this time. Surely He knows that we are not well. I do not understand why God would allow such a decree.”

Judah may have replied, “I know Esther but God is in control, He has all things in His hand. I am sure He has a purpose and if He wanted us to know He would have told us.”

We too need to understand that “all things do work together for good” but we may have to accept it by faith. Our faith is our knowing. God does not have to explain His actions to us. Someday we may understand but perhaps we will not understand until we get to heaven and then it will not matter any more.