A really long time ago (27 BC), halfway around the world (Rome), Gaius Octavius Thurinus (known to historians today as Octavian) was busy ruling the known world as the emperor of Rome.

It was on this day, January 16, 27 BC that the Roman Senate granted Octavian the title “Augustus” which, when combined with his ancestral title inherited from Julius Caesar, yields the Caesar Augustus known to us in Luke 2:1, “In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered…”

You know the rest of the story: a faithful carpenter and his pregnant bride-to-be go to be counted, arrive in his hometown to find all the hotels booked solid, so the Savior of the world is born in a cattle stall. Two things stand out to me:

1. This brief reference to Caesar Augustus is one reminder (among many, many, many others) that the the Bible is true and accurate, that it happened to real people at a real point in time. Luke’s gospel and his book of Acts are particularly well-known for precise references to actual people and events. Any time we read about these people, we should remember that the Bible is a historically verifiable record of actual events and actual people. This should bring us faith and confidence.
2. We also see the sovereignty of God here. Micah 5:2 predicts that the Savior will be born in Jerusalem: “But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel, whose origin is from of old, from ancient days.” But Mary and Joseph lived in a town called Nazareth , more than 50 miles from Bethlehem. But God uses the quiet workings of everyday life (a census) to bring Joseph and Mary to Bethlehem just in time for Jesus to be born. Every promise of God is perfectly fulfilled, at just the right time.

So, we can have great confidence in God’s word and in God’s workings. He is nothing but faithful. Psalm 33:4 “For the word of the Lord is upright, and all his work is done in faithfulness.”

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