Read: Luke 1:5-25 (NIV)
5In the time of Herod king of Judea there was a priest named Zechariah, who belonged to the priestly division of Abijah; his wife Elizabeth was also a descendant of Aaron. 6Both of them were righteous in the sight of God, observing all the Lord’s commands and decrees blamelessly. 7But they were childless because Elizabeth was not able to conceive, and they were both very old.
8Once
when Zechariah’s division was on duty and he was serving as priest before God, 9he
was chosen by lot, according to the custom of the priesthood, to go into the
temple of the Lord and burn incense. 10And when the time for the
burning of incense came, all the assembled worshipers were praying outside.
11Then
an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing at the right side of the altar
of incense. 12When Zechariah saw him, he was startled and was
gripped with fear. 13But the angel said to him: “Do not be afraid,
Zechariah; your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son,
and you are to call him John. 14He will be a joy and delight to you,
and many will rejoice because of his birth, 15for he will be great
in the sight of the Lord. He is never to take wine or other fermented drink,
and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit even before he is born. 16He
will bring back many of the people of Israel to the Lord their God. 17And
he will go on before the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the
hearts of the parents to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of
the righteous — to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”
18Zechariah
asked the angel, “How can I be sure of this? I am an old man and my wife is
well along in years.”
19The
angel said to him, “I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I have
been sent to speak to you and to tell you this good news. 20And now
you will be silent and not able to speak until the day this happens, because
you did not believe my words, which will come true at their appointed time.”
21Meanwhile,
the people were waiting for Zechariah and wondering why he stayed so long in
the temple. 22When he came out, he could not speak to them. They
realized he had seen a vision in the temple, for he kept making signs to them
but remained unable to speak.
23When
his time of service was completed, he returned home. 24After this
his wife Elizabeth became pregnant and for five months remained in seclusion. 25”The
Lord has done this for me,” she said. “In these days he has shown his favor and
taken away my disgrace among the people.”
Reflect:
Zechariah
and Elizabeth wanted a baby. They were both righteous and served God blamelessly
(verse 6). They deserved to have a baby, but Elizabeth remained barren. Rather
than lament over her empty arms, they continued to serve God. Zechariah was in
disbelief when Gabriel came to tell him his prayer was answered. He applied his
worldly view of being old to the situation in justification for his disbelief.
This did not change God’s plan. Can you imagine what was going on in
Zechariah’s mind during this time? He was told he would have a son who would
turn people toward the path of the Lord. God knew when he needed John to
prepare the way for Jesus and turn hearts toward him. It was not on the
schedule that Zechariah and Elizabeth had planned.
Act:
Remain
strong in your faith, even when the answers don’t seem near.
Pray:
Lord,
sometimes it is hard to wait for what You have in store for us. Please keep our
faith strong as we cast our cares on You and wait for Your perfect timing.
Kim and Alex Nelson
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