Luke 1:5-23, 59-79
Zechariah, a priest in a division called Abijah, served in
the temple for two weeks at a time.
The priests were divided into 24 divisions. This meant that
his division served, on average, two times a year. The privilege of offering
incense to God was granted by drawing lots. This was a once in a lifetime
experience for most priests.1
We glean from the scriptures that both Zechariah and
Elizabeth were descendants of Aaron. They were an older couple, she beyond the
childbearing years. The society at that time placed great emphasis on a couple
having a male heir to learn to do the work to help the family survive. It was
an embarrassment to any couple who were childless.
Elizabeth was a relative (some say a cousin) of Mary. In
Elizabeth’s sixth month, Mary was paid a visit by the angel Gabriel. After that
Mary traveled to the town in Judea where Zachariah and Elizabeth lived.
Elizabeth recognized that Mary was with child and that child
was the Son of God. Elizabeth called her blessed among women.
Now Zechariah was troubled when he saw the angel Gabriel and
then he became skeptical when he received the message from the angel. The angel
took away his speech. Zechariah didn’t speak until he wrote that his child’s
name was to be John. Those who knew this couple couldn’t understand—there
wasn’t any John in Zechariah’s family. I wonder what that crowd of well-wishers
thought when Zechariah spoke after writing down “His name is John”.
Zechariah and Elizabeth were obedient to God’s command.
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1.)
The Discovery Bible, Zondervan, © 2004, page
1332 –Footnote
Graphic: monasticsonajourney.blogspot.com
Graphic: monasticsonajourney.blogspot.com
Hi, Cecelia:
ReplyDeleteLike I've mentioned in the past, it's a pleasure for me to stop by your blog because your posts always speak to me. Regarding this post, my daughter was studying this section of the Bible in her first grade class this week. My daughter loves to pray the Hail Mary in particular, and was excited to learn about the origin of the prayer's words in the greetings to Mary used by the angel Gabriel as well as Elizabeth. I know your post focuses on Zechariah and Elizabeth, but it made me think of my daughter and her love for Bible stories and certain prayers. :-)
As for being obedient to God's command, I wonder what we would do if an angel visited us and told us we were to do this or that out of the ordinary. I would like to think I'd be obedient under any and all circumstances, despite confusion and skepticism by those around me. We see tremendous tests of faith in the Bible, and the reward to those who kept God's commands.
Enjoy your weekend! Be well.
Thank you, Janette, for your kind thoughts. We all would like to think that we would obey God's commands. Sometimes, it is difficult to do because in order to do that, we have to keep our eyes focused on Him and not those around us.
DeleteI love this story, and it reminds me to expect God to do the impossible in my life. He not only allowed a virgin to conceive supernaturally, but gave a baby to a woman too old to have one!
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing this touching narrative from God's word.
It is a beautiful story about trust, obedience, joy, and the love of God. I find something new in it just about every time I read it,
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