GOD IS ALWAYS FAITHFUL. LUKE 1 : 5-25, GENESIS 21:1-8
Zechariah and his wife Elizabeth were known for their personal holiness. They were well-suited to doing a special work for God, but they shared the pain of not having children, and in Jewish culture, this was considered not having God’s blessings. Zechariah and Elizabeth were old, and they had stopped even asking for children. Angel Gabriel’s visit delivered shocking, unexpected news to Zechariah, interrupting his ministry at the altar. The message felt almost too good to be true. His age spoke more loudly than God’s promise As a result, God prevented Zechariah from speaking until the promise became reality.
This is a story of the birth of John the Baptist. The story recounts how this man, who would prepare the way of the Lord, came into existence as an answer to the prayers of Zechariah, a priest before the Lord. The priest worked in the temple to manage the upkeep of the temple, teaching the people the scriptures, and directing the worship services. At this time is believed that there were around 20,000 priests throughout the country- far too many to minister in the temple at one time. The bible records that priests were divided into 24 groups of about 1000 each according to David’s instructions in 1 Chronicles 24:3-19
The bible says Zechariah was a member of the Abijah division, on duty this particular week. Each morning, a priest was to enter the holy place in the temple and burn incense. So the priest would cast lots to decide who would enter the sacred room, and one day the lot fell to Zechariah. But it was not by chance that Zechariah was on duty that day to enter the Holy Place, perhaps a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. God was guiding the events of history to prepare the way for Jesus to come to earth.
1. Delay is not Denial. Luke 1:5-7,18-19 Judges 13:2-3
Luke 1:5-7
5 In 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.
6 Both 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.
18-19 18 Zechariah asked the angel, “How can I be sure of this? I am an old man and my wife is well along in years.”19 The 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.
2. God Answers Prayers at the Appointed Time. Luke 1:11-17, Genesis 21:1-8, Judges 13:5 2.
God answers prayers in his own way and in his own time. He answers in a way we can not imagine. He worked in an impossible situation, Elizabeth’s age and barrenness to bring about the fulfilment of all the prophecies concerning the messiah.
The story of Zechariah and Elizabeth is quite similar to Abraham and Sara gave birth to Isack, Hannah, and Elkanas wife gave birth to Samuel,
Judges 13-16 NIV The Birth of Samson
13 Again the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord, so the Lord delivered them into the hands of the Philistines for forty years.2 A certain man of Zorah, named Manoah, from the clan of the Danites, had a wife who was childless, unable to give birth. 3 The angel of the Lord appeared to her and said, “You are barren and childless, but you are going to become pregnant and give birth to a son
If we want our prayers to be answered, we must be open to what God can do in impossible situations. And you must wait for God to work in his way and his time. Most of us don’t want that!
3. Faithfully serve as you wait on the Lord. Luke 1:11-17, 1 Corinthians 2:9
Zechariah and Elizabeth didn’t merely go through the motions in following god’s laws; they backed up their outward compliance with inward obedience. Unlike the religious leaders whom Jesus called hypocrites, Zechariah and Elizabeth did not stop with the letter of the law. Their obedience was from the heart, and that is why they are called “upright in the sight of God.” God has the best for us
