Zechariah and Elizabeth

 Arnold Palmer once played several exhibition matches in Saudi Arabia. The king was so impressed he wanted to give Palmer a gift. Palmer protested. "It isn't necessary, Your Highness. I'm honored to have been invited." But the king replied, "I'll be deeply upset if you don't let me give you a gift." Palmer thought a moment. "OK. How about a golf club? That'd be a beautiful memento of my visit to your country." The next day an envelope was delivered to Palmer's hotel. In it? The title to a golf club with 1,000s of acres, trees, lakes, & a clubhouse. The moral? Don't ask a King for small gifts! Elizabeth & Zechariah only prayed for a child. 1 5aHerod the Great was King of Judea. Zechariah (The Lord Remembers) was a priest in Abijah's 300-priest division, 1 of 24 divisions. Yearly, each division served 1 week, 56 priests / day. 5bHis wife Elizabeth (God's Oath) was also Aaron's descendant. Their names together? The Lord Remembers God's Oath. Messiah! 6Both were upright in God's sight, observing all the Lord's commands. Blamelessly. They're godly. Blessed! But there's deep sorrow. 7aNo children & no hope. 7bElizabeth's barren. 7bEven worse, they're both well along in years (>60). 8Zechariah's division was on duty as priests before God. 9By lot, he's chosen to burn incense in the holy room of the Lord's temple. A once-in-a-lifetime honor. 10When the time came, all assembled worshipers were praying outside. What for? The Messiah, & Israel's deliverance. 11aAn angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing at the right side of the altar of incense. The right is the Lord's side. The left side is for angels! Uh-oh! 12Zechariah saw him, was startled & gripped with fear. Is He seeing God? No one can see God & live. Will he die?? 13aBut the angel spoke. "Don't be afraid, Zechariah. 13bYour prayer has been heard. By custom with burning incense, your prayer for the Hope of Israel. But also, your prayers for a child. 13cYour wife Elizabeth will bear you a son. You're to name him John (Gift of God). He'll be unusual. Starting with who names him. How so? Parents name their children. You won't. 14aHe'll be a joy & delight to you. A good child, a great man. 14bMany will rejoice because of his birth. How so? 15aHe'll be great in the Lord's sight. Wow! Like Samuel & Samson, 15bhe's never to take wine or other fermented drink. A life-long Nazirite! One of only 3 in Scripture. 15cFrom birth he'll be filled with the Holy Spirit in place of wine. This too is huge. Till now, only a few received God's Spirit. Even then, it was only for a season, for specific tasks. John is 1st in Scriptures to be filled from birth. A delight to Elizabeth & Zechariah. 16He'll bring many of Israel's people back to the Lord. Sadly, not all will come. Only those who are willing. 17aAnd he'll go on before the Lord, in Elijah's spirit & power. Even before PA systems, he'll preach to 100k's of people. He won't perform Elijah's miracles. But he will perform a far greater miracle. Jews only baptize only proselytes. They think being Abraham's descendants guarantees their place in heaven. No need to repent. Even so, Jews will flock to John. They'll want baptism for repentance of sins! He'll be the only prophet to 17bturn Jewish fathers' hearts to their children & disobedient Jews to the wisdom of the righteous. Only Jonah had as much success. By turning Jews' hearts to the Lord, he'll be the Elijah who prepares the Messiah's way. 17cHe'll make ready a people prepared for the Lord." That's who John will be. If we put Zechariah's, Elizabeth's, & John's names together? The Lord Remembers God's Oath, the Gift of God. Gabriel proclaimed God's word. Messiah is coming! 18aZechariah asked the angel, "How can I be sure? Uh-oh! Shouldn't Gabriel's presence & the announcement of God's word move Zechariah to faith! No, he wants a sign! Isn't the angel a sign? Instead of looking to God in faith, he looks at himself & Elizabeth. 18bI'm an old man. True. 18cMy wife is well along in years." Again true. Both, well over 60. They prayed for a child. But he looks only at himself & Elizabeth. Not God. So, he concludes it's impossible! This isn't faith. It's unbelief! 19The angel answers sharply. "I'm Gabriel. I stand in God's presence. And I've been sent to tell you this good news. Buck up, Zechariah. you're a priest! You know about angels. You should believe! But you don't. So, 20ayou'll be silent &unable to speak until the day he's born. Why? 20bYou didn't believe my words. (The lesson? Faith is blessed. Unbelief is judged.) 20cMy words will come true at their proper time." Yes, they will! And in a way, Gabriel gives him a very personal sign: he's mute. He'll live with it for 9 months. 21aMeanwhile, people are waiting for Zechariah. Burning incense isn't supposed to take long. And they want the blessing he'll speak after! 21bBut he's so long in the temple they start wondering. Wonder soon turns to worry. Is he dead? Did he do it wrong Will fire flash out of the Holy Place & burn them up? Imagine their relief 22aWhen he comes out? Just one thing. 22bHe can't speak! Not their blessing. Nor anything else. He can only gesture. (Lk 1:62 suggests he may have been deaf as well!) Soon, 22bthey realize he's seen a vision. After 400 yr of God's silence God spoke! How'd they know? 22cZechariah kept making signs. In Jewish tradition, silent gestures means God acted in some special way.22dBut he remained mute. 23When his week of service is complete, he returned home. Imagine his excitement & how hard it is to explain to Elizabeth what happened. Her reaction? Unlike him, she believes. We'll see how we know in a minute. Soon 24after, Elizabeth became pregnant. God is working out His plan! Messiah is coming! The evidence she believes? Look what she says next. 25"The Lord did this for me. In these days he's shown his favor & taken away my disgrace among the people." And look what happens as she greets Mary in Lk 1:39-45, when Mary comes to visit. She's filled with the Holy Spirit! God honors the people who are closest to Him. Those who keep doing His will. God chose this righteous couple to be parents to the forerunner of His Son. Let's wrap up by asking, 'So what?' What's our lesson? The 1st is obvious. God rewards faith & judges unbelief. If so, where are we concluding that what we pray for is impossible? Where do we trust only in what we know & not what God can do? Where do we fail to trust that God will answer our prayers? Where are we holding onto unbelief? (Let's turn it loose!) 2nd, God judges with discipline, not punishment. Discipline brings us back to God. Zechariah didn't trust & therefore couldn't speak. That was his discipline. But notice God's grace. By losing his speech, Gabriel did give him a sign. That's his confirmation that he will have a son! 3rd, look at Zechariah's & Elizabeth's childlessness. In their culture, childlessness is a sign of God's displeasure. They bought the lie. So, for 45+ years of marriage, they suffer scorn, shame, & an empty home. God's view? He's preparing them for greater blessing. In Lk 7:28 Jesus will say John is the greatest man & prophet history has yet seen. Our lesson? When we suffer, God is preparing us for a greater blessing. Hang on. It's coming! Lastly, look how carefully God works out His plan. He uses people for every step. God's attention to detail is amazing. He planned his couple's lineage. He planned their names. All along, God gave signs for the eyes of faith. Every part of Zechariah's, Elizabeth's, & John's story points to the coming Messiah: their lineage, names, roles, & Gabriel's visit to announce God's plan. Every detail. The lesson? God will work out His plan. Through us, around us, & in spite of us, if necessary. Want to participate in God's plan? It'll take character like Zechariah's & Elizabeth's. Want to be His servants? Our character, too, needs to be spotless. Why? We serve an awesome, holy, loving, gracious God. John will be a lifelong Nazirite. Spotless. Prepared for the Spirit's fullness. He'll be the greatest prophet. The more spotless our character, the more God can use us. And the more glory we'll bring Him. Let's pray... 1 Brennan Manning, Lion & Lamb: The Relentless Tenderness of Jesus (Baker, 1986); cited in Leadership Weekly --------------- ------------------------------------------------------------ --------------- ------------------------------------------------------------ Zechariah & Elizabeth - Luke 1:5-25 Page 1 of 1