In today’s text, we will meet a man named Zacharias (KJV)/Zechariah(NIV) and his wife Elisabeth (KJV)/Elizabeth(NIV). The Bible tells us that they were righteous in the sight of God (verse 6). They made a point, in their lives, of being obedient and were people of faith. Read verses 5-7. The event we are going to read about took place during the reign of Herod the Great (37-4 BC). This would have been near the end of Herod’s reign. Zacharias and Elisabeth were from the tribe of Levi. A subgroup of the Levites, the descendants of Moses’ brother Aaron, served as priests in Israel in God’s Temple and Zacharias was one of these priests. This couple was childless and probably expected to stay childless due to their advanced age.
The Temple priests were divided into 24 divisions, with each division serving one-week rotations in the Temple, twice a year. Each day, an individual priest from the serving division was selected, by lot, to go into the Temple and offer incense at the daily sacrifice (I Chron 24:1-19). A priest could perform this function only once in his lifetime. This was a big deal to be chosen.
Each day, at the time for the daily sacrifice, worshippers would gather outside the Temple and pray as the priest went inside and offered the incense on the altar, prayed for the nation of Israel, and then pled for the arrival of the Messiah. Afterwards, the priest would come out and give the crowd a blessing. The incense on the altar represented the prayers of God’s people (Rev 5:8).
In verses 8-10 we see that Zacharias’ turn has come. He has been chosen, by lot, to offer the incense at the daily sacrifice. He would have taken this responsibility very seriously and would have prepared himself carefully. This was a very important moment in Zacharias’ life, and God chose this special moment to do something very important.
Read verses 11-17. God sent an angel, Gabriel, to give news to Zacharias. This was a momentous moment, and we are told that Zacharias was startled and afraid. But Gabriel reassures him and tells him that his prayer has been answered. Zacharias would have been in the middle of praying for Israel and the coming of the Messiah when this occurred. But Gabriel answered his prayer by saying that he and Elisabeth would have a son, something they had probably given up on by now, and telling him to name the son John. This son would go before the Lord to prepare the people’s hearts for the Lord’s coming. God is answering Zacharias’ prayer for the coming of the Messiah AND his prayer for a child. These two things will be very closely intertwined.
In these verses, Zacharias was given a number of promises about his son. Record these promises in your journal. This son was to fulfill the prophecy that God would send Elijah ahead of the Lord to prepare people’s hearts and heal their families (Matt 11:11-14, Mal 3:1, Mal 4:5-6). John would have the spirit and power of Elijah as prophesied. He would himself be a prophet and the forerunner to the arrival of the Messiah. Zacharias is also instructed to dedicate this child to God as a Nazirite (Num 6:1-21). His life will be a dedicated offering to God.
Read verses 18-22. Zacharias responded to the angel Gabriel with words of doubt. He asked how he could be sure of this since he was so old. I would think that having it announced by an angel should have been enough, and that is pretty much what Gabriel said to him also. And because of Zacharias’ unbelief, God rendered him unable to speak until the baby should arrive. When he came out to give the blessing to the crowd, and they realized he was unable to speak, the crowd understood that something Godly had occurred while he was in the Temple. Please remember that, in our own lives, we can always ask God to help our unbelief (Mark 9:24).
Read verses 23-25. When Zacharias’ week of service was completed, he returned home. We are then told that Elisabeth became pregnant. Please note that she gave all credit to God for His favor. Sometimes God says no to our prayer requests and we must learn to accept that. But sometimes, God is only asking us to wait because He has something even better lined up in the future. Zacharias and Elisabeth asked for a child and God gave them a prophet.
Record Psalm 141:2 in your journal.
Responding to God: Praise God for answered prayer. Thank Him for His goodness and praise Him for the things He has done for you. If you have prayers which are still unanswered, ask Him for clarity on whether these are a ‘no’ or a ‘just wait’. Vow to continue serving Him faithfully as you wait for your prayers to be answered or even when you are disappointed by a ‘no’ answer. Seek His help dealing with any spiritual doubts in your life and to keep those doubts from being a stumbling block for others.
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