Luke 1:57 Now Elizabeth's full time came for her to be delivered,
and she brought forth a son. 58 When her neighbors and relatives heard how
the Lord had shown great mercy to her, they rejoiced with her. 59 So it was, on the eighth day, that
they came to circumcise the child; and they would have called him by the name
of his father, Zacharias. 60
His mother answered and said, "No; he shall be called John." 61 But they said to her, "There is
no one among your relatives who is called by this name." 62 So they made signs to his
father--what he would have him called. 63 And he asked for a writing tablet, and wrote, saying,
"His name is John." So they all marveled. 64 Immediately his mouth was opened and
his tongue loosed, and he spoke, praising God. 65 Then fear came on all who dwelt around them; and all these
sayings were discussed throughout all the hill country of Judea. 66 And all those who heard them kept
them in their hearts, saying, "What kind of child will this be?" And
the hand of the Lord was with him.
It is amazing what a year can
hold. It was just a year ago that Zacharias and Elizabeth were serving out
their elderly years, faithfully accomplishing God’s plan for their lives.
Perhaps nothing much more to look forward to than the proverbial, “death and
taxes.” In a word, their lives could probably be characterized as ‘uneventful.’
After all, what can a senior
citizen expect from life that may bring about any sort of change - let alone a
radical one?
It was in the midst of faithful
humble service that the Lord arrested Zacharias’ life, and it is important to
note all that happened in this ‘no-longer-normal-at-all’ life that he and
Elizabeth lived together before the Lord.
His prayer (for a son) had been heard, (by God) and it was the angel Gabriel
who told him so.
But his question about how he
could know this had been silenced and
his ears deafened since he last heard
anything at all. (And the last thing he heard was that his wife would bear him
a son!) I suppose if you were immediately deaf and dumb at the mere pronouncement
of an angel you may also sense and trust God’s power to design conception even
in those far too old to conceive.
And then, indeed, there WAS a conception. Elizabeth was pregnant. I’m pretty sure that in
the midst of his imposed silence Zacharias was now living a life of awe in addition
to the life of reverence he had previously lived.
Nine months is a long time to
spend in silence, but isn’t it wonderful we don’t have to be able to audibly
speak, or physically hear in order to speak to or listen to God?
And now, a son is born. What a
difference THIS year had made. What
would his name be? Would it be to the
glory of his father – a little Zacharias junior? Or would it be to the glory of
his father’s Father? Yes! His name would be JOHN!
- Pastor Bill
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