Reading Plan:
Luke 1:5-25
Our Thoughts:
I love Zechariah and Elizabeth’s story. I am so challenged and encouraged by their lives!
As Chapter One opens, Luke introduces us to the soon-to-be parents of John the Baptist, Zechariah and Elizabeth. Zechariah was a priest like his father and his father’s father, and a long line of priests before them.
Luke describes Zechariah and his wife as “righteous in God’s sight, living without blame according to ALL the commands and requirements of the Lord.” I find this description convicting, especially given the context of their story. This couple lived at a time in history when no one alive had ever heard God speak. God had not communicated with anyone for nearly 400 years! Still, having only heard stories of God’s provision, His steadfast love, the promise of the Messiah to come—this couple trusted God and lived faithfully before Him.
Around this time in history, there were thousands of priests in Israel, but only one temple. To distribute the work, priests were divided into twenty-four ancestral clans; 500-800 priests in each. Each served the temple twice a year, for a week each time. Luke’s account unfolds during the time Zechariah was to serve the Temple in Jerusalem.
While priests had many jobs to do in their time of service—mostly unglamorous and mundane, but one was incredibly significant. Out of the 500-800 priests, one priest was selected each day to offer incense at the hour of prayer. During the hour of prayer, the faithful would gather in the temple courts to pray while the chosen priest, representing all the people, would enter the Holy Place to burn incense and offer the prayers outlined in the law of Moses. What an opportunity!
The priest with this job was selected “by lot", similar to how we might draw names from a hat. Once his name was drawn, he was never included in the selection process again. Some priests went their whole lives without being selected, yet Luke tells us that faithful Zechariah was chosen by mere happenstance. (Not a chance!)
In preparation for service, Zechariah would have purified himself before the Lord and wholeheartedly prayed for Israel. He would have prayed for God to reveal Himself to them in a mighty way. Zechariah would have prayed for the long-promised Messiah, and as he prayed for Israel, I wonder if he reflected on the private prayers he’d long prayed himself—prayers for a child. Remember, although Zechariah and Elizabeth had prayed for children, they were old in age and childless.
Did Elizabeth gather with others in temple courts as her husband entered the presence of the Most High? I wonder about the tone and content of her prayers–obedient, full of faith, yet pained by desperate, unanswered longing?
Did either Elizabeth or Zechariah ever wonder whether God had forgotten Israel—forgotten them?
Even still, Zechariah entered the Holy Place to pray. While there, Gabriel appeared and told him their prayers had been heard—all of them! Zechariah would have a son and that son would prepare the way for The Son.
Zechariah’s son would usher in a new priesthood that would change everything forever. He’d prepare the way for our Great High Priest, Jesus, who would become the ultimate sacrifice and our salvation, giving us direct access to the Most High every moment of every day for all eternity.
Nothing in Zechariah’s life was happenstance—not his birth into priesthood or his selection for duty by lot, not his age or his time and place in history. God was not slow in answering their prayers. His sovereign plan is always good and full of grace.
Like Zechariah, we can often only see history and present circumstances. But God sees our lives through the scope of eternity. God has orchestrated every minute detail in history (and in our lives) through that lens —with great love and careful precision—for the sake of salvation.
Zechariah and Elizabeth could not have imagined what God had planned so late in their lives. Their story reminds me that we can always trust God with our lives; therefore, we can be faithful no matter how long the wait.
“But I will look to the Lord; I will wait for the God of my salvation. My God will hear me." Micah 7:7
More Questions:
• How has God been faithful to you this year and throughout your life?
• What part of your life (past, present, future) do you need to trust God with today?
• How might you be faithful while you wait?
Prayer:
Lord, help me to trust you. When you seem silent and my trust in you waivers, remind me of the truth in your Word—the truth of your promises. Surround me with those who remind me of your steadfast love throughout history.
Author: Lauren Strickland