5 In the days of Herod, king of Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah, of the division of Abijah. And he had a wife from the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. 6 And they were both righteous before God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and statutes of the Lord. 7 But they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren, and both were advanced in years.
8 Now while he was serving as priest before God when his division was on duty, 9 according to the custom of the priesthood, he was chosen by lot to enter the temple of the Lord and burn incense. 10 And the whole multitude of the people were praying outside at the hour of incense. 11 And there appeared to him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense. 12 And Zechariah was troubled when he saw him, and fear fell upon him. 13 But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John. 14 And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth, 15 for he will be great before the Lord. And he must not drink wine or strong drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother's womb. 16 And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God, 17 and he will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready for the Lord a people prepared.”
18 And Zechariah said to the angel, “How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in years.” 19 And the angel answered him, “I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I was sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news. 20 And behold, you will be silent and unable to speak until the day that these things take place, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their time.” 21 And the people were waiting for Zechariah, and they were wondering at his delay in the temple. 22 And when he came out, he was unable to speak to them, and they realized that he had seen a vision in the temple. And he kept making signs to them and remained mute. 23 And when his time of service was ended, he went to his home.
24 After these days his wife Elizabeth conceived, and for five months she kept herself hidden, saying, 25 “Thus the Lord has done for me in the days when he looked on me, to take away my reproach among people.”
Zechariah and his wife Elizabeth were “righteous before God.” This does not mean they were perfect or without sin, it simply means the Lord was pleased with this couple and how they lived and devoted their lives. This being the case, Elizabeth not having children would have been a source of shame since it was considered a blessing from the Lord to have children. See Psalm 127:4-5
One of the most interesting things to be in the New Testament is the casting of lots. It is such a foreign concept for those today in our society to leave things up to chance. I mean, we are a logical society. We can think things through. We do not need to consult a lot for a decision right? Perhaps we are looking at this wrong. Maybe the Lord needs His hand in things? I would think so! Something to consider for sure.
Zechariah went to make the offering of Incense as was the custom talked about in Exodus 30. While in there, and Angel came to speak to Zechariah. After speaking and promising things from the Lord to Zechariah, there was doubt in his mind. Zechariah then questioned the angel as to how it is that the things he has said would happen with much doubt. Look at the difference between v.18 and the doubt that Zechariah shows and v.34 and v.38 where Mary receives a message from an Angel that she would conceive. There is a stark difference there. Mary too questioned how it would happen, but there was no doubt in her question. We can learn from this that when we receive direction from the Lord we need to listen and accept. We do not necessarily need to understand how things will happen. We need to be willing to accept what the Lord has in store for us.
Another thing to note when comparing these two responses to the angel of the Lord … look at who responded how. Mary, a young woman who has little experience in the world responded as a servant of the Lord. Zechariah, who was in the Holy of Holies making an offering for the people, clearly a man of God and one that Luke states was “blameless” in all things of the Lord. Both devoted and yet the young person responds better. This does not mean young men and women always respond better, but can be a lesson to us that youth does not automatically mean ignorance when it comes to spiritual things. Make sure to respect the youth in the church who follow the Lord.
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