THE PROLOGUE
In the time of Herod king of Judea there was a priest named Zechariah, who belonged to the priestly division of Abijah; his wife Elizabeth was also a descendant of Aaron [BLESSING]. Both of them were upright in the sight of God, observing all the Lord's commandments and regulations blamelessly [RIGHTEOUSNESS]. But they had no children [TEARS], because Elizabeth was barren [DISGRACE]; and they were both well along in years [HOPELESSNESS].
The Temple Mount (grounds) in Jerusalem. The gold-domed building is where the Jewish temple stood; in there Zechariah entered the restricted Holy Place to burn incense to God, usually a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Worshipers prayed outside the temple while Zechariah performed the twice-daily ritual. Photo courtesy of bibleplaces.com.GOD 'SHOWS UP'
Once when Zechariah's division was on duty and he was serving as priest before God, he was chosen by lot [GOD SHOWS HIS HAND], according to the custom of the priesthood, to go into the temple of the Lord and burn incense. And when the time for the burning of incense came, all the assembled worshipers were PRAYING outside.
Then an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing at the right side of the altar of incense. When Zechariah saw him, he was startled and was gripped with FEAR. But the angel said to him: "DO NOT BE AFRAID, Zechariah; YOUR PRAYER HAS BEEN HEARD.
THE PROMISE
“Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to give him the name John. He will be a JOY and DELIGHT to you, and many will REJOICE because of his birth, for he will be great in the sight of the Lord. He is never to take wine or other fermented drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit even from birth. Many of the people of Israel will he bring back to the Lord their God. And he will go on before the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous—to make ready a people prepared for the Lord."
Possibly Aenon near Salim. John 3:23 - And John also was baptizing in Aenon near to Salim, because there was much water there: and they came, and were baptized.
Picture all the people he baptized in this water - the end purpose of Elizabeth's tears.Photo courtesy of bibleplaces.com.
DOUBT
Zechariah asked the angel, "How can I be sure of this? [DOUBT] I am an old man and my wife is well along in years."
The angel answered, "I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I have been sent to speak to you and to tell you this good news. And now you will be silent and not able to speak until the day this happens, because you did not believe my words, which will come true at the proper time."
Meanwhile, the people were WAITING for Zechariah and WONDERING why he stayed so long in the temple. When he came out, he could not speak to them. They realized he had seen a vision in the temple, for he kept making signs to them but remained unable to speak. [CONFUSED]
FINALLY
When his time of service was completed, he returned home. After this his wife Elizabeth became pregnant. [JOY, PROMISE FULFILLED] and for five months remained in seclusion. "THE LORD HAS DONE THIS FOR ME," she said. "In these days HE HAS SHOWN HIS FAVOR and TAKEN AWAY MY DISGRACE among the people."
Let me sum this up quickly. Everything’s going along okay (blessing), and then poof! Your world falls apart. (Tears). After much praying God has some answer for you, which often leaves you with hope. Then, doubt kicks in. You wait. You wonder. You get confused – did you hear God right? Finally, the promise comes to pass, leaving you with joy and the relief that the Lord did what He said He would do, and a little more faith in His character.
Elizabeth's Promise
Back then, a woman’s purpose in life was basically to get married and have children. Not having children was a disgrace, literally – I’ve read that exact word in many sources.
Her hopes had been so high! A child of a priest, married to a priest – a double blessing, they said. And they were righteous! Yet barren-ness, widely considered a symbol of God’s disfavor, plagued them. The suspicion! That they were cursed for a hidden disobedience, as Job’s friends believed. The whispers at the well that stopped when she approached.
Oh, the tears! The loneliness! The shame! The fear of divorce, in a society where divorced women had no place to go! Imagine living every day knowing you were a complete failure.
Recall the worst thing you’ve ever gone through. Add loneliness, shame and fear of being left without food or shelter to it.
Elizabeth was probably thirteen when she married, and decades passed before she was ‘well along in years.’ Every niece and nephew became a cruel mockery of her own dreams and every circumcision celebration a battle with tears. By all human accounts her prayers went unanswered; God had turned his back, apparently. He dismissed her disgrace in society and counted her tears as worthless.
The waiting, the wondering…how long did God take? You don't know you're pregnant immediately. Perhaps Elizabeth’s five months in seclusion, always puzzling to scholars, had to do with nasty rumors and skepticism.
ugh.
Yet, Mark 1:5 - The whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem went out to [John the Baptist]. Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River.
Now that's suffering made worthwhile!
Your Promise
God keeps His promises, you guys. Never doubt it. Never doubt God's goodness. Never doubt that He has a very good reason for doing what He's doing. But by all means, pray for it! Prayer unleashes God's power, and pleading for the promise doesn't evidence lack of trust in it.
Joshua 23:14 - You know with all your heart and soul that not one of all the good promises the Lord your God gave you has failed. Every promise has been fulfilled; not one has failed.
2 Chronicles 6:10 - The Lord has kept the promise he made. I [Solomon] have succeeded David my father and now I sit on the throne of Israel, just as the Lord promised, and I have built the temple for the Name of the Lord, the God of Israel.
The years passed for Joshua, Solomon and Elizabeth. It must have felt like an impossibly long time at times, but they did pass and God did fulfill His promise.
Furthermore, His reason for withholding a baby all those years had nothing to do with lack of hearing prayers, or discounting Elizabeth’s misery. He planned to show the world His power by a miracle baby and His grace by the baby's purpose: bringing sinners to righteousness and preparing the way for the Messiah.
Hang In There
Never equate 'not yet,' with 'no.'
The desert outside Jericho. Luke 1:80 - And the child [John the Baptist] grew and became strong in spirit; and he lived in the desert until he appeared publicly to Israel. I find God's purpose interesting - John became "strong in spirit."God's reason for taking years to conquer the Promised Land for the Israelites? To prevent wild animals from overrunning them. The reason David couldn't build the temple? He was a warrior king, with blood on his hands; thus God saved the assignment for his son Solomon.
I’ve been waiting for seven months for God to fulfill a promise to me. "God, you promised!" I cried out last week. "You promised!" I know that Solomon scripture because that night I opened my Bible by chance to 2 Chr 6 which details God's fulfilling his promise in the temple dedication. I opened my other Bible by chance to that same section of the dedication in 1 Kings 8.
Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel...who has fulfilled what He promised... (2 Chr 6:6 and 1 Kings 8:15)
Are you sitting at your computer going "Yes, but Emily, God hasn't flat out promised. I'm pretty sure this is God's will, but He's taking forever and as a result it seems like it must be wrong."
To you I say, don't give up.
A friend of mine tried for nine years to have a baby before a little boy arrived, premature, needing heart surgery and now a healthy pre-schooler. "Not yet," didn't mean "No."
Another waited ten - and she was 43 when the little tike finally arrived. "Not yet," didn't mean "No."
Elizabeth waited twenty or more. "Not yet," didn't mean "No."
A Christian friend of mine married for the first time at 36. Another did the same thing at 35. "Not yet," didn't mean "No."
I've been writing this book for years and I'm ready to pull my hair out. But I believe I'm following God's will and I believe God will pull me through. "Not yet" doesn't mean "No."
Joyce Meyer, mega-ministry-woman, was broke for six years before God gave her ministry a breakthrough. "Not yet," didn't mean "No."
In fact, 'Not yet' seems to have little, if anything, to do with 'No.'
So, Be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord. (Psalm 27:14)
Study Questions
1. If you have no idea what I'm talking about, skip to the next section, "Back to Basics."
2. Are you discouraged about anything? Do you think Elizabeth was more discouraged? Did her situation seem more hopeless?
3. If so, there was hope for her. Therefore, what reason do you have for losing hope? Tell God the reason.
4. John the Baptist became "strong in spirit" in the desert. Will this experience, assuming your hope is fulfilled, make you stronger in spirit? Could this be God's purpose for you? If not, what might it be?
Back to Basics
There is hope for you. I don't care where you are in life - the messiest custody battle, sleeping on a Manhattan street corner, warring with bulimia, roiled in manic depression - there is hope for you.
Got it?
Good.
Elizabeth had a hopeless womb, and hope in God. God won - because God always wins. This is not to say that if you believe in God you'll be miraculously cured or instantly win the custody battle; it rarely works that way. But, though depression conquers you, it cannot conquer God.
That said, you must first surrender your life to God. If you're not trying to follow His commands in the rest of your life, I doubt He'll help you out in the one area you're pleading for.
Recognize that God is holy. Confess that you are sinful, and that as a result you cannot get to God of your own accord; you need His grace. Believe that Jesus Christ died on the cross to atone for your sins. Commit to following God's ways, even when you don't like them.
Now you have hope.
Romans 6:23 - For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Romans 3:23-24a - ...for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood.
Romans 8:6 - The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit [of God] is life and peace;...
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