Anchor My Faith

Elizabeth is Pregnant with John (Luke 1:21-25)

We are not sure how much time Zechariah spent with Gabriel, but it was enough time for the people waiting outside to become concerned. “And the people were waiting for Zechariah, and they were wondering at his delay in the temple” (Luke 1:21 ESV). There is apparently an average amount of time each priest spends when he goes to offer incense and if they exceed that time then the people become concerned, wondering if he may have died because of doing something wrong.

“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” (Luke 1:22 ESV). It is expected that when the priest comes out after offering incense, he delivers the benediction, but since he couldn’t speak that didn’t happen. I can imagine the frustration Zechariah must have experienced in not being able to tell the people what happened, but by using gestures he was able to help them realize that he had seen a vision. Actually it was not a vision, but the presence of the angel Gabriel who carried on a conversation with Zechariah.

“And when his time of service was ended, he went to his home” (Luke 1:23 ESV). Zechariah stayed and served as needed until his week was up. Being unable to speak didn’t disqualify him for service and since it would have been improper for him to leave, he stayed until his time of service was ended and then he went home to spend time with Elizabeth.

“After these days his wife Elizabeth conceived, and for five months she kept herself hidden, saying, “Thus the Lord has done for me in the days when he looked on me, to take away my reproach among people”” (Luke 1:24 – 25 ESV). As promised by Gabriel, Elizabeth conceived, but for some reason she concealed her pregnancy for five months. Possible she wanted to be sure the baby was developing normally and then when she became large enough to clearly show that she was with child, she spent more time in public.

Maybe those five months were a time of rejoicing and praise for now her reproach had been removed and she can step forth as a successful woman because she will give birth to a boy. In that culture if a woman does not give birth to children, especially to a boy, it is considered more than a misfortune. It implied some secret sin that she had committed or was committing and as a result God was punishing her with barrenness. The anguish a childless woman experienced is seen in Rachel’s cry: “When Rachel saw that she bore Jacob no children, she envied her sister. She said to Jacob, “Give me children, or I shall die!” (Genesis 30:1 ESV). Now that Elizabeth has a child on the way she no longer feels like she is being punished by God, but instead she feels like she has evidence of favor with God.

Prayer

Father, you now have an important person in the womb being prepared for birth to become the forerunner of Jesus. We now look forward to the preparations needed to get Jesus ready. Pieces are falling into place with the promise that some exciting things will be happening soon. Father, we look forward to seeing what happens next.