When God breaks his silence... #2

Listen along here:  https://www.pastorwoman.net/podcast/episode/1f4eec9c/when-god-break...

When God Breaks His Silence.

The people were used to hearing from God. That was what God had in mind from the start. But hundreds of years had passed--patriarchs, judges, kings and prophets, too. And then, God was silent . . . four hundred long years.

That is, until a particular day, the day that it was Zechariah’s turn to serve in the Temple.  A God-fearing, faithful man of God, he never expected an angel would appear to him that day as he conducted his priestly duties. But God had a message and he had a messenger, one that had been prophesied of 700 years earlier.1

Too bad our Bibles do not go from the last book of the Old Testament, Malachi the prophet, to Luke's gospel as the first book of the New, because that sure would make sense!

But first.

You know, when you open any book, you have a front row seat to the mind of your author—what he wants to you to know, visualize or understand.  While it may take several pages to get his style, a couple chapters his cadence, it does not take long to get a read on his attention to detail. Luke tells us from the outset that he has carefully investigated and written what we are about to read.  We see that in the first sentence as he tells us who was king, syncing the story in a particular time period.

He writes "When Herod was king of Judea, there was a Jewish priest named Zechariah. He was a member of the priestly order of Abijah, and his wife, Elizabeth, was also from the priestly line of Aaron. Zechariah and Elizabeth were righteous in God’s eyes, careful to obey all of the Lord’s commandments and regulations.  They had no children because Elizabeth was unable to conceive, and they were both very old.

One day Zechariah was serving God in the Temple, for his order was on duty that week. As was the custom of the priests, he was chosen by lot to enter the sanctuary of the Lord and burn incense. While the incense was being burned, a great crowd stood outside, praying.

While Zechariah was in the sanctuary, an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing to the right of the incense altar. Zechariah was shaken and overwhelmed with fear when he saw him. But the angel said, “Don’t be afraid, Zechariah! God has heard your prayer. Your wife, Elizabeth, will give you a son, and you are to name him John. You will have great joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth, for he will be great in the eyes of the Lord. He must never touch wine or other alcoholic drinks. He will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even before his birth. And he will turn many Israelites to the Lord their God. He will be a man with the spirit and power of Elijah. He will prepare the people for the coming of the Lord. He will turn the hearts of the fathers to their children, and he will cause those who are rebellious to accept the wisdom of the godly.”

Zechariah said to the angel, “How can I be sure this will happen? I’m an old man now, and my wife is also well along in years.”

Then the angel said, “I am Gabriel! I stand in the very presence of God. It was he who sent me to bring you this good news! But now, since you didn’t believe what I said, you will be silent and unable to speak until the child is born. For my words will certainly be fulfilled at the proper time.”

Meanwhile, the people were waiting for Zechariah to come out of the sanctuary, wondering why he was taking so long. When he finally did come out, he couldn’t speak to them. Then they realized from his gestures and his silence that he must have seen a vision in the sanctuary.

When Zechariah’s week of service in the Temple was over, he returned home. Soon afterward his wife, Elizabeth, became pregnant and went into seclusion for five months. “How kind the Lord is!” she exclaimed. “He has taken away my disgrace of having no children.”  Luke 1.5-252

Did you catch that line--the baby, we know him as 'John the Baptist' would be filled with the Holy Spirit while he was in the womb?! Dang, but that is good.

And hundreds of years after God said he would send a messenger to prepare the way for the Messiah, he did just that: he sent a baby to an unlikely couple--two senior citizens, nothing short of a miracle. Huh, God broke his silence to announce John the Baptist's conception and birth, he who would call people to repentance, and pave the way for Jesus.

Luke is the only gospel writer to tell Zechariah's and Elizabeth's incredible story, but then, the human interest storyline seemed to catch his attention. We will watch how he shows Jesus' coming did not just have religious implications, of course, but also social ones--for women, for the despised, for those who had trouble fitting in. Maybe that's because he did--the only Gentile writer--and the one who expressed God's heart so clearly: Jesus was the Man for everyone.

Maybe you feel God needs to break his silence in your life, Friend... ask him to speak to you, and read his Word expectantly. He will be found by you.

God is Real, the song: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=avS807dBJZg

To God be the glory,

Christine

Luke #2

PastorWoman.net

1 - Isaiah 40.3-5; Malachi 3.1

2 - Luke 1.5-25, NLT