(NIV) Luke 1:
8 Once when Zechariah’s division was on duty and he was serving as priest before God, 9 he was chosen by lot, according to the custom of the priesthood, to go into the temple of the Lord and burn incense. 10 And when the time for the burning of incense came, all the assembled worshipers were praying outside.
11 Then an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing at the right side of the altar of incense. 12 When Zechariah saw him, he was startled and was gripped with fear. 13 But the angel said to him: “Do not be afraid, Zechariah; your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to call him John. 14 He will be a joy and delight to you, and many will rejoice because of his birth, 15 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 before he is born. 16 He will bring back many of the people of Israel to the Lord their God. 17 And he will go on before the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the parents to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous—to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”
18 Zechariah asked the angel, “How can I be sure of this? I am an old man and my wife is well along in years.”
8 Once when Zechariah’s division was on duty and he was serving as priest before God, 9 he was chosen by lot, according to the custom of the priesthood, to go into the temple of the Lord and burn incense. 10 And when the time for the burning of incense came, all the assembled worshipers were praying outside.
11 Then an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing at the right side of the altar of incense. 12 When Zechariah saw him, he was startled and was gripped with fear. 13 But the angel said to him: “Do not be afraid, Zechariah; your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to call him John. 14 He will be a joy and delight to you, and many will rejoice because of his birth, 15 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 before he is born. 16 He will bring back many of the people of Israel to the Lord their God. 17 And he will go on before the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the parents to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous—to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”
18 Zechariah asked the angel, “How can I be sure of this? I am an old man and my wife is well along in years.”
It's been almost a year since I've blogged. Life simply gets crazy. Yet, this weekend, I really wanted to join the women again in Wendy Pope's on-line study. This weekend, the group begins reading through the new testament. The first reading focused on Luke Chapter 1 and it really spoke volume to me.
First of all, Zechariah is a priest. Each time a priest entered into God's Sanctuary, he must be holy or he will fall over dead in the presence of our most holy God. Zechariah cast lots with the rest of his group and found himself the winner that day. While others were praying outside, Zechariah entered the most holy sanctuary and an angel appeared to him.
Now, let's think about this. He's in the sanctuary, there's people praying outside, and we know that the only presence in the temple besides Zechariah is God. No one else would have survived the trip unless he/she were ordained by God. Yet, Zechariah doubts the message he brings.
This just screams, "DUH!!!!!" How many times have I been in church, in Bible Study, in prayer, or writing in my journal and felt God telling me something? How many times has God used a messenger to tell me? How many times did I wonder...."Is this for real?" I'm certain that this has happened and God must have wanted to give me that what-for like Gabriel did to Zechariah. I wonder how loud Gabrielle's voice must have felt to Zechariah when he was chastised for being so ridiculous?
How many times have I reasoned away a message from my loving Father? .... an answer to my prayer....
First of all, Zechariah is a priest. Each time a priest entered into God's Sanctuary, he must be holy or he will fall over dead in the presence of our most holy God. Zechariah cast lots with the rest of his group and found himself the winner that day. While others were praying outside, Zechariah entered the most holy sanctuary and an angel appeared to him.
Now, let's think about this. He's in the sanctuary, there's people praying outside, and we know that the only presence in the temple besides Zechariah is God. No one else would have survived the trip unless he/she were ordained by God. Yet, Zechariah doubts the message he brings.
This just screams, "DUH!!!!!" How many times have I been in church, in Bible Study, in prayer, or writing in my journal and felt God telling me something? How many times has God used a messenger to tell me? How many times did I wonder...."Is this for real?" I'm certain that this has happened and God must have wanted to give me that what-for like Gabriel did to Zechariah. I wonder how loud Gabrielle's voice must have felt to Zechariah when he was chastised for being so ridiculous?
How many times have I reasoned away a message from my loving Father? .... an answer to my prayer....
