Zacharias story for us begins late in his life. He had lived his life quietly going up the rank of priests. He and his wife Elizabeth had no children. As was the custom of the day, Zacharias could have divorced Elizabeth for being barren. It would have been acceptable for him to take a younger wife, but he was devoted to Elizabeth, and decided that he would not do this. Elizabeth may have worried at the end of her child bearing years that he would leave her, for he could do such. Maybe she did not have such doubts. They had a good life. He prayed for his wife. He knew in their culture that being a barren woman was considered a disgraced woman. He knew how his wife was perceived, but he would not disgrace her by divorcing her. He knew the chance of them having a child was nil. He had accepted this.
He was one of the priests that went twice a year and for a week each time. There were 24 courses and he belonged to Abijah which was the eight course. They did ministerial duties at the temple. Each morning the men would draw lots to see who would be the one to be alone in the Holy of Holies. The Story begins in Luke 1:5-27.
Zacharias name means “the Lord Remembers”, and the Lord saw his faithfulness as a priest and as a husband. He saw Elizabeth’s faithfulness as a wife. Her name means “the oath of God.”
Three priests entered the Holy of Holies on this day. Zacharias is the only one named. He was the one to remain in the Holy of Holies. One of the unnamed priests removed the ashes from the day before fire. The second unnamed priest brought new burning coals to be put upon the alter. After those two priests left, Zacharias did as he had done on other occasions, placed the incense on the coals to burn. The fragrance entered the Temple. Zacharias began to pray. He could also hear the prayers of the people in Temple. He had finished his duties and was leaving when an Angel of the Lord appeared.
Zacharias may have looked scared. He had never seen an angel in his lifetime. The Angel of the Lord was Gabriel. He said, “Don’t be afraid. Your prayers have been answered. Elizabeth will have a son, and you will name him John. His birth will bring much joy. He will not drink wine or spirits. He will bring the people back to God. He will prepare the way for the one that will come. He will be filled with the Holy Spirit before he is born.”
Good news right…but Zacharias could not believe his ears. He should have just accepted what he had been told but instead he said, “How can this be? My wife and I are old.”
Gabriel is not pleased. He answered by first saying, “I am Gabriel. I stand in God’s presence. I was sent to give you good news, but you chose not to believe my words. You will not be able to speak until the words I have spoken have become fact.” Gabriel left him.
The other priests were worried because he had not come out, and when he did come. he could not speak. Zacharias goes home and Elizabeth soon becomes pregnant. She goes into seclusion which was the practice in those days.
During her pregnancy, Mary comes to visit, and John leaps in Elizabeth’s womb. Elizabeth is filled with Holy Spirit and knows who the babe is that Mary carries.
Zacharias story picks up in Luke 1:57-79. Elizabeth has their son John. The neighbors and friends and family rejoiced with them. On the eight day when the baby John was to be circumcised, they all thought he would be named after his father. Elizabeth said, “His name is to be John.” The others said, “There are no men named John in either of your families.” They then addressed Zacharias, and he wrote on a tablet, “His name is John.” He was then able to speak and began to sing this song Luke 1:67-79. This song is considered to be Zacharias prophecy. Traditionally it is known as Benedictus.
67And his father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied, saying:
68“Blessed be the Lord God of Israel,
For He has visited us and accomplished redemption for His people,
69And has raised up a horn of salvation for us
In the house of His servant David--
70Just as He spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets from ancient times--
71[ao]Salvation from our enemies,
And from the hand of all who hate us;
72To show mercy to our fathers,
And to remember His holy covenant,
73The oath which He swore to our father Abraham,
74To grant us that we, being rescued from the hand of our enemies,
Would serve Him without fear,
75In holiness and righteousness before Him all our days.
76“And you, child, also will be called the prophet of the Most High;
For you will go on before the Lord to prepare His ways;
77To give His people the knowledge of salvation
[ap]By the forgiveness of their sins,
78Because of the tender mercy of our God,
With which the Sunrise from on high will visit us,
79To shine on those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death,
To guide our feet into the way of peace.”
There are two parts to this song. The first part is Luke 1:68- 75. In this part of the song it is telling of the prophecies concerning the Messiah. In Luke 1:75-79 it is thought was taken from a song that was sung to John. In this part John is called the prophet of the Lord, that he will prepare a way, that he will bring knowledge of salvation and forgiveness to the people. God is merciful and light will shine on all of those in darkness and the shadow of death. God will guide their feet to the way of peace. There is a allusion to Isaiah 42 in these words in that The servant of God will be a light to the nations; this servant will open eyes that are blind; release prisoners from dungeons. Zacharias is saying to them that the promises of old are being brought forth.
Jesus will later say in John 8:14 “Then Jesus again spoke to them, saying, “I am the Light of the world; the one who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life.”
Nothing more will be said of Zacharias. Neither he or Elizabeth are mentioned when John the Baptist comes to prepare the way for Jesus. They were older and may have died before John was grown. He lived in the desert. We can assume that his parents taught him the ways of the Lord. They both had shown faith by praying. They also had faith in each other.
To me theirs is a quiet love story. If having a namesake had been more important to Zacharias, he could have left Elizabeth. He loved her. He was willing to live out their quiet life.
where they were known by their neighbors. It is possible that they lived in Hebron. She may have fussed at him bringing mud onto her clean floors, and he would have smiled. Because he knew her.
I thought of my parents. My father turned over the finances to my mother early in their marriage. It was not usual for that to happen. I remember times when Da would say, “Louise, I need the checkbook today.”
She would look at him and say, “Why do you need it?”
He would smile for it was her way to question where the money went. “I have to take a man from DC to lunch.”
Ma would say, “Is he coming here for dinner?”
Da would say, “No, he is heading up to Roanoke this afternoon. Can I have the checkbook?”
Ma would hand it to him and say, “Write down what you spent today.”
He would chuckled and say, “Scotch, give me a kiss.”
She would laugh and said, “Go on Joe, you will be late.” As he walked out the door, she would be smiling.
When I think of Elizabeth and Zacharias, I think they had that kind of ease about each other. Zacharias did not need a younger wife to give him children. He had a woman worth rubies, and he was not letting her go no matter what society told him to do.
Dear Lord Jesus,
Thank you for this evening. Thank you for the Bible study. It helped me to get out of the house.
Since the iron infusion, it has been rough. Food tastes bad, really bad. It is going to be a long month. But at the end of this, I know I will feel better than I have since last April. Thank you for listening to my prayers. I know the second infusion is coming. Please give me strength to face this storm.
Ever in Christ’s Love,
MET
February 22, 2023