Enemy Mine

I will praise Your name, O Lord,

for it is good.

For He has delivered me out of all trouble;

and my eye has seen its desire

upon my enemies.

Psalm 54:6-7

David talked alot about his enemies. Of course, 3000 years ago, he was living in a day where a man's enemies were literally out to kill him. We think if someone lies about us or mistreats us or slights us in some way, they are our enemy. But in David's day, an enemy was one who was out to put a knife to your throat or a sword through your gut. It was primal and savage, it was visceral. And it was very, very real. Your enemies weren't out to destroy your name or your reputation; they were out for your blood and your life!

So perhaps with a little justification did David sometimes pray that God would "git" his enemies. The Psalmist wanted God to chase his enemies down a dark and slippery path, spin them around in confusion, throw them down on the ground and kick their teeth out. He wanted justice, but sometimes he would settle for vengeance.

I have often wondered, do I have any enemies? Is there really someone out there who is actually hostile toward me? I know at times I have had adversarial relationships with individuals. There have been rivalries and competitions. There have been arguments and disagreements. I have at times waged wars of words. On occasion, I have thought that someone might be out to get me. But in reality, those times when someone actually wanted my destruction were few and far between. And even then...

God has indeed delivered me time and again from all trouble, and I hate to say that I believe I have sometimes witnessed the retribution of God upon those who have done me wrong. But I don't think I've ever wished it on anybody, and I have certainly never rejoiced in the misfortune of others.

Jesus said:

"Love your enemies,

bless those who curse you,

do good to those who hate you,

and pray for those who despitefully use you

and persecute you."

It's what I try to do every time they come to my mind.

Blessed and Highly Favored

And having come in, the angel said to her,

"Rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you;

blessed are you among women!"

Luke 1:28

She was probably an average teen-age girl, on the verge of marriage and therefore adulthood, and she was probably going about her daily routine and minding her own business when the angel came to her. The Scriptures do not indicate that she was doing anything particularly special on the day Gabriel appeared with his message, although there is the possibility (as we have discussed in earlier posts concerning the timing of all this) that she was celebrating the Jewish Festival of Lights, also known as Hanukkah.

It was a time of festivity, of gift giving and rejoicing. It was a time for remembering all the wonderful things that God had done throughout the ages for His people. It was a time for lighting special candles and praying special prayers, and one of those prayers always arrests my attention:

"We light these lights for the miracles and the wonders, for the redemption and the battles that you made our forefathers, in those days at this season, through your holy priests. During all eight days of Hanukkah these lights are sacred, and we are not permitted to make ordinary use of them except for to look at them in order to express thanks and praise to Your great Name for Your miracles, Your wonders and Your salvations."

Hanukkah was about commemorating the God's miracles and the salvation of His people, and it was about personal commitment and dedication. Perhaps it was at that very moment of prayer and candle-light and dedication that Gabriel appeared to the young Jewish girl and said the most amazing things!

Refuge

God is our refuge and strength,

a very present help in trouble.

Therefore we will not fear,

even though the earth be removed,

and though the mountains

be carried into the midst of the sea;

though its waters roar and be troubled,

though the mountains shake with its swelling.

Selah.
Psalm 46:1-3

Has your world ever fallen apart?

I don't know how many times I've read this Psalm...dozens, hundreds maybe. I know I've quoted that first verse many times...God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. In fact, I quoted it over a congregation last night. God is our help, our shelter, our strength. When we're in trouble that's where we can go. But today as I was reading, it wasn't the first verse that caught my attention so much as what follows.

Though the earth is moved...

Though the mountains fall down...

Though the oceans rage...

Though the mountains shake...

It sounds like the end of the world! Some speculate that what caused the Great Deluge was the earth being knocked off its axis, going from straight up and down in the universe to a slight tilt, like spilling a glass of water. Scientists hypothesize something similar killed off all the dinosaurs (and creationists insist the two events were one and the same).

I've never been in an earthquake, or a mudslide, or an avalanche, or a hurricane. I was "in" a tornado once when I was a child. With they eye of the storm directly over our house, my dad--God's man of faith and power--pointed his finger at the descending funnel-fingers and rebuked the wind, just like Jesus. And though I was terrified by the storm, I watched those fingers withdraw into the cloud, and then watched in amazement as the cloud moved quickly over our home and our town without doing any real damage at all! When I was a child, tornadoes terrified me, but as an adult, I have realized I have nothing to fear from those things. God is my refuge!

But what about other kinds of world-changing upheavals? Crisis, tragedy, loss...these also may seem like the end of the world. I have been with people when they received the shocking news that their life was coming to an end. I have stood by the bedside of a few, and held their hand as they left this life for the life eternal. I've been with parents in the midst of emergency with their children. I've even had a few crises myself. They come in all shapes and sizes...broken relationships, shattered dreams, a reversal of fortunes. There have been a few days in the past two years when it seemed like my entire world was falling apart around me, and I feared I would not make it.

But then I remembered...God is my refuge. God is my strength. God is my very present help in troubled times! Praise the Lord! I'm glad I remembered.

Prophetic Constraints

Now in the sixth month

the angel Gabriel was sent by God

to a city of Galilee named Nazareth,

to a virgin betrothed to a man

whose name was Joseph, of the house of David.

The virgin's name was Mary.

Luke 1:26-27

As I indicated previously, there was nothing random about this verse and the angelic mission it records. There was something very specific going on here, because the path had already been planned for 4000 years! Centuries-old prophecies had to be fulfilled through the arrival of God's Son. This verse touches just a few of them.

Galilee, the region in which these events took place and in which Jesus would be raised and spend much of His ministry, was the region prophesied in Isaiah 9:1-2. "...Galilee of the Gentiles. The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light." There's more to the passage that will be covered when we return to Matthew's gospel, but Galilee was the prophesied region of the Messiah's ministry.

Nazareth was a tiny, insignificant village perched on an out of the way hillside. It's never mentioned in the Old Testament or the writings of the historian Josephus. It's name means shoot or stump, literally something that has been cut off. Matthew refers to a prophecy that the Messiah would be called a Nazarene, although those specific words are not found in our Bible today. No prophet predicted that Jesus would come from Nazareth, but no less than six times Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Zechariah refer to the Messiah as a branch from the stump of Jesse, the Jewish word being the same from which Nazareth and Nazarene are derived.

David had been given a promise by God that his kingdom would have no end, and that he would always have an heir to sit on his throne. 600 years had gone by since a descendant of David had sat on the throne as king, but God's promises are still good. The King of kings was coming, and he would be born into the house of David.

There is no more critical or foundational a doctrine to Christianity to the fourth and final detail of Luke's verse--that the angel came to a virgin named Mary. Isaiah prophesied that the sign God would give would be a virgin-born child called Emmanuel, which means God is with us. Skeptics and critics of the virgin birth have tried to give virgin a new meaning, simply a young girl. But the gospels are very clear on this matter--Mary was a young girl, yes; but she was also a virgin in the strictest sense of the word. She was betrothed (legally married) but the marriage had not been consummated. She will later exclaim, "I have not known a man"--a Biblical euphemism for her intact virginity. Jesus was not conceived in her womb by the first man who broke her virginity; Jesus was conceived in her womb before a man ever broke her virginity, put there by the power of the Creator so that he could be born as the second Adam, the second perfect man because he was not conceived by the flesh but by the Spirit. I could dwell on this for a long time, but there are plenty of other verses to look at.

The Messiah was coming through Galilee, through Nazareth, through the house of David, and through a virgin, and God sent an angel to start the ball rolling! I love this verse!

Sweetly Secret

"Stolen water is sweet,

and bread eaten in secret is pleasant."

Proverbs 9:17

No one will ever know.

What a titillating little phrase that is. The idea that you could do something fun, something satisfying, something adventurous--and even though it's also wrong, you would get away with it because no one would ever know.

When you're alone in the dark, and no one else is with you.

When you're a hundred miles from home (or a thousand, or halfway around the world), and no one there knows you.

When you're with a bunch of people doing the same thing, and no one would notice or even care.

When you're sure no one is watching.

And besides, just a little bit won't hurt. Just a little taste, a little glimpse, a little touch. It's in moderation, right? And who's it going to hurt? It's so sweet, so pleasant, so fulfilling...for a moment. And then it's done, it's over with, and satisfaction of the moment fades away leaving you feeling empty and guilty and yes, completely alone. Even God doesn't want to be with you at that moment. For even though no one was around, no one was watching, no one may ever know...God was there, watching, and He knows.

What the one who eats the forbidden fruit doesn't know but needs to, is that the sweetness of the moment can be followed the bitterness of an eternity separated from God. God authored a code of righteousness that when followed will be completely rewarding; His blessings make you rich and add no sorrow with it! But when we choose to live outside that code of righteousness, we need to confess our mistake, beg His forgiveness, and get back to the way we know we should be living...or else suffer the consequences of our actions.

Betrothed

Now in the sixth month

the angel Gabriel was sent by God

to a city of Galilee named Nazareth,

to a virgin betrothed to a man

whose name was Joseph, of the house of David.

The virgin's name was Mary.

Luke 1:26

I love the specificity of this verse! A specific angel was sent at a specific time to a specific place to a specific person with specific qualifications. God is always exact and intentional in fulfilling His plans. God had selected a young Jewish maiden named Mary, a virgin betrothed to a young Jewish man named Joseph. He had selected her to be the one who brought His Son into the world. In fact, there is a theological word for her that I really like. Mary is sometimes called the theotokos--God-bearer. Through these two people, God was bringing about the fulfillment of 4000 years of planning and prophecy.

Just to paint a clearer picture of what was happening at that moment in the lives, let me fill in some details for this story from what we know about 1st Century Jewish culture.

From the time a Jewish boy can talk, he is taught to memorize the Mosaic Law. His mother will have him play repeat-after-me, and each time he does it correctly, she places a drop of honey on his tongue. Such a sweet treat encourages him to get it right. He is taught to kiss his fingertips and touch the mezzuzah which hangs on the doorpost of their house--the little scroll holding a significant Scripture. For seven years he is schooled at the local synagogue in the law, and at twelve he becomes a son of the law--which is the meaning of bar mitzvah. If he shows no aptitude to become a master teacher of the law, he is apprenticed to a craftsman for a period of six or seven years, learning a trade so that he can support a wife and family. And at about age nineteen, he is ready for marriage.

He looks among the young girls at hand who have reached a marriageable age of about fourteen or fifteen, and, finding one with qualities he finds admirable, initiates the process of making her his wife. First his father approaches her father to discuss her availability. Then the prospective bridegroom meets with her father and brothers to negotiate a contract, the ketubah, which delineates the rights of the bride and what she can expect from her husband. Next the bridegroom arrives at her door with the bride-price in hand, along with wine and ring, and she is given the choice to accept or reject his proposal. If she accepts, the ring is placed on her finger; they share wine from the same vessel; and a shofar is blown to announce the betrothal. At that moment they are legally married; only a bill of divorcement can separate them.

The groom departs to his father's house with the promise that he goes to prepare a place for her, and that when he is finished he will come again and take her to himself as wife. A separation of nine to twelve months is usually observed while both the place and the bride are prepared for the union. The groom sends his friend as a go-between messenger to keep her informed about his progress and encouraged about his return.

In the meantime, the bride enters a mikvah, a ritual baptism referred to as sanctification. She chooses ten young girls to be her bridesmaids, and they spend alot of time assisting her in her wedding preparations. She keeps her bags packed and a lamp burning in the window, just in case he comes for her during the night and needs to know which house to enter. The bridesmaids keep her encouraged about the approaching wedding, constantly soliciting her love for her beloved or reminding her of what she has told them before. And everyone awaits the day when the father of the bridegroom inspects the place that is being prepared and says to his son, "Go get your bride!"

On that day, the shofar is blown again; it's called the last trump, and it announces to the neighbors that it is time to put on their wedding garments and come for the feast. The groom runs to the house of his bride, her name on his lips while his friend runs on ahead with the cry, "The bridegroom is coming!" When she hears the trump and the shout, she is supposed to ready herself with her wedding garment, place her light in the window and wait to be caught away to the huppah, the place of consummation that has been prepared for her.

We can imagine that it is in the midst of those preparations--the bridegroom at his father's house and the bride at her father's house--that Gabriel comes to Mary with some magnificent news.

All Things Work Together For Good

And we know that all things

work together for good to those who love God,

to those who are called according to His purpose.

Romans 8:28

For more than a year now, one of my favorite messages is this one. I love it's power, it's simple truth--All things work together for good. Not a few things, not some things, not most things, but ALL things! The good, the bad, the ugly, the things I do, the things I don't do, the things that are done to me, the things that happen around me, things to which I contribute, and things over which I have no control. God works it all out for my good and His glory, and this is how...

God's Pardon works all things together for my good. My sins are gone, wiped away, blotted out, forgiven, redeemed, forgotten, Praise God! I have made mistakes, and yes, I will make more mistakes still. But that cannot keep God from working those things out for good!

God's Presence in my life works all things together for my good. The Holy Spirit dwells in me, giving me great assurance of the salvation that is mine through Jesus Christ. It is His power that allows me me to call God Father, that empowers me to work and be a witness for Him, that enables to pray when I don't know how to pray! And the Spirit who knows the mind of God and the heart of man unites the two in supernatural prayer that my faltering tongue can't mess up, thus working things out for good!

God's Plan for my life works all things together for my good. Predestination is a rather controversial subject in many circles, but at the center of all the hullabaloo is the simple fact that God knows everything, has always known everything, and will always know everything. Nothing or nobody can change what God knows, for God's plan is unchangeable. His will may be thwarted, His plan never will be. From before the foundation of the world, God provided salvation through Jesus Christ for all who would come to Him; He knew all who would come to Him and predestined their appointment with Him. Then by His power He called them to Himself and justified them from their sins and glorified them with His presence! And since God knew everything that was ever going to happen to me and everything I was ever going to do, His plan for my life works all things out for my good!

God's Power works all things together for my good. He who has saved me is also able to keep me from stumbling, and the Word assures me that nothing can separate me from the love of God. I can walk away from it, but none can take it from me. God is for me, none can be against me. I am more than a conqueror through Jesus Christ, and I can overcome all things through Him who gives me strength. He who laid hold of me will never let me go, but instead will work all things out for my good!

And what of death? What of peril or persecution, what of nakedness or starvation, what of hardship and trial? Can anything separate me from the love of God? No! God's pardon, God's presence, God's plan, and God's power work every possibility out for my good! And why? Because I love Him and I am called according to His purpose!

When Angels Appear

Now in the sixth month

the angel Gabriel was sent by God

to a city of Galilee named Nazareth,

to a virgin betrothed to a man

whose name was Joseph, of the house of David.

The virgin's name was Mary.

Luke 1:26-27

A lot of people these days seem to be obsessed with the idea of angels. By the way, belief in angels is not exclusive to the Christian faith; even a new-ager who thinks of themselves as god and denies that Christ is the sole means of salvation believes in angels. People decorate their homes with pictures and figurines. They have been illustrated in art and literature throughout the centuries in various forms ranging from chubby-cheeked diapered cherubs to sword-wielding winged warriors. And in certain circles of Christianity, there is as much an obsession with the fallen kind as with the heavenly kind.

First of all, we need to remember that the word angel simply means messenger. And the appearances of angels in the Bible were not really as common as some would like to believe. They were always present, but usually invisible to the human eye, for they were the supernatural agents of God at work in the world; they only appeared at certain times for certain purposes; and they didn't appear to just anybody. The people they appeared to were people designated by God for a special purpose or mission, and the angel always came with a life-changing message.

The Angel of the Lord was a prominent player throughout the Old Testament, but a careful study of His actions reveal that He was actually the pre-incarnate Christ. The Angel of Death also made quite a few appearances, coming not for individuals as portrayed in certain popular television representations but wreaking havoc on whole civilizations. Seraphim and cherubim are always represented as those who minister around the throne of God; Lucifer was among those before his fall from heaven.

Only three angels are ever named in the Bible. The first was Lucifer (which means light-bearer), mentioned by this name only one time, in Isaiah 14:12. Called the son of the morning in this passage that describes his fall from heaven because of his pride, he is referred to in the Bible by the names Satan (adversary) and devil (accuser). Since the name Lucifer is associated with his heavenly ministry around the throne, I can't help but wonder if God stripped him of his angelic name...it's just a thought.

The second angel named was Gabriel (warrior of God or man of God, or perhaps just strong man of God), a heavenly messenger sent to Daniel in the Old Testament and to Zacharias and Mary in the New Testament. In Luke it is said he stands in the presence of God. And it may have been Gabriel who, in Daniel 10, gives the prophet a glimpse of the the dramatic warfare going on in the heavenlies surrounding the prayers of the saints. After Daniel fasted and prayed for 21 days, an angel appears to him and says that from the first day the prophet began to pray, he was on his way with an answer from God, but he was hindered in his delivery by "the prince of Persia."

Which brings us to the third angel named in Scripture, Michael (who is like God). In Daniel 10, the angelic messenger continues to reveal the nature of his struggle with the prince of Persia, a figure who was apparently some kind of regional ruler in the supernatural; another of these mentioned was the prince of Greece. While he was coming to Daniel with a message from God, the prince of Persia resisted this heavenly messenger for 21 days while Daniel fasted and prayed, and finally Michael came to his aid. In Daniel, Michael is called "one of the chief princes", "your prince" and "the great prince who stands watch over the sons of [Israel]." In Jude, Michael is referenced again as an archangel (a leader among the angels) who contended with the devil over the body of Moses, and in the Revelation, he is pictured as the leader over a contingent of angels who finally drive the devil from the heavenlies, casting him down and confining him to the earth.

I have referenced all this now to show that when angels appear, it is not arbitrary or whimsical. They appear and make themselves known with purpose and clarity to give God's people important messages. Unlike those Old Testament saints, we have the Holy Spirit constantly living and moving within and around us, and Jesus said the Holy Spirit is the one who will lead us guide us in all truth, who will teach us the things that we need to know, bring to our remembrance the things we have been taught, and tell us the things that are to come. While I believe angels are still the messengers and agents of God, Christians shouldn't spend their time seeking an angelic appearance for guidance when we have the very Spirit of God dwelling within us!

The Sixth Month, part 2

Now in the sixth month

the angel Gabriel was sent by God

to a city of Galilee named Nazareth,

to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph,

of the house of David.

The virgin's name was Mary.

Luke 1:26

Is there any kind of spiritual benefit to studying out the when and where of Scripture, in particular the birth of Jesus Christ? I'm sure there are some who would say no, that if God had wanted us to know the when of Jesus' birth, He would just have inspired the gospel writers to say so. For me, finding the little clues left us in Scripture absolutely fascinates me, and seeing how even the tiniest details fit into the eternal flow of God's plan serves to reinforce my faith in the Word of God.

John the Baptist was conceived around the Feast of Pentecost, a one day celebration in late spring on the Jewish calendar, June 1, 4 BC, by our reckoning, and the angel's promise to Zacharias was that John would be filled with the Holy Ghost from his mother's womb. The significance of a Pentecostal conception for this prophet is tied to the birth of the church three decades later. The universal outpouring of the Holy Ghost upon all believers occurred at Pentecost, which is a celebration of the harvest. That Pentecost in Acts 2 signaled the beginning of the great harvest of souls to which John had been a forerunner. John the Baptist was also the one who prophesied that the Messiah would baptize His people with the Holy Ghost and with fire.

The sixth month of Elizabeth's pregnancy would be late fall, November, 4 BC, and apparently around the time of Hanukkah. Hanukkah was a festival instituted only a century and a half before, a Feast of Dedication and Festival of Lights that commemorated God's miraculous power in delivering the Jews from the oppression of the Syrians. At the time of their victory over the Syrian army in Jerusalem, the family of priests named Maccabeus cleansed the temple and lit the seven-branched candlestick in the Holy Place. They only had enough oil for one day, but miraculously the lamp burned for eight days while new oil was prepared. During this time of year, special candles were lit and special prayers were prayed, while people's hearts were focused on personal dedication and thanksgiving to God for His supernatural work in the salvation of His people. It was during this season, very likely right during the celebration of Hanukkah that the angel visited Mary.

Even though Hanukkah is not one of the Biblical feasts, think about the significance. In a feast that celebrated miracles, the greatest miracle of all took place in the virgin womb of a young Jewish girl. In a festival that celebrated God's salvation and deliverance, the great savior and deliverer of all mankind became flesh. In the celebration of lights, the God's eternal light came into a sin-darkened world.

Let me skip ahead just a bit. Mary went to her cousin Elizabeth's house following Hanukkah, remaining there for three months. She might have even been there for the birth of John, which occurred at, or right before, the Feast of Passover, which would fulfill another prophetic connection. Of John it had been said that he would come in the spirit and power of Elijah the prophet to turn the hearts of children to their fathers, and the hearts of fathers back to their children. The Jews have long connected Passover to the return of Elijah, going so far as to set an empty place for him at the table, an upside-down cup which he will explain, and a child is sent to the open door to look for Elijah the prophet. John was that prophet!

And six months further removed from Passover is Rosh Hashanah, the Feast of Trumpets and the Jewish New Year celebrating the creation of the world and of Adam and looking forward to the resurrection day when the gates of heaven will be opened for the worshipers to enter in. The Messianic connections to the Feast of Trumpets are too lengthy to go into here, but Jesus was likely born on the 1st of Tishri, September 11, 3 BC.

The Sixth Month, part 1

Now in the sixth month

the angel Gabriel was sent by God

to a city of Galilee named Nazareth,

to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph,

of the house of David.

The virgin's name was Mary.

Luke 1:26

One of the really cool things about blogging this way, taking the gospels verse by verse in a somewhat chronological order, is stumbling across the little nuggets the inspire my technicolor imagination! So let me take a moment hear (and as I keep looking at this one verse, I realize we may be here for a few posts...there is that much to talk about!) and share some information which some may find interesting, and which some might not find that interesting or inspirational, but I think it's important to understand the particulars when studying the Bible.

First of all, let us consider the phrase "In the sixth month." This is not a reference to the specific date of the event, though if it were we would have to debate whether it was the sixth month on the religious calendar--six months after passover--or the sixth month on the legal calendar--six months after Rosh Hashanah. The first would place the story in September, the second in March, neither of which (as we shall see in a later post) were the month in which Jesus was conceived. Rather, the sixth month refers to the previous passage when it says Elizabeth hid herself for five months after her own conception. Skip down to verse 36, and the angel Gabriel actually says to Mary, "Elizabeth your relative has also conceived a son in her old age; and this is now the sixth month for her who was called barren."

So is there any way of knowing when all this was taking place? I'm so glad you asked.

We've already seen a couple of hints in previous verses that we've considered, but I wanted to wait to have the discussion until the narrative caught up with my line of thought. Look at Luke 1:5, "there was in the days of Herod, the king of Judea..." These events were happening while Herod the Great was still king in Jerusalem, appointed and kept there by the will of the Roman Empire. Though past attempts at dating these events have usually placed Herod's death in January of 4 BC, therefore placing Christ's birth in 5 BC or earlier, more recent scholarship has indicated the 4 BC date may actually be in error. That date was based on a misreading or mistranslation of the Jewish historian Josephus, and Herod's death more likely occurred in January of 1 BC. In later posts I will discuss the dating in more detail, but it seems that Jesus was actually born in September, 3 BC.

A second hint about the dating of these events also occurs in Luke 1:5, "a certain priest named Zacharias, of the division of Abijah..." and verse 8, "While he was serving as priest before God in the order of his division..." The division of Abijah, and its representative priest Zacharias, would have been serving in the temple during the interval between Passover (the third week of the Jewish year) and Pentecost (tenth or eleventh week of the year). Zacharias may have had a week off between his regular temple service and the service of all priestly divisions during Pentecost, or the two may have overlapped, but if Zacharias went home and Elizabeth immediately conceived, it would mean that John the Baptist was conceived during the general time frame of Pentecost. And it was said of him that he would be filled with the Holy Ghost from his mother's womb!

Why Did She Hide?

So it was, as soon as the days of his service were completed,

that he departed to his own house.

Now after those days his wife Elizabeth conceived;

and she hid herself five months, saying,

"Thus the Lord has dealt with me,

in the days when He looked on me,

to take away my reproach among people."

Luke 1:23-25

I think one of the more curious elements of this wonderful story is that Zacharias went home mute after his week of service in the temple was completed and managed immediately to get his wife pregnant. Someone with a sense of humor might suggest that not being able to talk might help any man's chances, but we'll just leave that alone for now. But being struck mute must have made an impression on Zacharias; he went right home and put God's promise to the test. Within weeks, Zacharias and Elizabeth both knew the whole angelic-appearance-promise-of-a-baby event had not been an hallucination or the figment of an old man's imagination.

And when Elizabeth was certain she had indeed conceived, the gospel tells us that she hid herself for five months. I don't think it had anything to do with being ashamed of her condition, being in the family way and all, but it might have had something to do with the reproach she had borne for the entirety of her marriage. In a culture that makes much of young marriages and quick conceptions, viewing pregnancy as a sign of God's blessing on a union, when a woman failed to conceive (and it was always perceived as a problem with the woman; even the gospel says it was Elizabeth who was barren) she was considered suspect in the community. What had this woman done to displease God? Why had God shut up her womb? Why was God choosing not to honor this woman?

The Bible shows us various ways that people handled similar situations. Sarah, the first barren woman of which we are made aware, sent her servant into Abraham to conceive a son that would be born on Sarah's knees (the ancient middle eastern concept of surrogacy). Hannah's husband took a second wife by whom he had several children, even though he still loved Hannah most. Jacob's wives constantly fought over him and competed for his affections, constantly bartering for his services and when their own wombs didn't give into their demands, they also sent their servants into him. But it seems that Elizabeth and Zacharias had resorted to none of these tactics. They followed the example of Isaac, who simply prayed for his wife for twenty years before she finally conceived the twins Esau and Jacob.

And now that she had conceived, Elizabeth went into seclusion and announced that the Lord had dealt with her, that He had also looked upon her, and after years of waiting and longing and hoping and praying, Elizabeth rejoiced that the Lord had at last removed her reproach among her people. God had finally favored her with a child; Zacharias would have an heir to carry on his family name and receive his family's inheritance.

But why hide herself? Perhaps she, like many women today, feared telling anybody for the first three months because it's in the first trimester that things tend to go wrong (if they're going to go wrong). Perhaps there was a little element of embarrassment, for when her peers were trading stories of their grandchildren, Elizabeth herself was still carrying on with her husband like a young woman...and it had finally paid off. Perhaps she closed herself off in order to prepare her for the magnitude of what she and Zacharias had been promised--a prophet who would arrive in the spirit and power of Elijah to do great things among the people before the arrival of the Messiah. One thing is sure, though. Elizabeth was taking her role in the unfolding plan of God very seriously. Something great was about to happen!

Why is This Taking So Long?

And the people waited for Zacharias,

and marveled that he lingered so long in the temple.

But when he came out,

he could not speak to them;

and they perceived that he had seen a vision in the temple,

for he beckoned to them and remained speechless.

Luke 1:21-22

I'm guessing that on normal days at the temple, the priest went in, burned incense, and came right back out again. Church over, worshipers go home. But on this day, Zacharias lingered. Remember, while the priest was burning incense, the people were prostrate in the temple courts and the choir was singing and the band was playing. This was their daily ritual, morning and evening. I can't help be wonder if it had been done so many times before that it had become commonplace and almost meaningless to them. After all, if you do the same thing in the same way every day for umpteen years, do you really concentrate on the significance of the act every time you do it?

It reminds me of the modern church. Recently I heard from an old friend who was being baptized. She told me that her pastor now did the water baptisms at the start of the Sunday morning service, because if he waited until the end, people would quickly exit the building before the ceremony. I think those are people who have forgotten the importance of baptism, the public profession of faith for the Christian, the open testimony that one has been forgiven of their sins and they are now making a lifetime commitment to serve the Lord. It's a time for lingering in witness, not leaving in haste. But it seems some have forgotten that.

Or consider the serving of communion. I hate to admit this, but a long time ago, communion was so unimportant to me that I would occasionally forget to serve it, even with the element trays sitting on the table in front of me. We served the Lord's supper on the first Sunday of every month, like clockwork, tacked on as an addendum at the end of the service. But sometimes I would get so caught up in what I was doing as the pastor--leading worship, preaching, calling people to the altar, praying, you know, important stuff--that it would simply slip my mind. That was only one of many contributing reasons that I started serving communion weekly. I made it the central part of every Sunday morning worship service, with different ones preparing and offering devotions over the bread and the juice. Before I preached, we would meditate on the body and the blood of Jesus Christ, preparing our hearts to receive the elements in a worthy manner. But in some churches, communion is just a ritual you perform every service, or only occasionally, and in some churches, hardly at all.

Singing in church is supposed to be about worshiping the Lord, but if that's so, why do so many act bored when we do it? Why do they complain about the songs--too loud, too soft, too long, too short, too fast, too slow, too old, too new?

Preaching is supposed to be a time of instruction and encouragement, that feeds both the mind and the heart, but it sometimes seems as if fifteen minutes of Biblical instruction and encouragement is all people can take. We can sit in front of the TV for hours on end and recount everything little thing we saw, but let the preacher preach longer than 15 minutes and "our minds can only absorb what the seat can endure."

Let the Spirit begin to move and disrupt the normal order of things, and those who aren't interested in being moved get restless real fast. Can't we just do our normal thing, follow the order of service to the tee, and get out before noon? Why all this praying and shouting and spontaneous worship? Why this extended invitation and prayer time for people down front? Why can't things run like clockwork around here?

It's too bad those worshipers were constrained to stay in the outer temple courts that day, for if they had seen what Zacharias had seen, experienced the angelic appearance and heard the wonderful message from God, they might not have been so shocked that he lingered so long. But when he came out and could not talk, they knew something had happened. My prayer is that we not be so caught up in simply doing our thing that we miss out on God doing His thing!

Here's Your Proof

And the angel answered and said to him,

"I am Gabriel, who stands in the presence of God,

and was sent to speak to you

and bring you these glad tidings.

But behold, you will be mute and not able to speak

until the day these things take place,

because you did not believe my words

which will be fulfilled in their own time."

Luke 1:19-20

As one of my favorite fictional characters once said, "You don't ask the Almighty for His ID." Zacharias was having this wonderful encounter with an angel--an occurrence that had never happened in the temple before--and had received a precious promise in response to a prayer he'd been praying. But now the reality of his situation began to sink in, and he allowed a question to form--How shall I know this? Was this old man really supposed to believe the words of an angel in what might have been a mental lapse or hallucination. What proof would be offered that the angel's words were true.

I'm glad God sometimes tolerates our little idiosyncrasies, allowing us sometimes to question, even though I think He'd prefer we just accept what He says as truth and go on with it. You want proof, the angel said. Here's your proof. My name is Gabriel, I stand in the presence of God, and you my friend are now going to be mute until the day the promise is fulfilled.

There are lots of instances in the Bible where people asked for proof. I'm not sure it ever turned out quite like they wanted. Moses wanted proof that God was calling him into the ministry. His staff turned into a snake and God gave him leprosy (then healed it) before he submitted. Pharaoh lost his nation's place in the world and his firstborn son before he heeded the command of God. Later, Jesus will deny people such proofs on the grounds that supplying proof never leads to true faith.

God wants us to exercise faith, and faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. By faith we obtain a good testimony before the Lord. Faith is the reality and the proof of the promises of God. I've never seen heaven, never had a vision, never had an out of body or in the body experience that took me there for a little sightseeing. But I believe anyway. I've never seen an angel, though I believe I've heard them singing on occasion. I saw the same demon twice, but the second time I saw it I rebuked it and haven't seen it since. I've never seen God, though I know I heard His audible voice one time, very clearly. I'm still wondering about the meaning of that experience, but I had it. But for the most part, my Christian walk has been a walk of faith. Yes, God has given little proofs along the way, but I've never really sought for evidence.

I'm sure God would have liked Zacharias to simply say, "Thank you, Lord. I believe." But in this story, it seems that his wife Elizabeth and her cousin Mary exercised more faith in the promises of God than the old priest did. How shall I know this? indeed! So God gave Zacharias a sign. Probably not the kind of sign he wanted, but a sign nevertheless. So the next time you think about asking God for some ID, remember Zacharias and the nine months he spent unable to talk.