Rachel Workman: 18 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.”
19 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! 20 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.” I think the real problem here was a lack of faith. Zechariah didn't believe that God was capable. I too have been plenty guilty of this. In fact I would probably be lacking for words a lot if God took away my speech every time I lacked faith. Lord help me with my belief.
21 Meanwhile, the people were waiting for Zechariah to come out of the sanctuary, wondering why he was taking so long. 22 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.
23 When Zechariah’s week of service in the Temple was over, he returned home. 24 Soon afterward his wife, Elizabeth, became pregnant and went into seclusion for five months. 25 “How kind the Lord is!” she exclaimed. “He has taken away my disgrace of having no children.” I am curious about why she went into seclusion.
19 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! 20 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.” I think the real problem here was a lack of faith. Zechariah didn't believe that God was capable. I too have been plenty guilty of this. In fact I would probably be lacking for words a lot if God took away my speech every time I lacked faith. Lord help me with my belief.
21 Meanwhile, the people were waiting for Zechariah to come out of the sanctuary, wondering why he was taking so long. 22 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.
23 When Zechariah’s week of service in the Temple was over, he returned home. 24 Soon afterward his wife, Elizabeth, became pregnant and went into seclusion for five months. 25 “How kind the Lord is!” she exclaimed. “He has taken away my disgrace of having no children.” I am curious about why she went into seclusion.
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John
Burnett: Zacharias was
responsible for making sacrifices in the Temple. I read an article last
night where they are training a new generation of Priests to make the
sacrifices in the new Temple. The Third Temple is a sign that we are in
the end times.
Luke 1:18-25
18 Zacharias said to the angel, “How will
I know this for certain? For I am an old man and my wife is advanced in [a]years.” 19 The
angel answered and said to him, “I am Gabriel, who [b]stands in the presence of
God, and I have been sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news. 20 And
behold, you shall be silent and unable to speak until the day when these things
take place, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in
their proper time.” The man is the High Priest and a pillar of the
faith and when an angel appears, what does he do, he doubts. Blessed are
those who have not seen yet still believe.
21 The people were waiting for Zacharias,
and were wondering at his delay in the temple. 22 But 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 [c]making signs to them, and
remained mute. 23 When the days of his priestly service were
ended, he went back home.
24 After these days Elizabeth his wife
became pregnant, and she [d]kept herself in seclusion
for five months, saying, 25 “This is the way the Lord has dealt
with me in the days when He looked with favor upon me, to take
away my disgrace among men.” In those days, you were being punished
for something you did if God did not bless you with children. Hers was
not going to be an ordinary child, he was going to be the greatest man in God’s
eyes next to Jesus Christ of course.
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Krista Cook: - not sure I would want to be questioning an angel
from the Lord. Zechariah learned that lesson the hard way - by not being
able to speak. I bet he would think twice before speaking the next time!
I wonder if he was able to write
out for Elizabeth the reason for him not being able to speak when he got home.
And when she went into seclusion, was he with her? If so, that would have
been a very quiet 5 months. But they were certainly preparing for
something big!
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Mike Grimm: 18 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.” The sad thing about the unbelief of
Zacharias is that there were a number of examples of supernatural births in the
Old Testament. God was not promising to do something for Zacharias and
Elizabeth which he had not done for others before them. Abraham and Sarah had a
son in their old age, as did Hannah and the parents of Samson. The virgin
birth, on the other hand, was something entirely new, but Zacharias was not
asked to believe this, only that he and his wife would have a son in their old age.
Zechariah asked what
seemed to be a reasonable question. He and his wife were too old to have
children. But the question showed that he did not believe the angel. Mary asked
a similar question. But she did believe the angel. She asked how God
would give her a child.
19 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! 20
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.” The angel told
Zechariah that his name was Gabriel. Gabriel means ‘God’s soldier’. This was a
direct message from God. So Zechariah did not believe God. But God would do
what he said. Because of this, Zechariah would not be able to speak until after
John was born.
21 Meanwhile, the people were waiting for Zechariah to
come out of the sanctuary, wondering why he was taking so long. 22 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.
23 When Zechariah’s week of service in the Temple was
over, he returned home. 24 Soon afterward his wife, Elizabeth,
became pregnant and went into seclusion for five months. 25 “How
kind the Lord is!” she exclaimed. “He has taken away my disgrace of having no
children.” By miraculously letting Elizabeth conceive,
God removed her reproach among people. As a
barren woman, she would have been treated as one cursed by God. Now that she
was pregnant, God had removed this stigma from her, and all who thought ill of
her would not only see that God had not only blessed her, but done so in miraculous
fashion. Her reproach and shame had been removed, and her son would usher in
another miraculous son, who would remove the reproach of all people.
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