Luke 1:18 says, And Zacharias said unto the angel, Whereby shall I know this? for I am an old man, and my wife well stricken in years. Zacharias asked the angel how he would know that Elisabeth and he would have a child, since they were both old. He was looking at the facts and not God. Even if it seems unlikely or even impossible, if God tells us something, we need to simply put our faith in Him and believe. Verse nineteen adds, And the angel answering said unto him, I am Gabriel, that stand in the presence of God; and am sent to speak unto thee, and to shew thee these glad tidings. The angel identified himself as Gabriel, and said that He stood in the presence of God and was sent with this message from God. We might think this would be marvelous to have an angel to tell us what God says, but we have One even greater, the Holy Spirit, with us at all times to tell us what God wants us to do. Verse twenty continues, And, behold, thou shalt be dumb, and not able to speak, until the day that these things shall be performed, because thou believest not my words, which shall be fulfilled in their season. Zacharias asked for a sign, and the angel gave him one, though probably not one that he wanted. He would be unable to speak until the baby was born and named. We should never ask God for signs, but should simply follow by faith. If we do ask for a sign, and God gives us one, like Zacharias we may not like it. Verse twenty-one states, And the people waited for Zacharias, and marvelled that he tarried so long in the temple. Zacharias was in the temple so long that the people began to wonder about what was happening. Matthew Henry says that they were awaiting his blessing, and unlike some Christian congratulations they did not hurry away when he was late. Verse twenty-two adds, And when he came out, he could not speak unto them: and they perceived that he had seen a vision in the temple: for he beckoned unto them, and remained speechless. When Zacharias came out, he couldn't speak. He called the people to Him, and they perceived that he had seen a vision in the temple because he could not speak. When we are gathered in God's name, we should have a vision of what He wants us to do, and it should never leave us speechless. Verse twenty-three declares, When the time passed for Zacharias to perform his duties at the temple, he returned home. He was able to carry out his duties as a priest, except for speaking. If we become somehow limited in our ability to carry out God's calling, that does not relieve us from the responsibility to do all that we can. Verse twenty-four adds, And after those days his wife Elisabeth conceived, and hid herself five months, saying, When Elisabeth conceived a child, she hid herself for five months. Zacharias could not tell the people or her what was happening, so they did not get to share the wonderful news that Gabriel had shared with Zacharias. If God works a miracle in our life, and He certainly did when He sent Jesus to die in our place, we need to shout it from the roof tops. Verse twenty-five continues, Thus hath the Lord dealt with me in the days wherein he looked on me, to take away my reproach among men. Elisabeth recognized the blessing from God and said that He had taken away her reproach among men. I am not sure if the people actually looked down on Elisabeth since she had no children or not, but she at least thought they did. Sometimes we may think that people are looking down on us because of something that they see as a limitation, but we need to simply continue to believe God and do what He calls us to do, no matter what.
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