Zechariah

September 5–Zechariah and Elizabeth

From the LCMS website:

Zechariah and Elizabeth were “righteous before God, living blamelessly according to all the commandments and regulations of the Lord” (Lk 1:6). Zechariah, a priest in the Jerusalem temple, was greeted by the angel Gabriel who announced that Zechariah and Elizabeth would become parents of a son. Initially Zechariah did not believe Gabriel’s announcement because of their old age. For his disbelieve, Zechariah became unable to speak. After their son was born, Elizabeth named her son John. Zechariah confirmed his wife’s choice and his ability to speak was restored. In response, he sang the Benedictus, a magnificent summary of God’s promises in the Old Testament and a prediction of John’s work as forerunner to Jesus (Lk. 1:68–79). Zechariah and Elizabeth are remembered as examples of faithfulness and piety.

The Jesse Tree–Day Twenty

Today’s reading was about the parents of the final prophet before the Messiah, (John the Baptist)–Zechariah and Elizabeth (Luke 1:5-25). We talked about how they had given up on having any children, given their ages, and then were surprised by the angel Gabriel’s visit to Zechariah in the temple. I love a chance to talk about angels with my children, especially the part where they routinely introduce themselves by saying, “Do not be afraid.” I know that if an angel came to me, even that admonishment would not be enough to keep the fear out of my heart! As He did with Abraham and Sarah, God proved that even advanced age is no challenge to Him when He has a task He wants accomplished!