Bible scholars refer to the 400-year period from the end of Malachi to the beginning of the Gospels as the “silent years,” as in that time, God did not speak to the people through the prophets as He had from the days of Moses. Yet when God’s prophetic words of a coming Messiah were about to come to fruition, He sent His angel Gabriel to the temple in Jerusalem to speak with Zacharias.
Zacharias was an old man, a Levitical priest of the order of Abijah. His wife Elizabeth, also related to Aaron according to Luke 1:5, was old and barren, which for a Hebrew woman was a great sadness. Certainly, a Levitical priest and his wife knew the Old Testament Scripture that said:
3Behold, children are a heritage from the LORD,
The fruit of the womb is a reward.
4Like arrows in the hand of a warrior,
So are the children of one’s youth.
5Happy is the man who has his quiver full of them;
They shall not be ashamed,
But shall speak with their enemies in the gate.
Psalm 127:3-5
If children were a reward, then faulty, reverse logic would dictate that lack of children was a punishment, though God could have many reasons to not give children to a righteous couple. When Jesus healed a blind man, He told the disciples that the man’s blindness had nothing to do with his sin or the sin of his parents; instead, the man was blind for that moment when Jesus would heal him (John 9). In the same manner, Zacharias and Elizabeth were childless for that time when God would perform a miracle.
While Zacharias was in the temple performing his duties at the altar of incense, the place of prayer, Gabriel greeted the priest, telling him in Luke 1:13 that his prayer for a son had been answered. Yet Gabriel’s words were not enough to convince Zacharias. Even after an angelic promise, Zacharias remained incredulous.
And Zacharias said to the angel, “How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is well advanced in years.”
Luke 1:18
“How shall I know this?” Well, when she delivers little John the Baptist, Zacharias might figure it out! When Elizabeth’s womb started to grow, he might have an inkling. What a sad lesson this is to all believers! Zacharias was called righteous in Luke 1:6, yet his faith in God’s power was lacking. How many times do we pray without believing God is capable of answering our prayer? For years, Zacharias had prayed for a son, yet when God answered the prayer, his lack of faith was revealed. “We are too old to have children,” was his response, though moments beforehand, he had been asking for exactly this answer to his prayer! Often, the answers we ask for are not in God’s will. In the case of Zacharias and Elizabeth, their answer to prayer coincided with God’s plan.
While the name Zacharias means “God remembers” and Elizabeth means “God’s oath,” by putting those names together, we are reminded that “God remembers God’s oath.” His oath was that the line of David would rule and reign on the throne:
34My covenant I will not break,
Nor alter the word that has gone out of My lips.
35Once I have sworn by My holiness;
I will not lie to David:
36His seed shall endure forever,
And his throne as the sun before Me;
37It shall be established forever like the moon,
Even like the faithful witness in the sky.”
Psalm 89:34-37
Yet, when Gabriel told Zacharias that his prayer had been answered, God had made an additional oath! When John the Baptist was born to this aged couple, it spoke of God’s grace, for John means “God has been gracious.” God answers our prayers because of His grace, giving us much more than we deserve. Yet if our prayers involve our needs and the needs of others, in addition to the will of the Lord, rather than an advanced shopping list, God will answer. However, be careful that doubt does not seep into your prayers, or that you pray so repetitiously, that you no longer expect an answer from God. Never forget that we serve a God who answers our prayers!
Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them.
Mark 11:24
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