An Angel Appearing to Zacharias - Luke 1:11

The Beloved Physician Luke wrote, “There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judaea, a certain priest named Zacharias, of the course of Abia: and his wife was of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elisabeth. And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless. And they had no child, because that Elisabeth was barren, and they both were now well stricken in years. And it came to pass, that while he executed the priest's office before God in the order of his course, According to the custom of the priest's office, his lot was to burn incense when he went into the temple of the Lord. And the whole multitude of the people were praying without at the time of incense”, and in chapter one and verse eleven of his book Luke shares how, “there appeared unto him an angel of the Lord”, where we read:

And there appeared unto him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense.

The verse reads, “And there appeared unto him an angel of the Lord ...” Luke began with the words, “And there appeared unto him” or “and there allowed himself to be seen by Zacharias” “an angel” which means “a messenger or envoy” “of the Lord” or “belonging to the One whom a person or thing belongs, about which he has power of deciding and the title given to God the Messiah”. Luke shared how “an angel” from the “Lord” showed himself to Zacharias.

The verse goes on to say, “... standing on the right side of the altar of incense.” Luke continued with the word, “standing” which means “in place, put and set” “on the right side” or “at the right hand place of honor and authority” “of the altar of incense” which refers to “belonging to the altar for the burning of the incense which stood in the sanctuary or the Holy Place”. Luke shared how the “angel” stood at the right hand side of the “altar” where Zacharias was offering the “burnt incense”.

When we consider Luke's words in this verse, we learn of the “appearance” of a “divine messenger” of God. This “angel” showed himself to Zacharias as he was “burning” incense upon the “altar” within the Holy Place in the temple. Because this was a special “spiritual envoy” from the Lord, we know his message was important, and because he was “standing” at the “right side” of the “altar”, he was at the position of “honor and authority”. This “angel” was another part of God's plan for the salvation of mankind, and when we see what he tells Zacharias, we will understand that God desires a personal relationship with every person through His Son Jesus. Let us carefully consider every aspect of the story as it relates to Zacharias and “this angel” and realize God's desire for the redemption of man.

Next time Luke shares, “when Zacharias saw him, he was troubled”, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.

Until tomorrow…there is more…

Look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” and the new poetry book "Random Mushrooms Volumes I and II" and the new novel "Elizabeth County" in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore. All references are from "Strongs Concordance".