Luke the beloved physician wrote concerning Zacharias, “there appeared unto him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense. And when Zacharias saw him, he was troubled, and fear fell upon him. But the angel said unto him, Fear not, Zacharias: for your prayer is heard; and your wife Elisabeth shall bear you a son, and you shall call his name John. And you shall have joy and gladness; and many shall rejoice at his birth”, and in chapter one and verse fifteen of his book Luke shares how the angel said, “he shall be great in the sight of the Lord”, where we read:
For he shall be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink;
and he shall be filled with the Holy Ghost, even from his mother's womb.
The verse reads, “For he shall be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink;” Luke began with the words, “For he shall be great” or “because, since and on account that this male child born to Zacharias and Elisabeth will be esteemed highly in importance, of great weight and stately” “in the sight” which means “within the presence and face” “of the Lord” or “belonging to the One to whom a person or thing belongs, about which he has power of deciding; master and the title given to God the Messiah”, “and shall drink neither wine” which means “and will not and in no way imbibe the fruit of the vine” “nor strong drink” or “no, and not in any way any intoxicating beverage which was derived from grain, vegetables or from the juice of fruits or a decoction of honey”. Luke shared how Zacharias' son was going to be “greatly esteemed” before God, and he was not to “drink” of any “wine” or “intoxicating beverages”.
The verse continues, “and he shall be filled with the Holy Ghost, even from his mother's womb.” Luke added the words, “and he shall be filled” which means “and Zacharias and Elisabeth's son will be furnished” “with the Holy Ghost” or “with pure and morally righteous third person of the triune God, the Holy Spirit, coequal, coeternal with the Father and the Son”, “even from his mother's womb” which means “indeed from the time when this male child of Zacharias and Elisabeth would be inside Elisabeth's belly or uterus”. Luke shared how the “male child” who was to be named “John” would be “filled” with God's “Holy Spirit” while he was within the “womb” of his mother “Elisabeth”.
When we think through Luke's words in this verse, we discover the prophetic word given to Zacharias concerning his son. “John” was going to be “great” in God's “sight”, and he was not to “drink” of any “fruit of the vine” or “intoxicating beverage”. He would also be “filled” with God's “Holy Spirit” from the time he was in the “womb” of his mother Elisabeth. Because these great promises of God were to be fulfilled within Zacharias' son, they demonstrate the “greatness of God” to bring about a miraculous birth that would lead to His Son Jesus Christ. Those who examine these prophesies and the fulfillment of them shall discover how much God the Father cares for their “salvation”, and they shall see how God has provided the way for people to receive His Son Jesus as their personal “Savior and Lord”.
Next time Luke shares how, “many of the children of Israel shall he turn to the Lord their God”, 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".
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