Luke the 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. 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. And many of the children of Israel shall he turn to the Lord their God”, and in chapter one and verse seventeen of his book Luke shares how the angel said, “he shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elias”, where we read:
And he shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elias, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just; to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.
The verse reads, “And he shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elias, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, ...” Luke began with the words, “And he shall go before him” or “and the Lord will precede John” “in the spirit” which means “in the vital principal by which the body is animated” “and the power” or “and the strength, ability and influence for performing miracles” “of Elias” which means “pertaining to Elijah whose name means my God is Jehovah and was a prophet born at Thisbe, the unflinching champion of the theocracy in the reigns of the idolatrous kings Ahab and Ahaziah”, “to turn the hearts” or “to convert, return and bring back the love and obedience of God” “of fathers” which means “pertaining to the generators and progenitors” “to the children” or “toward their offspring to “return” the “soul or mind as it is the fountain and seat of the thoughts, passions, desires, appetites, affections, purposes and endeavors” of the “progenitors” toward their “offspring”.
The verse continues, “... and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just; to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.” Luke added the words, “and the disobedient” which means “and the unpersuadable, non-compliant and contumacious” “to the wisdom” or “toward the understanding, knowledge and holy love of the will of God” “of the just” which refers to “pertaining to the righteous, those who observe divine laws, the upright and virtuous”; “to make ready” or “to prepare and provide for” “a people prepared” which means “a tribe, nation, populace and people who are in a great part of the population” “for the Lord” or “for the One in whom a person or thing belongs, about which he has power of deciding; master and the title given to God the Messiah”. Luke shared how “John” would also “turn” people who are “non-compliant” to those who are “virtuous”, and he would “prepare” people in general for the appearance of “the Lord”.
When we meditate upon Luke's words in this verse, we discover the function of the son of Zacharias and Elisabeth (John”). His job would be give the Lord's power which was like the “spirit and power” granted to “Elijah”, and he was to “have children” return to their parents, the “contumacious” to the “understanding” of those who are “righteous” as he “prepared” the way for people who are ready for the “Lord” to appear. “John” was to be the “fore-runner” to the Messiah, and his main priority would be to return relationships to their original state as well as “turning” people from their “disobedient” lifestyles so they would be prepared to meet the Lord. God's desire is to have a personal relationship with every person through His Son Jesus, and as “John” was to prepare people for His appearance, so we too should prepare ourselves to receive Him as our personal “Savior and Lord”.
Next time Luke shares how, “Zacharias said unto the angel, whereby shall I know this?”, 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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