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 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. And Zacharias said unto the angel, Whereby shall I know this? for I am an old man, and my wife well stricken in years. And the angel answering said unto him, I am Gabriel, that stand in the presence of God; and am sent to speak unto you, and to show you these glad tidings”, and in chapter one and verse twenty of his book Luke shares how Gabriel said to Zacharias, “you shall be dumb, and not able to speak, unto the day that these things shall be performed”, where we read:
And, behold, you shall be dumb, and not able to speak, until the day that these things shall be performed, because thou believed not my words, which shall be fulfilled in their season.
The verse reads, “And, behold, you shall be dumb, and not able to speak, until the day that these things shall be performed,” Luke began with the words, “And, behold” or “and lo, look and consider”, “you shall be dumb” which means “you, Zacharias, will be mute, silent and holding your peace”, “and not able to speak” or “and incapable of talking or uttering a voice or emitting a sound”, “until the day” which means “till the time” “that these things” or “that all the events Gabriel spoke of” “shall be performed” which means “will come into existence, happen and appear in history”. Luke shared how “Gabriel” told Zacharias he would not be able to “speak” until “the day” when all he told Zacharias comes to pass.
The verse goes on to say, “... because you believed not my words, which shall be fulfilled in their season.” Luke continued with the words, “because you believed not” which means “since and on account that Zacharias did not trust, was not persuaded and did not have confidence in” “my words” or “Gabriel's utterance, declaration and proclamation”, “which shall be fulfilled” which means “that will be completed, liberally supplied and finished” “in their season” or “in due measure and at the proper time”. Luke shared how “Gabriel” told Zacharias the reason he would be “mute” was because he did not “trust” his words, and Zacharias' inability to speak would continue until all Gabriel's word came to pass.
When we mediate upon Luke's words in this verse, we see the repercussions to Zacharias for his “unbelief”. Zacharias did not see how it was possible for he and his wife Elisabeth to have children since they were “old” and beyond child bearing years. God sent “Gabriel” to share about a miracle He was going to perform through Zacharias and his wife, but he did not “believe” or understand how this was possible. This caused him to be “mute” until the day that his son was dedicated to God. God has a plan for the “salvation” of mankind through His Son Jesus, and when a person discovers that plan, they do best to simply “believe and trust” in what God has said. .
Next time Luke shares how “the people waited for Zacharias, and marveled that he tarried so long”, 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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