Day 14- The Lord Has Shown Favor
There are so many divine providences in the scriptures that surround the birth of Jesus and God’s grace and favor is seen in them all. For example, verse nine of Luke chapter one, tells us that Zacharias was chosen by lot to burn incense in the Temple. And, it was on this very day that the Angel of the Lord appeared to him, telling him that Elizabeth would indeed bring forth a child and that Zacharias would call his name John.
The name John means- “The Lord (Yahweh) Has Shown Favor (Grace). God had surely shown Zacharias and Elizabeth favor and even though it was delayed—it was divine. You see I don’t believe that there are coincidences or happenstance with God. I believe that things happen in order and at the given time.
For instance, if Elizabeth and Zacharias would have gotten pregnant earlier when they were believing for it to happen, they would have had a baby, but it probably wouldn’t have been John the Baptist. That’s because John would have had to have be born to Elizabeth during the time that her cousin Mary was pregnant with Jesus. Now I know that I am reading into this a bit, but could it be that was why she was barren so long? Could it have been that God was waiting until this particular miraculous moment to awaken her womb.
After all, this is a story of Gods redemptive grace—God becoming flesh to save us. And at this moment in the story, Elizabeth was barren and past the child bearing age. However, God would now allow her to become pregnant with John at the very same time that her cousin Mary would be pregnant with Jesus. And it would be John who would eventually be the forerunner of Christ and he would also be the one to baptize Him.
Nevertheless, after all these years of being childless—Zacharias and Elizabeth still remained steadfast and they served God consistently and faithfully. Even though at times I’m sure they felt humiliation and frustration, they still remained solid in their faith and now they were about to see the faithfulness of God and His promises fulfilled.
Take Away:
- Zacharias and Elizabeth never wavered in their faith or faithfulness.
- Elizabeth was going to bear a son in her old age and Zacharias was going to give him the name John.
- Zacharias and Elizabeth’s prayer had been heard. (Luke 1:13)
