Zechariahs Song

 

"Zechariah’s Song”

Luke 1:57-79

    In the time of Herod king of Judea there was a priest named Zechariah, who belonged to the priestly division of Abijah; his wife Elizabeth was also a descendant of Aaron. Both of them were righteous in the sight of God, observing all the Lord’s commands and decrees blamelessly.  But they were childless because Elizabeth was not able to conceive, and they were both very old.
    Once when Zechariah’s division was on duty and he was serving as priest before God, he was chosen by lot, according to the custom of the priesthood, to go into the temple of the Lord and burn incense. And when the time for the burning of incense came, all the assembled worshipers were praying outside.
    Then an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing at the right side of the altar of incense. When Zechariah saw him, he was startled and was gripped with fear. But the angel said to him: “Do not be afraid, Zechariah; your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to call him John. He will be a joy and delight to you, and many will rejoice because of his birth, for he will be great in the sight of the Lord. He is never to take wine or other fermented drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit even before he is born. He will bring back many of the people of Israel to the Lord their God. And he will go on before the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the parents to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous—to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”
    Zechariah asked the angel, “How can I be sure of this? I am an old man and my wife is well along in years.”
    The angel said to him, “I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I have been sent to speak to you and to tell you this good news.  And now you will be silent and not able to speak until the day this happens, because you did not believe my words, which will come true at their appointed time.”
    Meanwhile, the people were waiting for Zechariah and wondering why he stayed so long in the temple. When he came out, he could not speak to them. They realized he had seen a vision in the temple, for he kept making signs to them but remained unable to speak.
    When his time of service was completed, he returned home. After this his wife Elizabeth became pregnant and for five months remained in seclusion. “The Lord has done this for me,” she said. “In these days he has shown his favor and taken away my disgrace among the people.”
     When it was time for Elizabeth to have her baby, she gave birth to a son. Her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had shown her great mercy, and they shared her joy.
    On the eighth day they came to circumcise the child, and they were going to name him after his father Zechariah, but his mother spoke up and said, “No! He is to be called John.”
    They said to her, “There is no one among your relatives who has that name.”
    Then they made signs to his father, to find out what he would like to name the child. He asked for a writing tablet, and to everyone’s astonishment he wrote, “His name is John.” Immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue set free, and he began to speak, praising God. All the neighbors were filled with awe, and throughout the hill country of Judea people were talking about all these things. Everyone who heard this wondered about it, asking, “What then is this child going to be?” For the Lord’s hand was with him.”

Zechariah’s Song

His father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied:

“Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel, because he has come to his people and redeemed them. He has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David (as he said through his holy prophets of long ago), salvation from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us— to show mercy to our ancestors and to remember his holy covenant, the oath he swore to our father Abraham: to rescue us from the hand of our enemies, and to enable us to serve him without fear in holiness and righteousness before him all our days.

    And you, my child, will be called a prophet of the Most High; for you will go on before the Lord to prepare the way for him, to give his people the knowledge of salvation through the forgiveness of their sins, because of the tender mercy of our God, by which the rising sun will come to us from heaven to shine on those living in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the path of peace.”

    Once again let me repeat what I said concerning the Christmas story as found in the Book of Luke: Luke recognized the importance of accuracy and set out to research and verify what was being told. He states in Luke 1:1- 4 – “Many have undertaken to draw up an account of the things that have been fulfilled among us, just as they were handed down to us by those who from the first were eyewitnesses and servants of the Word. Therefore, since I myself have carefully investigated  everything from the beginning, it seemed good also to me to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus, so that you may know the certainty of the things you have been taught.” God is also speaking to us concerning our faith in the things that have been written. Luke “carefully investigated everything, and wrote an orderly account for us – you and I – that we may know the certainty of the things we have been taught!”

    It is Luke’s gospel that connects “these things that have been fulfilled among us” as he says, with the eternal purpose and plan of God from the very beginning. The last word that God gave in the Book of Malachi, before the 400 years of silence, was “Behold I will send you Elijah, the prophet, before the great and awesome day of the Lord comes”…The last word before prophecy fell silent for 400 years was a promise to send someone in the power of Elijah, who would “prepare the way of the Lord”. That time had now come.

    Luke introduces us to a simple, faithful, couple…an elderly priest named Zechariah and his wife Elizabeth. One thing we must take note of is that names were very important to the history and genealogy of Israel. As we begin to look at the various “Songs” found in Luke’s gospel, as they relate to the theme of this series, it is interesting to find that Zechariah means “Yahwey remembers” and Elizabeth means “oath or promise of God”… So, when they married, you have a union of a hope-filled identity that affirms a wonderful truth… “God remembers His promise.” That theme will weave its way in, around, and through this entire series.
    Since there were so many priests who were descendants of Aaron and only one temple, they were divided into groups, and those groups served in the temple only two weeks in a year. Verse 8 tells us that Zechariah’s division or group was on duty.  Zechar-iah is chosen by lot, according to the custom, to go into the temple to burn incense on the altar of the Holy place. This truly was a once in a lifetime experience. We realize, of course, that Zechar-iah was not chosen by lot or by chance, but chosen by God - at a special time - for a special purpose. Coincidences are just miracles in which God chooses to remain anonymous!
    The altar of incense was in the center of the Temple in front of the Holy of Holies. It consisted of four ingredients, and was daily offered on the golden altar in the holy place, and on the great day of atonement was burnt by the high priest in the holy of holies. It was the symbol of prayer as explained in Exodus 30:34 – “Then the Lord said to Moses, “Take fragrant spices—gum resin, onycha and galbanum—and pure frankincense, all in equal amounts, and make a fragrant blend of incense, the work of a perfumer. It is to be salted and pure and sacred.  Grind some of it to powder and place it in front of the ark of the covenant law in the tent of meeting, where I will meet with you. It shall be most holy to you.”
   It is spoken of in Revelation 5:8 and 8:3 – “And when he had taken it, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb. Each one had a harp and they were holding golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of God’s people. Another angel, who had a golden censer, came and stood at the altar. He was given much incense to offer, with the prayers of all God’s people, on the golden altar in front of the throne. The smoke of the incense, together with the prayers of God’s people, went up before God.”
    An angel appears at the right side of the altar, and his first words are “fear not” or “do not be afraid”…your prayer has been heard”… How long do you suppose Zechariah and Elizabeth have been praying for a child? The angel tells him that they will have a son, and they are to name him “John.” Again, the significance of a name; it means “God’s grace” or “gracious God.” John was to be the one to fulfill the promise of God from the Book of Malachi – 400 years prior to this event… God remembers His promise!
    The news is too much for Zechariah, and immediately his faith gives way to reason, and he says “How can this happen?...I’m an old man…and Elizabeth is no spring chicken”! ( Fred’s Paraphrase ) Isn’t that the way we all react? Something doesn’t make any sense to us and we turn to reason and our own understanding instead of trusting God…“lean not on your own understanding.”
    Then, the angel tells him that because of his unbelief, he will not be able to speak until the child is born. Now, if you jump ahead a little to verse sixty-two, we get a little bit of God’s sense of humor where it says the people were trying to find out what to name the child, and they were going to name him after his father, and it says that “they made signs to him”… evidently they thought if he couldn’t speak he must not be able to hear!... Anyway, when John is born Zechariah is able to speak, and he bursts forth into what they Bible calls “Zechariah’s Song.”
    Zechariah’s song explodes with words like “Praise be to the Lord, because “He has come”; “He has redeemed His people”; “He has raised up a horn of salvation”; “He has remembered His Holy covenant”… Think of the joy, the excitement, the welling up of pure emotion that came when Zechariah realized that God was there all the time. That God knew who they were… And, that God had a plan for their lives as well as for a sinful world! It’s the kind of unimaginable, indescribable joy we shall feel when Jesus comes again, and we realize – as Zechariah did – that God keeps His promises!
    The story tells us that the “neighbors were all filled with awe, and wondered about it asking, “What then is this child going to be?” You see, after 400 years of silence God once again broke into human history with a miraculous baby. Every baby born is a miracle of life…but it’s not like the world sits up and takes notice. And, if a couple in their old age has a child, but they have had children before, well that’s just weird! But, if a baby is born to a couple who are too old to have a baby, and especially to a woman who has never had a baby, well that’s a true miracle of God! Remember Abraham and Sarah who had Isaac? Or, Elkanah and Hannah who had Samuel? “Nothing is impossible with God!...and, God keeps His promise!
   But, God has been silent for so long! It just didn’t seem like it would ever happen. But, it did. After his death and resurrection, Jesus said that he would come again – not as a baby – but as a bridegroom to receive his “bride”… But it’s been soooo…long!.... Let me say it one more time; God remembers His promise!
    As the disciples stood there long ago looking up into the sky, “when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them. “Men of Galilee,” they said, “why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.”

    This Christmas, I would suggest that – as much as we love the old Carols – maybe we should listen to the Songs recorded for us in the Book of Luke…and sing these old songs with renewed faith. Amen