People who said Yes to God – Elizabeth
Introduction
It is amazing how different cultures view the elderly, or perhaps what is more interesting to note is that how unusual our Western culture is in its attitude to the elderly. Almost everywhere else older people are honoured and respected, here we ignore them, poke fun at them, even abuse them. While working at the hospital the other day I was looking after an older person who was covered in bruises and I realised that while we have quite a rigorous system in place to pick up on and deal with suspected child abuse, no such system applies to the elderly.
In our series on people who said yes to God we have been focusing mainly on younger people or people who started to say yes early on in their lives, today we focus on an older couple – Elizabeth and her husband Zechariah. They popped up in last week’s sermon on Mary when she was told by Gabriel “Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be barren is in her sixth month For nothing is impossible with God Luke 1:36-37
Let’s backtrack a bit and get the background to this. Zechariah and Elizabeth were both from priestly backgrounds and were upright, devout, respectable people. Luke 1:5-7. One gains the impression that the expectation was that a couple such as this would normally be blessed with children, the sense is that despie being devout and so on they were childless.
Despite being “well on in years” Zechariah was still serving as a priest and he was chosen by lot to offer incense while the people prayed. V.10. It was as he was doing this that Gabriel appears and tells him he is about to become a dad. Vv11-17. This is one of those “both/and” situations. God speaks to us both in our special set-apart times of worship and prayer and in the midst of ordinary every day life. Zechariah was just going about his ordinary priestly duties albeit ones that involved being in an atmosphere of prayer and worship.
Z expresses quite understandable doubt – again emphasising how old he and Elizabeth are. V.18. Gabriel puts him in his place and he is struck dumb until after the child is born and he calls him John vv.19-25 and 57-66.
Meanwhile when Z gets back from his business trip to Jerusalem E falls pregnant and recognises that this is from God. Vv23-25. This is followed by the faith-filled encounter with Mary vv.39-45
The whole episode is rounded off with Zechariah’s song vv.67-80
Application
I find this story hugely encouraging. Here is a couple who humanly speaking are passed it. They are elderly and childless yet God has his plans and purposes for them. He chooses this elderly faithful couple to be the parents of John the Baptist who Jesus describes in the following terms: “Among those born of women there has not risen anyone greater than John the Baptist” Matt.11:11. What a privilege – second only to Mary becoming the mother of Jesus.
These were ordinary people going about their day-to-day tasks yet God used them. If we are open to saying yes to God he will use us too however old or young we are, no-one is passed it in the kingdom of God. Take out into the week the key verse “For nothing is impossible with God” Luke 1:37