31 Days of Promise and Hope…..Day 7: Griddles and Tongs!

⁵ In the days of Herod, king of Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah, of the division of Abijah. And he had a wife from the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. ⁶ And they were both righteous before God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and statutes of the Lord. ⁷ But they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren, and both were advanced in years.

⁸ Now while he was serving as priest before God when his division was on duty, ⁹ according to the custom of the priesthood, he was chosen by lot to enter the temple of the Lord and burn incense. ¹⁰ And the whole multitude of the people were praying outside at the hour of incense. ¹¹ And there appeared to him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense. ¹² And Zechariah was troubled when he saw him, and fear fell upon him. ¹³ But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John. ¹⁴ And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth, ¹⁵ for he will be great before the Lord. And he must not drink wine or strong drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother’s womb. ¹⁶ And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God, ¹⁷ and he will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready for the Lord a people prepared (Luke 1:5-17).”

Husbands are the worst at buying presents at the last minute. Christmas Eve comes and men go shopping. It’s not that they forgot about Christmas, it’s that they are men. Go to any mall or store on Christmas Eve and you’ll see a long line of men anxiously seeking out the latest fragrance, pair of pajamas, or griddle. By the way, if you are a guy looking for something special for your spouse, don’t buy a griddle! A griddle screams cooking, not love. Early in my marriage I thought household items were a slam-dunk as Christmas presents. After much reflection I’ve come to this conclusion: Not so much. I mean hey, nothing says I love you like a spatula….except maybe a pair of tongs! What’s the moral of the story? Men, work hard to prepare early for Christmas! It makes all the difference. In fact, that’s what God did. He prepared the way for Jesus by setting an amazing plan in place.

Here’s the story…..

Zechariah and Elizabeth were both getting advanced in years. That basically means they officially got free coffee for breakfast at most fast food places, and they were able to receive the early bird specials around 4:30pm! They were set. Or, maybe not. Zechariah was a priest; they both lived a righteous life, and had an amazing reputation in their community. They were missing one thing……a child. Elizabeth could not have any children. This was tough for both Zechariah and Elizabeth.

One day when Zechariah was at the temple doing his job that the angel of the Lord appeared to him. Zechariah was scared, but the angel quickly calmed his fears. And opened the conversation by telling him that his prayers had been heard. We know what those prayers were. Zechariah had been praying for a son. God answered their prayers. I’m sure that there

• God’s promise to Zechariah and Elizabeth was given as a result of their righteousness and fervent prayers.
• God’s promise to Zechariah and Elizabeth was fulfilled to them through a righteous son who would turn a significant number of people to God.
• God’s promise to Zechariah and Elizabeth would prepare the way for Jesus.

We know that Isaiah prophesied about John being a forerunner of Christ in Isaiah 40:3 and how it was fulfilled in the following.

3 In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea, ² “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” ³ For this is he who was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah when he said,

       “The voice of one crying in the wilderness:

       ‘Prepare the way of the Lord;

make his paths straight (Matthew 3:1-3).’ ”

The picture of John “is that of royal road builders who smooth the way for the king that his journey might be somewhat easier.” ^[1] It is clear that John was significant and the faithfulness of his parents was significant. Will you choose to live a righteous life before God and a life of great reputation before the world this season? Just think about how much you could impact your children or your friends as a result. Also, as you pray, thank the Lord that He is faithful to His promises and that His word is true.