Muting a Priest
(3) The Angel Gabriel Mutes Zechariah - Luke 1:8-25
Dear Reader,
May “The Lord bless you, and keep you; The Lord make His face shine on you,
And be gracious to you; The Lord lift up His countenance on you, And give you peace.’” (Numbers 6:24-26).
The Angel Gabriel Mutes Zechariah. (Luke 1:8-25)
With technology today in video conferencing, we can choose to mute ourselves. Or in group calls the meeting initiator can mute those they choose, with one click on a keyboard mouse we can make a background noise silent. Even on social media, we have the ability to mute people we choose not to read their posts or comments or just keep scrolling.
But we live in a noisy world, with the advent of social media and an endless number of distractions, it sometimes hard to get ourselves in a quiet place with few distractions beside just us and God. When was the last time you felt led to quiet waters (Psalm 23:2)?
Zechariah as the priest selected by lot, finds himself alone, in a still and quiet place, burning incense in the Temple to perform the priestly duty he was called to do. The burning of incense was symbolic of prayers being pleasing to God, the ascending prayers of His people, the saints, as a fragrant sweet aroma (Exodus 30:1-10, Psalm 141:2, Revelation 5:8). When God’s people call to Him, he is aware of it (Genesis 4:26, Jeremiah 33:3, Matthew 6:5-6).
The story unfolds with Zechariah and the Angel Gabriel (Luke 1:8-17)
“8 Once when Zechariah’s division was on duty and he was serving as priest before God, 9 he was chosen by lot, according to the custom of the priesthood, to go into the temple of the Lord and burn incense. 10 And when the time for the burning of incense came, all the assembled worshipers were praying outside.
11 Then an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing at the right side of the altar of incense. 12 When Zechariah saw him, he was startled and was gripped with fear. 13 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. 14 He will be a joy and delight to you, and many will rejoice because of his birth, 15 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. 16 He will bring back many of the people of Israel to the Lord their God. 17 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.” - Luke 1:8-17
Angel Gabriel tells Zechariah, “Do not be afraid”.
The phrase “do not be afraid” is repeated eighty-one (81) times in the NIV translation of the Bible. Another phrase, “do not fear” is repeated forty-five (45) times in the NIV translation of the Bible. The word ‘fear’ is repeated three hundred thirty six (336) times in the NIV translation and the word ‘afraid” is repeated two hundred and five (205) times in the NIV translation of the Bible. Needless to say the topic of afraid and fear have some press in the bible. When Zechariah encounters the Angel Gabriel he was ‘startled and gripped with fear’ (Luke 1:12). Though Zechariah was a godly man, the appearance and interaction from the Angel Gabriel gripped him with fear and also exposed an area of unbelief related to his own prayers. The prayers that Zechariah and Elizabeth prayed for decades was about to be answered.
The Priesthood at the time of Jesus.
In the time of Jesus, the priesthood was modeled after the order of King David, who implemented the priesthood about a 1,000 years before the birth of Christ. David thought it best to have divisions of priests divided in twenty-four different divisions from the descendants of Aaron as recorded in 1st Chronicles 24:1-19. Historians estimate there were about 18,000 priests in Israel at this time. Each division of the priests was named, for Zechariah he is was in the eighth division of priests after the name Abijah (1st Chronicles 24:10), which means “God is my Father”. Here is the irony of the story, Zechariah has been praying for decades to be a Father, he is in the priestly line of Abijah which means, God is my Father, and the Lord answers him, that after all this waiting, Zechariah is going to be be Father. The burning of incense to represent the prayers of His people also included Zechariah.
Zechariah is overcome with Unbelief.
Now Zechariah is overcome with unbelief by the appearance and oracle from Gabriel. The name Gabriel means “mighty”, he is a Warrior Angel. Gabriel was probably mighty in appearance, thus the gripped with fear of Zechariah, who cannot believe that God is going to answer his decades long prayer request and just cannot help himself to ask Gabriel more questions. Note to self, if an Angel appears limit your questions.
Here is rest of the story of Zechariah.
“18 Zechariah asked the angel, “How can I be sure of this? I am an old man and my wife is well along in years.” 19 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. 20 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.” 21 Meanwhile, the people were waiting for Zechariah and wondering why he stayed so long in the temple. 22 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. 23 When his time of service was completed, he returned home. 24 After this his wife Elizabeth became pregnant and for five months remained in seclusion. 25 “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.” - Luke 1:18-25
Muting Zechariah - Discipline and Quieting Him with His Love.
‘The Lord your God in your midst, The Mighty One, will save; He will rejoice over you with gladness, He will quiet you with His love, He will rejoice over you with singing.” – Zephaniah 3:17
Questions:
Has God ever quieted you with His love?
The name Gabriel means “mighty”, how might you relate to God’s ability to do something you think is impossible? How does Zechariah reveal his doubts in his response to the Angel Gabriel.
How can we practice being still and trusting the Lord? (Psalm 46:10).
In what ways can you relate to Zechariah?
Previous posts in the Gospel of Luke Series:
Nothing is more unbelievable to us than an answered prayer.
Several good points here, Paul. First of all, the question of silence amidst the many distractions. That, I believe, is a struggle for many, including myself. Silence is something God has been teaching me over the last few years. I'm also reminded of the lack of faith Zechariah portrays. We can serve God, while lacking genuine faith. Thanks, again.