5/2/12

Shut your mouth

Yesterday we covered Zechariah, soon-to-be father of John the Baptist, being told he was going to have a son, and his son would bring the people back to the Lord. I personally think he was floored. He's old, and he's going to have a son. But he's also a priest of the Lord, and the angel told him that his son would bring his people back to the Lord.

Here's Zechariah's response:

And Zechariah said to the angel, “How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in years.” And the angel answered him, “I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I was sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news. And behold, you will be silent and unable to speak until the day that these things take place, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their time.”
-Luke 1:18-20 ESV

I think the birth thing was the easiest thing to disbelieve at first. He's old, and he says his wife is "advanced in years". I don't know much, but I do know this. Don't comment on a woman's weight, her make-up, or her age. Those are BIG no-no's. So Zechariah is saying, "Have you seen my wife? She is OOOOOOOLLLLLLLLLLDDDDDDDD." But what he's really doing is questioning God's ability to do something about his situation. 

I feel like we all get in situations like this. We read something in the Bible that says one thing about us and we deny in. We're called a "new creation" and we don't live like it. We can't believe it's true. We don't see things how God sees them. 

If Zechariah easily disbelieves the birth thing, which is directly tied to the bringing Israel back to the Lord thing, he disbelieves the bringing Israel thing too!

If I said you have a present and it had a million bucks in it, but you don't believe there's a present, what else don't you believe? Hmmm...

If you're told that Christ lived a perfect life, died for your sins, rose again, and if you confess with your mouth and believe in your heart that you'd be saved and it was by grace and not works,but you don't believe in Christ, you negate all of that. Or if you believe in Christ, but you believe you can earn salvation, then you negate everything he did! You're saying what I did is SOOOOOO much better than what He did! My attendance to church is better than Jesus dying on the cross?!? NO WAY!

So Zechariah, a priest of God, is doubting God and everything He could do. So God shut his mouth.

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