Zechariah's Story - The Forgotten Folk? (Part 1)

Zechariah’s Story

To be honest with you..

I never expected to be chosen.

I suppose that’s because I don’t feel special.

I usually prefer to hide in the background.

Some may say I that God has not shown me favour, but I was born into the priestly tribe,

as I am a decendant of Abijah.

I have lived a good life,

had a good education,

always  had plenty to eat and drink

and a place to call home.

My wife is a great blessing to me -

If I am a cup half-empty person

she is a ‘cup-that-is-practically-full’ kind of person.

I always see the problems, the things that could go wrong.

Elizabeth expects things to go right

and, to be fair, they usually do.

There’s just one way in which we have not been blessed

and it is quite painful for us both, but particularly for my beloved Elizabeth.

You see, we have no children.

No sons to continue the priestly line.

No daughters to marry off.

No grandchildren to stand on my lap and tug on my beard..

It was the turn of our Order to serve in the temple,
We were preparing for the prayer session and they were drawing lots to see which priest would be chosen to go into the Holy of Holies to offer up the sacrifice

When they read out my name I thought I was hearing things

To be honest, I wondered if I was day dreaming -

thinking about what I would like to happen,

rather than what was actually happening.

Then I realised that everyone was looking at me, that it was true

I really was the one who was going into the Holy of Holies today.

God had chosen me from my order.

The same God, who despite my faithfulness in prayer

had remained silent when I had cried out to him.

When I had pleaded and bargained, he remained ‘schtum’.

When I had asked for Elizabeth’s sake - 

for her dignity and to save her from disgrace

he appeared not to hear.

So I had decided that God had forgotten about me.

No children of mine were going to brighten our faces 

and the faces of our friends and neighbours

None of my offspring were going to be the next ‘Elijah’

to transform the lives of my people 

and bring those who had stopped following the law, back to God, 

that was for certain….

My hands were shaking as I tied the rope around my ankle

No-one can enter the Holy of Holies without that rope, 

as only the person who is chosen, can enter.

The rope is tied around the ankle of the priest offering sacrifice, 

so that if anything happens to the priest 

the rest can pull him out.

The priest is chosen by drawing lots - 

it avoids any accusation of favouritism!

Only God can influence the choice of priest.

I took a deep breath and stepped into the Holy of holies

Outside everyone else was deep in prayer.

I was concentrating so hard on following the priestly protocols 

that I didn’t notice him at first

Then, I nearly jumped out of my skin!

There, to the right of the altar, was a figure.

I was absolutely terrified!

I should be alone,

and I wasn’t.

What had gone wrong?

My knees shook.

I was in a state of absolute panic,

not knowing what had happened,

or why this person was here.

Then he spoke

“Do not be afraid Zechariah”

I thought I am not afraid

I am WAY past the point of being afraid!

Then I thought

Hang on, this person knows my name…

Is this a messenger from God?

My heartbeat slowed down to just very very fast

“Your prayer has been heard.”

Oh my goodness it IS an angel

This isn’t supposed to happen to Zechariah the overlooked!

Which prayer is God answering, I wondered…

The angels continued

“Your wife will bear you a son and you will call him John.”

Oh my goodness, God is answering my really, really big prayer

But it is impossible! My wife is way beyond her childbearing years..

Yes, OK, there is a precedent. 

I know all about the story of Abraham and Sarah, 

but Abraham was special

AND he had been promised a son…

I am not Abraham, 'the father of nations',

I have not been promised a whole galaxy of generations…

I am Zechariah the forgotten

The angel didn’t stop there with the news of a child, 

he also drew up a road map for his life!

This promised child will be a  hope bringer

Holy spirit container

alcohol abstainer

salvation proclaimer

a repentance encourager

broken relationship repairer

and a heart preparer.

This sounded like a pretty demanding job description 

for a child that has not yet been conceived by two ‘past it’ parents..

A thousand questions filled my mind

Was this really going to happen

or was I dreaming?

I needed a verification code

before I was going to claim this particular promise!

If I left here telling everyone that Elizabeth was going to have a child, 
they would think I was going mad!

"How can I be sure of this?” I asked this angelic apparition.

Apparently this was not the time for asking questions

The angel was Gabriel, no less, 

sent by God to announce this news.

I would receive verification all right!

Because I had expressed my doubt

I would not speak again until the child was born…

If I had anymore questions I kept them to myself.
I had no say in the matter really,

as I was unable to utter a word.

My tongue had been silenced.

I left the Holy of Holies

to a sea of expectant faces

"What took me so long?" they demanded,

"What happened?" they enquired.

But not a word passed my lips.

All I could do was try and explain with by gestures

the glory, power and authority of the angel,

and a summary of all the angel had foretold.

I expected disbelief.

I anticipated derision.

I feared being humoured.

But they took it all in,

as if they saw nothing outrageous at all in what the angel had said.

As if they expected God to perform miracles

And maybe he will.