Elizabeths Silence

As a parent, I have played the game with my kids of who can go the longest without talking. It doesn’t seem to last for more than a minute or so because my kids like me like to talk!! The game though is interesting to watch, and to see how out it unfolds is always very funny!!

In Luke one we read about a man although not from a game could not speak for about 9 months or so. The man’s name was Zacharias and he was married to a woman named Elizabeth. These two were considered upright people who loved God and Zacharias worked in the temple. Zacharias and Elizabeth were also childless and were getting up in their ages. One day while Zachariah was performing his duties in the temple the angel Gabriel appeared to him. The angel told him that his wife was going to have a baby and for what purpose that he was being born for. He was told that his child’s name was to be John (who we know as John the Baptist) and that he was going to be a messenger who would prepare the way for Jesus. Zacharias because of his circumstances of being older in age could hardly believe what the angel was saying and needed to know for sure that this would happen. The angel then told him that because he did not believe him- that the sign for unbelief would be that Zacharias would not be able to speak until the baby was born. From that day on Zacharias was left as the angel said and was not able to speak.

Can you imagine what his wife Elizabeth thought when he got home? Can you picture her being so happy to see him and say hello to him and then quickly realizing that he couldn’t speak? She had to have been panicked, scared, and wondering why he was that way. He then somehow had to tell her why he couldn’t speak which I’m sure shocked her, and then she had to have been doubly shocked when she realized that she was going to have a baby. Then on top of that to realize that your child was going to be used so greatly by God- What a day that had to have been for the two of them!!!

The Bible does not give us any details about how Elizabeth felt concerning the fact that her husband could not talk and that they would be living in silence until she gave birth. After all, she was not even pregnant at the time of this happening- so to her, a lot had to happen for this silence to be over. I’m sure her and Zacharias got to work on it though very quickly.

When I was pregnant with our children it was a great time in sharing with my husband all that was going on me inside and hearing what he had to say about how it would be for him to be a father. There is a lot of communication that takes place when one is expecting a child and talking is crucial. I imagine that Elizabeth and Zacharias found creative ways to communicate throughout their time and that at times it was very hard for both of them.

Maybe even, at times, they both were upset that it had happened- after all, silence is a hard thing to deal with and to deal with it for so long can be extremely frustrating. Maybe Elizabeth was angry that her husband just did not believe the angel at the time. After all who wouldn’t believe an angel who appeared to them even if it didn’t make sense and or sounded crazy? It would seem after having that happen, one would believe. I imagine though, even Zacharias himself had to have, at times just wished he would have taken the angel's word for it. Then his silence could have been avoided. In any case, their situation was what it was, and it had to be dealt with. In the end, their marriage survived it. Although Elizabeth’s husband’s doubt had caused this situation she knew it would eventually end for that was the word from the angel. That is something I’m sure she hung on to every day in faith along with Zacharias. So even though every day they had to find out new ways to communicate during this time of their pregnancy and just life in general they knew it wouldn’t last forever and it didn’t. As also stated before we are not given any insight as to how Elizabeth felt about his silence, but we do know is that God would not have allowed it to happen if she couldn’t handle it, because He does not allow more than we can bear even if we feel it is too much at the time.

So, because of her story, we can learn so much. We learn of the great example of strength and perseverance that Elizabeth set for us. We may not ever have to face the silence she did, but when things in life seem to be too much to bear, and too hard to have faith and belief for we need to know God is in control and He will get us through it. We have to trust in God and every day rely on Him for the strength and perseverance needed to get through it. And when we come out of it like the day Zacharias could speak again we will be singing God's praises for all to see and hear!!!!

What About You?

1. Is there something you feel God has told you and you just can't believe it to be true, which then causes you to doubt?

2. What is keeping you from totally believing God's words are true?