We often think about Zachariah when we read the first part of Luke. The angel Gabriel visiting Zachariah in the Temple, Zachariah gripped with fear, the Angel Gabriel proclaiming peace and promising a child. Zachariah questioning Him only to be scolded and punished with his voice taken away. I love this whole section but what I’ve grown to love most is how the section ends. It ends with his wife Elizabeth. Her words bring me peace, hope and a smile.
“How kind the Lord is!” Elizabeth exclaimed. “He has taken away my disgrace of having no children.” - Luke 1:25
We are told Elizabeth is very old from verse 7. How old, we do not know. But we can guess from the day she said I Do and took Zachariah’s hand in marriage as a teen she has been praying for a babe ever since. Years and years of praying. Months upon so many months of another cycle past. Years of seeing friends, family, cousins, nieces, likely even great-nieces bearing their children while her womb stayed empty.
But little did Elizabeth know that God was saving her for a miracle. A miracle that would be so special that it’s still told 2000 years later and will be for another infinite more. And here she starts to recognize the magnitude of this promised child. She sees the kindness in the Lord. She sees the redemption. The grace.
And she relishes in the waiting now with peace.
Oh “how kind the Lord is”
