The blessing of Elizabeth
Luke 1:18-25
Most of the passage we are reading is about Zechariah the priest. However, it begins with a telling statement. In the modern west, our culture serves the related gods of
• youth
• beauty
• health
If you don’t have all of these three, you are somehow less fortunate than others who have them. Never mind that they may also have
• financial difficulties,
• relational problems,
• substance abuse issues
• emotional issues
• learning disabilities
In the past and in other cultures, it has been an honor to be old. People were not shy of saying, "I am old and my wife is well along in years." These were facts, and marks of honor and standing. As some have said, "I have lived for many years, which sure beats the alternative."
So though in our culture we cringe a little at Zechariah’s words, for him, they simply relayed facts:
18Zechariah asked the angel, “How can I be sure of this? I am an old man and my wife is well along in years.”
19The angel answered, “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. 20And 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 proper time.”
21Meanwhile, the people were waiting for Zechariah and wondering why he stayed so long in the temple. 22When 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.
23When his time of service was completed, he returned home. 24After 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 (NIV)
Elizabeth was too old to conceive
This is not a problem as such, except that Elizabeth had never had children at all. The importance of children for women in biblical times is legendary. Children, especially sons were a sign of God’s blessing. Lack of children was a sign of a curse. Beyond this, there were practical considerations.
Men were the bread winners in the culture. If a woman’s husband died and there were no males in her family, she was doomed to poverty. She might find herself gleaning in fields like Ruth and Naomi.
In this sense, Elizabeth was like Sarah. Abraham’s wife too was old and childless when God blessed her with the conception of Isaac. Elizabeth’s lack was more than emotional, it was social and economic.
She hid her good fortune
The Bible only says that she hid away. It does not give us Elizabeth’s reason. Perhaps it was due to the infant mortality rate. Perhaps she reasoned that if no one knew about the child and she miscarried, her standing in the community would not change. Follow the logic
• Elizabeth was long barren
• She was old and people knew her
• It is possible that in that time, people had begun to treat her as an individual beyond the size of her family
• her pregnancy would have created a stir and much rejoicing on her behalf
• If then the child miscarried (as could happen with a woman of years) she would become the subject of different regard
• Perhaps she would be pitied
• Perhaps she would be judged
• Perhaps her circle would become at the very least uncomfortable around her
By hiding she could prevent any premature rejoicing and only experience it when the child was born and the initial danger was past.
There may have been other reasons. I like the way the recent movie The Nativity Story used her secrecy as a way to confirm Mary’s encounter with the angel. If Elizabeth were keeping her pregnancy secret from over 100 miles away, how could Mary have known, unless it was revealed to her by God?
These are only guesses. I have known couples who could not bear children who were plagued with pity and questions (both spoken and unspoken) of people. Many times they felt like relationships with others had stalled at the point of discomfort over their childless marriage. Elizabeth may have overcome this impediment and did not want to endanger it.
Here is the fact. Couples who do not have children do not need the judgement or the questions of others.
They need to be appreciated and engaged as people who have a life even without kids. I know this is hard for some people and couples to believe.
Ask the obvious question:
Do you have children?
If the answer is yes, there are obvious followup topics of conversation.
If the answer is no, and you have questions beyond the obvious here is a helpful stance to take. Their circumstances regarding children are not your business or mine. They may be very personal and potentially painful. There are other tiers to a person’s life. Go there. Admit that the question:
Why not?
No matter how it is phrased, (even as concern) is inappropriate. The answer is none of your business until your relationship grows to the point that the couple makes it your business. It’s like asking why a person does not speak with their parents, or how much money they earn – it’s personal. It is sometimes a joy that they would rather have and would rather not be reminded of the void.
Elizabeth was not hiding her pregnancy because she was unhappy, she was, perhaps, protecting her special joy, for a day of fuller joy.
Elizabeth felt blessed
This is no surprise. As we have said, children were considered a blessing from God. Note the Scripture:
Yes, sons are a gift from the LORD,
the fruit of the womb is a reward.
Sons born during one’s youth
are like arrows in a warrior’s hand.
How blessed is the man who fills his quiver with them!
They will not be put to shame when they confront enemies at the city gate. (Psalm 127:3-5 NET)
This scripture clearly shows the culture that developed so strongly valuing sons, and children in general. Lots of kids, especially sons, are a good thing, a blessing.
This is in sharp contrast to many attitudes today which see children as a burden to be avoided and shrugged off.
• Children keep people from deep involvement in a career or education
• Some children are abandoned
• Children may be avoided through birth control
• Children may be aborted if they are not conceived at an appropriate time
• In our current culture, small families with few children are preferred over large families with lots
But children are still a blessing. I am blessed by all the kids in our church. I feel a lack of blessing when I do not see them for a long time.
More to the point, I have known women, and so have you, who felt an acute desire to have children, but have had difficulty conceiving.
I remember one woman I knew who prayed for at least 9 years for a child. She used to agonize in prayer. She did not allow herself to become paralyzed by grief in not having a child. In fact she had one of the most joyful and sweet dispositions of any woman I have met. However, it was clear to anyone who knew her that something was missing in her life.
Last time I saw her she was pregnant. She told me that she felt guilty sometimes because acknowledged that being pregnant was not always fun. She wanted it for so long, she felt like she should enjoy every moment:
• the sleeplessness
• the pain
• the back aches
• the mood swings
• the cravings
• etc ... etc ... etc
But she was equalizing. She was accepting the fact that the joy of having children was not the same as enjoying every moment of the process. Last I heard, she had a son, and was a very proud mom.
From her and from Elizabeth we have a lesson to learn.
Joy and blessings are not devoid of challenges and problems
From somewhere we have gotten the impression that blessings are trouble free experiences of ecstacy. We think God would not give us a blessing accompanied by a burden. Elizabeth saw her pregnancy as the favor of the LORD. She had the same back aches as any pregnant woman. And she was too old for that. She faced the problem of having a toddler when she was too old to keep up. But she still saw the prospect of carrying and rearing little John as a blessing.
The blessings in our lives, children and otherwise, carry serious responsibilities. Mary was blessed to be the mother of the Messiah, but that blessing carried challenges.
Your blessings carry responsibilities and challenges too. God has given some of you children. Those children may seem more like a challenge than a blessing at times. Elizabeth reminds us that the two concepts are not mutually exclusive. Blessings have challenges attached.
For me, pastoring this congregation is a blessing
that carries with it challenges and responsibilities
For all of us,
• financial blessings carry the responsibility of good stewardship
• the blessing of authority at work carries the responsibility of integrity and mercy
• owning your own home carries the responsibility of upkeep and safety
• receiving help from others carries the responsibility of not presuming to over use their mercy
• good grades carry the responsibility of hard work
• excellence in sports carries the responsibility of practice and character in the face of temptation
No blessings come without responsibility. Blessings are not freebees that make us happy without our involvement. Blessings are the rewards of God on righteousness (earned or not), and in order for those blessings to be complete, they must be received and used in righteousness.
• Mary was blessed to be the mother of Messiah
• David was blessed to be the king of Israel
• Ezekiel was blessed to bear the Word of God
And every blessing was accompanied by personal duties that could not be transferred and could not be neglected without risking the blessing itself.
Elizabeth was relieved of disgrace
If having sons was a blessing, then not having sons was thought of as a curse. It is that way even today in middle eastern cultures. Even in the west, to many women, self-worth is tied to bearing and caring for children. In some cases, women struggle deeply with infertility or other mothering tasks. The medical profession has developed a multi-billion dollar business from fertility treatments that fill the need felt by many couples, especially women, to have children.
God’s grace in giving her a child, after long years of infertility, took away that burden.
We might stand in some judgement on Elizabeth. We might be tempted to tell her that her worth is not dependent on the size of her family. We might be tempted to tell her that the righteousness the Bible clearly says she practiced meant much more than whether or not she bore sons.
We might be right in our assessments, but we would be missing a vital perspective. What good is all that you have if you may not have what you desperately want? And what heightens the hunger for what we do not have more than the knowledge that it is beyond our reach. We all experience the hunger from time to time.
• recognition for accomplishments
• income equal to your work
• acknowledgment of your abilities
• fair treatment by your peers or loved ones
The lack of these responses to who we are make us wish that our situation was different. They make us wonder why we put so much effort into doing what seems to us to be right, only to lack what we seem to have coming. The adage that life isn’t fair does not make us feel any better.
Worse than that, we may become the object of other people’s pity. If we truly do what God wants, and we truly apply ourselves to the tasks He gives us, then others can see that our lives are perhaps not fulfilled as we would like. They might wonder too why God does not bless.
God’s blessings upon us may or may not take the shape of things we want or expect. I’m sure that Elizabeth wanted a son very much, but did not expect one at this stage in her life. Nevertheless, God’s timing as well as His blessing took away the burden of her confusion. What is more, God’s waiting made the gift even more obviously from Him, creating the circumstances for Him to get even more praise from the event.
I know people whose lives have been, from all appearances, models of faith. I met one man who was known by many to be a mentor that helped them understand what living for Christ meant. He had lost his job due to a neurological condition. His condition made it impossible for him to work, but his employers didn’t see it that way. Here was a man who had apparently done what was right, but God’s blessing and justice seemed far away.
Job tells us the same thing. His friends told him there must be some hidden sin, but he denied it ... rightfully. It was not till later that God’s blessing showed up.
Patience is a Christmas virtue
• Mary and Joseph had to be patient to see the full extent of God’s blessing on them
• Simeon had been patient for long years awaiting the coming Messiah
• Zacheriah and Elizabeth had lived righteous lives without a basic fulfillment
• The entire nation of Israel had waited for centuries for the coming of God’s chosen deliverer
But even then He was not what they expected.
Pray a prayer that tells God
• I know that You are planning good things for me
• You have said that if I delight myself in You, then You would give me my heart’s desire
• Help me to continue to find my greatest delight in You
• In everything, help me to let go of my own expectations of what you should do for me and when
• Help me to recognize Your blessing when I see it
• Let me be faithful in the duty that accompanies the blessing
• And may I be satisfied with Your timing
And know that any fulfillment apart from God, will be empty.
