Women of God
Elizabeth: Strong Faith Leads to Exceeding Joy
The story of Elizabeth is one full of God’s grace. I find it interesting that Luke’s Gospel is the only book that begins with the promise of John the Baptist’s birth. While the Gospel of Mark begins with John the Baptist as an adult, Luke goes further back–to a time even before Mary was told she would give birth to the Son of God. The reason for this is stated in Luke 1:3, when Luke says, “Therefore, since I myself have carefully investigated everything from the beginning, it seemed good also to me to write an orderly account for you…so that you may know the certainty of the things you have been taught.”
Out of all the other accounts of the Gospel, his is the one that is, for the most part, told in chronological order. This in NO way means the other accounts are wrong or not as good, since all the Gospel-writers were guided by the Lord and were given a purpose for their account. But an ‘orderly account’ was Luke’s purpose—How wonderful to have Jesus’ life told in this way!
In Luke, the story of Jesus begins with the subject of faith when a husband and wife are given a choice: Believe in God’s promise, or doubt God’s promise.
Zechariah’s Choice
- Zechariah is Elizabeth’s husband.
- He is a priest and a descendant of the tribe of Aaron.
- He is “well along in years” (vs. 7).
- While he is alone in the Lord’s temple burning incense, an angel appears to him and tells him his “prayer has been heard” (vs. 13). …What prayer?
- Zechariah must have still been praying for a child, even in his old age, since the angel goes on to say, “Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to give him the name John” (vs. 13).
- Zechariah’s response is that of doubt. He asks, “How can I be sure of this? I am an old man and my wife is well along in years” (vs. 18).
- Because of Zechariah’s unbelief, the angel tells him he will be unable to speak until his son is born.
** Before pointing the finger at Zechariah, think about how absurd this promise must have sounded to him. He was thinking logically. He was old. Could Elizabeth really be pregnant after all those years of trying and failing?? That just doesn’t sound possible. And yet, how quickly and how easily we all tend to forget that “nothing is impossible with God” (Lk. 1:37).
** Note that Luke 1:37 is in the same chapter and is the angel’s response to Mary after she asks, “How will this be…since I am a virgin?” (vs. 34). Mary’s question does NOT doubt God’s promise that she will bear the Son of God. She is saying, “I believe you, but how will this happen?” Zechariah’s question is quite different. He is saying, “I’m not sure I can believe you. Don’t you realize how old we are?”
Do you see the difference between trusting in our own logic versus trusting in God’s plan? Our own logic limits God’s power; our own logic puts God on our level. But God is above us. He sits on the throne, therefore, He makes the decisions; He’s in full control; He’s the Creator.
Now, let’s take a look into Elizabeth’s life and her response to God’s promise.
Elizabeth’s Role & Character
- She, like her husband Zechariah, is a descendant of Aaron (vs. 5).
- Both she and Zechariah were “upright in the sight of God” and blameless (vs. 6).
** In the Greek, the word ‘amemptos’, or, ‘blameless’, means “above reproach because morally pure” (https://biblehub.com/greek/273.htm). But don’t let this definition mislead you. Blameless does NOT mean perfect. Rather, what it means is that, “if a person truly repents and undergoes a transformation of character, his old sins are irrelevant—regardless of how reproachable or shameful that person once was” (https://renner.org/devotionals/what-does-it-mean-to-be-blameless/). In other words, because Elizabeth and Zechariah fear the Lord, their sins have been forgiven, and they are “engraved…on the palms of [God’s] hands” (Is. 49:16).
- She is barren, old, and has no children (vs. 7).
** During this time, most Jews believed women who were barren had done wrong in the sight of the Lord. And since it was also seen as the woman’s duty to bear children, Elizabeth would have been blamed by society. While this does not mean she was an outcast, it may have meant she had once been the object of slander.
** When Elizabeth learns she is to give birth to John, she even says, “In these days he [God] has shown his favor and taken away my disgrace among the people (vs. 25).
ELIZABETH’S RESPONSE TO GOD’S PROMISE
- When Elizabeth discovers she is pregnant, she gives God the credit: “The Lord has done this for me”(vs. 25).
- Not only does she trust God, she walks in obedience to His command that her son be named John. It would have been customary to name her child after a relative. Yet when the baby was about to be circumcised, and her relatives advised the child be named Zechariah after his father, Elizabeth exclaims, “No! He is to be called John” (vs. 59).
- She is emphatic; she is firm. This is not a soft ‘No’ but a loud ‘No!’ What a great example of someone who is faithful and willing to surrender to her King.
ELIZABETH’S LOVE FOR MARY
- Elizabeth and Mary are cousins. After Mary’s encounter with the angel, Gabriel, she goes to visit Zechariah and Elizabeth at their home in Judea (vs. 39).
** Ponder this for a second. Mary has just found out she is pregnant. She is still a virgin; she is unmarried. Hardly anyone would have believed her to be a pregnant virgin. I mean, logically, scientifically, it was impossible for a woman to be a pregnant virgin. At least, that’s the world’s view. It certainly isn’t God’s view. So, it speaks volumes to Zechariah and Elizabeth’s character that Mary considers their home to be the safest place for her to go.
- At this time, Elizabeth is six months pregnant, but Mary is so early in her pregnancy that it most likely isn’t obvious yet.
BUT…
When Mary greets Elizabeth, three incredibly important things happen:
- “the baby [leaps] in [Elizabeth’s] womb” (vs. 41).
- “Elizabeth [is] filled with the Holy Spirit” (‘’).
- Therefore, Elizabeth knows Mary is with child. More specifically, she knows Mary is the mother of the Son of God.
** We don’t know what Mary’s greeting looked like. Was it a hug? A kiss? A “hello”? Did she simply walk into the room? All Mary did was greet Elizabeth, but the Holy Spirit made it evident to Elizabeth’s heart that Mary was, as Elizabeth says, “the mother of my Lord” (vs. 43).
WOW! What a testament to the Holy Spirit’s ability to “teach [us] all things” (John 14:26).
Elizabeth certainly is a woman of strong faith. First, she believes God’s promise that she will bear a son. Even though she has seemingly been barren all her life—even though she is old—she does not doubt God’s Word. Instead, she gives Him praise.
Next, she does not turn Mary away or shame her. When the Holy Spirit reveals to her that Mary is the mother of the Promised Messiah, she once again puts her faith in God. She says, “Blessed is she who has believed that what the Lord has said to her will be accomplished!” (vs. 45).
And so, Mary stays with Elizabeth for three months, probably in time for Elizabeth to give birth (vs. 56).
WHAT WAS THE RESULT OF ELIZABETH’S FAITH?
“Her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had shown her great mercy, and they shared her joy” (vs. 58).
** The result of strong faith is God’s exceeding joy! **
Zechariah & Elizabeth’s Child
Finally, we will end with the characteristics of Elizabeth’s promised child.
- John would be a “joy” AND a “delight” (vs. 14).
- John would “be filled with the Holy Spirit even from birth” (vs. 15).
- John would “make ready a people prepared for the Lord” (vs. 17).
** This was a big deal! Elizabeth and her husband are not only promised a child in their old age, but they are promised a godly, strong, and cheerful child. Can you even imagine how ecstatic, how overcome with love and peace and joy, you would be? Wouldn’t your joy in God be in full bloom? **
In your life, in my life, there will be valleys. There will be desert lands. There will be hardships and seemingly barren places. But trust that “nothing is impossible with God”. Place all your hope and faith in His perfect will. Keep growing in your relationship with Him so that your faith will continue to become stronger…
Trust Him… Even in the valleys…
Trust Him… Even in the deserts…
Trust Him… Even in the barren places…
Because faith in Jesus will ALWAYS spring forth exceeding joy…
Even in the storms you must face.
“Trust and obey,
For there’s no other way,
To be happy in Jesus,
But to trust and obey.”
–John Henry Sammis