Waiting in Seclusion
Scripture:
Luke 1:8 Once when he was serving as priest before God and his section was on duty, 9 he was chosen by lot, according to the custom of the priesthood, to enter the sanctuary of the Lord and offer incense. 10 Now at the time of the incense offering, the whole assembly of the people was praying outside. 11 Then there appeared to him an angel of the Lord, standing at the right side of the altar of incense. 12 When Zechariah saw him, he was terrified; and fear overwhelmed him. 13 But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you will name him John. 14 You will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth, 15 for he will be great in the sight of the Lord. He must never drink wine or strong drink; even before his birth he will be filled with the Holy Spirit. 16 He will turn many of the people of Israel to the Lord their God. 17 With the spirit and power of Elijah he will go before him, to turn the hearts of parents to their children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous, to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.” 18 Zechariah said to the angel, “How will I know that this is so? For I am an old man, and my wife is getting on in years.” 19 The angel replied, “I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I have been sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news. 20 But now, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their time, you will become mute, unable to speak, until the day these things occur.”
Luke 1:21 Meanwhile the people were waiting for Zechariah, and wondered at his delay in the sanctuary. 22 When he did come out, he could not speak to them, and they realized that he had seen a vision in the sanctuary. He kept motioning to them and remained unable to speak. 23 When his time of service was ended, he went to his home.
Luke 1:24 After those days his wife Elizabeth conceived, and for five months she remained in seclusion. She said, 25 “This is what the Lord has done for me when he looked favorably on me and took away the disgrace I have endured among my people.”
Observation:
This passage welcomes us into the narrative of John’s life. His parent, faithful servants of God, have never been able to have a child. Now, as they are along in years, God breaks into history.
Zechariah was a priest and had the most incredible honor. Having been chosen by lot, he was to have this once in a lifetime experience. He went int and made the offering before the Lord while the people waited and prayed outside. This usually took a very brief period of time. One can imagine tensions rising when he took longer than anticipated in the sanctuary.
The angel Gabriel appeared to Zechariah and told him of the son that his wife would bear. Zechariah met the news with unbelief. As a result, the angel declared that he would be mute until the baby was born. He emerged from the sanctuary and when he could not speak, the people realized that he had seen a vision from God.
Juxtaposed to Zechariah is his wife, Elizabeth, who seems to respond with faith. Her affirmation that the Lord had brought about this miracle and looked favorably upon her is significant. She had been living the life of a disgraced woman for most of her married life, for she was barren. The ridicule of society may have been more than she could bear. Unable to face the daily harassment, she waited in seclusion until it was obvious that she was with child. Then, she was able to emerge from the darkness with new life. The long wait was over.
Application:
Today, we are waiting in seclusion for the pandemic to come to an end. Elizabeth’s story makes me wonder how we will emerge from this time. All of the commentators that I read today were male, and I think they missed one aspect of Elizabeth’s story, and potential motivation for the seclusion. If a woman is barren, or has had many miscarriages, when she becomes pregnant, it’s as if she holds her breath until she feels that baby moving or sees her tummy growing. Waiting for five months may have been about Elizabeth’s disgrace, or it may have been waiting until she knew there really was a baby that would survive!
If you haven’t been there, those months of waiting can be heart breaking. An expectant mother has heightened senses, noting any little thing that may be off in her body. Praying and pleading before the Lord, she waits on the arrival of what she hopes will be a healthy baby.
In these months of pandemic, we have a heightened awareness that we are giving birth to something new. We won’t go back to the way that things were before, and that’s why this years’ season of Advent is so real. We are the people in seclusion, the people living in darkness, but we see a great light, and therefore we have hope. While we are in this seclusion we are sensitive to the spiritual growth that is happening among God’s people. Day after day we look for the signs of growth and vitality, anticipating the day we emerge from the seclusion and are able to show the world that we are alive and well.
I read an article about a church in France that has been hit hard with COVID and they discussed what they had learned.
It’s at the end that the article caught my attention:
What do you see as the ongoing spiritual effects of the pandemic on your church?
There is—I feel it deeply and I see it—a movement of holiness. There have been many testimonies from those who have said to me, “You know, this has changed my view of my spiritual life. It has brought me closer to the Lord. There are things that I can no longer do today. I don’t want to waste any more time with what the world stole from me for a while.” There is really a return to a consecration and a surge of love for the Lord, which is extraordinary.
At the same time, you have people who have few roots. A little like in the parable of the sower, some wither away, others are a little afraid of suffocating. But to me, it’s still too early to make an assessment. However, this surge toward holiness, the desire for God’s presence, has been obvious, really obvious.
We are waiting in seclusion for a new movement of holiness among God’s people. Therefore, in this season, we seek the face of God as never before and pray that the Holy Spirit will be poured out anew and afresh upon God’s people.
Prayer:
Lord, I need Thee. Amen.
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