Luke 1:5-7, "In the days of Herod, king of Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah, of the division of Abijah. And he had a wife from the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. And they were both righteous before God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and statues of The Lord. But they had no children, because Elizabeth was barren, and both were advanced in years."
The chronology of these 3 verses struck me when I read them on Saturday night. I know I have read them before but for some reason - the Holy Spirit I would venture to guess - they especially caught my eye that night.
Luke, the writer of this Gospel, first tells us that both Zechariah and Elizabeth were "righteous before God" AND they were "walking blamelessly." Now, I am sure that this by no stretch means that this couple was perfect. As it is with every person in the Bible and in the world - save Jesus, of course - they had their sinful tendencies and struggles too. However, as King David is called a "man after God's own heart" - and yet he has many recorded accounts of his failures to trust and obey God - the key is not that Zechariah and Elizabeth were perfect. The key is that the pattern of their lives was one of godliness, obedience, and striving to live according to the law of God. If their lives had not been characterized overall by repentance, humility, and obedience, Luke would not have called these two fallen human beings "righteous" and "[blameless]."
So the point Luke makes to label these folks as people of God stood out to me especially in light of the next verse which starts off, "But they had no child [...]." Now I am sure there were many times that the barrenness of Elizabeth caused much sadness, questioning of God, and maybe even anger towards God. And yet this couple is still labeled as "righteousness" and "blameless." It would appear that, although this couple was probably sad to not have had any children, they trusted The Lord and looked to Him for their satisfaction instead of looking for satisfaction in the idea of having a child. They seemed to be known first and foremost by their character before God rather than their complaining about God not giving them the child they desired. They seem to have had their priorities in the right spot. They seemed to have God on the throne in their hearts rather than the desire for children on the throne of their hearts.
Now, as we know from the rest of the story, there is great rejoicing at the birth of John the Baptist. Even after Elizabeth finds out she's pregnant she says in verse 25, "'Thus The Lord has done for me, to take away my reproach among the people." This statement gives testimony to the fact that Elizabeth had at some point seen the state of being barren as something shameful - a common conception that we see throughout Scripture. However, her joy was not solely found in the fact that God FINALLY answered her prayer and gave her the son she was waiting for. It seems she had learned the long (and often painful) lesson of finding contentment in God alone.
God never promises He will give us exactly what we want. But He does promise that He will give us what is best for us - what He sees as best for us. Most times what WE think is best is not what God KNOWS is best. Our job, in the meantime, is to learn to be content with God alone. We are to give Him our desires so that He might purify them and refine them for His greatest glory. We are to seek to be righteousness before God and to be blameless before Him. That is is. We are not guaranteed anything else in life but His continual purifying work within us. It is my job to seek Him and to learn to be content with Him alone. He does not guarantee me the perfect job, a husband, a family, a perfect home, etc. He does, however, guarantee He will complete my sanctification (Philippians 1:6) That is what I need to be striving for; that is what I should be seeking after instead of worrying about the plans or ways of my life. God IS enough and will ALWAYS give me what is His best for me.
