Delivery day came for Elizabeth. She labored and gave birth to a little boy. I don’t know about you – but in my family when there is a new baby it is a party! Food, celebration, gathering in to welcome a new life. It seems that for Elizabeth and John it was the same, Elizabeth’s neighbors and relatives gathered in and “shared her joy.”
As part of the Jewish tradition, John was to be taken and circumcised at 8 days old. Everyone gathered in, this was a celebration of this new life and a time to officially introduce the baby, presenting him with his name. It was common to name a baby boy after his father, so the people started naming the baby Zechariah. Elizabeth spoke up and said, ‘“No! He is to be called John,”’ (Luke 1: 60). Elizabeth spoke up; she acted and stepped out choosing to worship God, not tradition. Traditions are wonderful things. They are acts which can provide a steady groundwork for us, a sense of self and culture. They also can be binding if we allow them. If we allow traditions to bind us, we let the traditions control us rather than making them change to meet our needs, and then they are enslaving us. I can just imagine people looking at Elizabeth as she stepped out against tradition – an emphatic “No!”
The people tried to reason with Elizabeth. ‘“There is no one among your relatives who has that name,”’ (Luke 1:61). Come on Elizabeth, you know the tradition. If not Zechariah, maybe after someone else in the family? Grandpa? Dad? Great-Grandpa? So, then the question was passed to Zechariah.
I wonder if this time was a sting to Zechariah’s pride? In this very male led culture, Elizabeth was asked first. I imagine that that had happened more and more during these nine months. But, Zechariah asked for a tablet and wrote, “His name is John,” (Luke 1:63).
Oh Zechariah, how I love that you stuck with it! Nine months of loss of voice and now he has a chance to share the experience he has reaped! Zechariah’s lost voice came back! He started praising God, the words flowed out. I wonder how his voice sounded, did it sound strange to him? Did Elizabeth smile as she listened to Zechariah speak again?
The neighbors were amazed – can you imagine the scene? The quietness enforced on Zechariah was lifted, Elizabeth had a baby boy in her arms that no one thought she would ever have, and now I’m sure they are hearing the entire story. Now, they started wondering and asking each other, what kind of child is this? The Lord is already moving so powerfully in his life, and he’s only eight days old!
Be encouraged!
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