Advent Week 4
by Becky Davey
400 silent years. Many people were like those in in 2 Peter 3:3-9. Those words were written to all of us who have lived ever since Peter wrote them. But people haven’t changed. They scoff at God’s words and fail to understand God’s tremendous love for the people He created and will work out His plan so that all have an opportunity to believe in Him. While there were many who didn’t believe, there were always some who continued to believe God’s Word just as there are some today who believe and long for that fellowship promised.
The silence is broken. Zechariah, a priest, was serving his duty. He had been praying for a child, a son, but he was getting old and God seemed to have forgotten him. Suddenly, as Zechariah stood by the altar of incense to lift up the prayers of the people, the angel Gabriel appeared before him. Scary! Gabriel said, Do not be afraid, Zechariah; your prayer has been heard. How wonderful to know that God always remembers His children and acts on their behalf. But Zechariah didn’t remember the miracle that God had done in the past when He gave a child to Abraham and Sarah in their old age. He just didn’t believe God (Luke 1:8-20). This promise of God to Zechariah and Elizabeth of a child who would be a way maker and a forerunner to prepare the people for the Lord was part of the plan God had made before time began!
In a little town called Nazareth the angel Gabriel suddenly made another appearance. This time it was to a cousin of Elizabeth a teenager named Mary who was engaged to be married. Mary was afraid just as Zechariah had been—seeing an angel wasn’t an everyday occurrence. Gabriel said, “Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God.” He went on to tell her she was going to have a baby. Mary understood what he said, but she didn’t know how it could be—not in unbelief but wondering, “How?” He explained it to her, and her response was “I am the Lord’s servant, May it be to me as you have said. (Luke 1:26-38).
We don’t know exactly why but it added to our understanding about how God was working out His plan as Mary traveled to see her cousin Elizabeth. We learn a wonderful new truth about God. When she arrived Elizabeth heard her voice, was filled with the Holy Spirit and recognized Mary as the mother of the Special Someone God had promised so long ago. Another amazing and wonderful happening was that the fetus in Elizabeth jumped for joy. We can’t communicate with a fetus, but the Holy Spirit can. What an amazing God who can and does communicate with those who are in a condition that makes it impossible for us to communicate with them.
Mary then sang to the Lord a song of praise that revealed her relationship with God, her knowledge of the Scripture and her love and dependence on Him. Take time to read these scriptures and join with her in praise. Maybe you could write your own.
Mary, now about 3 months pregnant, returned home to Nazareth. How Joseph, her fiancé, learned of the pregnancy we don’t know; he was a godly man and didn’t want her to be publicly shamed or stoned. An angel gave him instructions that he followed. He took her as his wife, had no relations with her and bore with her the shame of a pregnancy out of wedlock. Pretty bad in those days. But here they were in Nazareth and God told Micah this baby would be born in Bethlehem of Ephrathah. How would God take care of that? We know that He caused Caesar Augustus the ruler of the Roman Empire to take a census. Wonderful to know that God puts leaders in their positions, and even though they don’t know Him, God accomplishes His plans through them. To do the census in those days meant that everyone would have to go to their ancestral hometown. For Joseph and Mary that would mean Bethlehem of Ephrathah. Mary was 9 months pregnant! Bethlehem was a tiny village in those days; it had been the City of David long ago, but now, the accommodations had been maxed out and the only place for Mary and Joseph was a smelly cave used to give shelter to animals.
It was in this place that Mary gave birth to baby Jesus. It was here that shepherds came to see this amazing event that the angels told them about. Galatians 4:4 tells us “when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem…”
God is never late; He is never early. He always fulfills His promises. We can depend on it. The Special Someone, Messiah, and all the other titles has come. That is the Advent that we celebrate. He has promised to come again, and that promise also will be fulfilled at just the right time.
Photo credit: Photo by Gareth Harper on Unsplash