Be Still And Know

Luke 1:6-7 'Zechariah and Elizabeth were righteous in God’s eyes, careful to obey all of the Lord’s commandments and regulations. They had no children because Elizabeth was unable to conceive, and they were both very old.' Luke begins his Gospel by introducing us to two couples. An old couple and a young couple. First of all, we meet Zechariah and Elizabeth, who were both very elderly and very godly. Zechariah was a priest and a direct descendent of Aaron. There was no retirement for priests and so, because there were so many of them, they were divided into 24 groups, serving at the temple twice a year for a week at a time. We naturally warm to Zechariah and Elizabeth, who were a devout couple. When Luke records that they were righteous in God’s eyes, he wasn’t suggesting that they were perfect but notes their careful obedience to the Lord. Yet they lived with one great sadness: they had no children. In New Testament times, this was considered a matter of shame and would have been confusing for such a god