Four-hundred years.
One-hundred-forty-six-thousand
days.
God—silent.
Why? His people—the apple of His Eye, the ones He created to love Him and enjoy
Him forever, the nation of promise—turned away from Him.
Repeatedly.
So many times that God finally said, “Enough.” And His silence “deaf ears.” The
ears of the ones not listening or seeking.
Until…
God’s
silence ending.
Then why
did Zachariah doubt what God was about to do? Bless this elderly couple (who up
until this time were unable to conceive) with a son**? He knew the Scriptures,
what God had done. Miracle after miracle. His wife did too.
Yet, the
angel Gabriel’s message did not compute. And, because of this disbelief,
Zachariah would be unable to speak until his and Elizabeth’s son’s brit***.
Silent—281
days (or there abouts).
Then God
sends Gabriel to deliver yet another astounding message to a virgin—a morally-pure,
teen-aged girl.
The most
astounding announcement of all time.
Ever!
The
message? Mary, who loved Hashem with all her heart, would become with child
through a miracle by the Divine. She’d bear a son named Jesus, and this Child
would be…
…the
Savior of the world!
Unlike her cousin-in-law
Zachariah, Mary praised God with a song from her heart for choosing her to bear
this Child Who would change…
…Everything!
Then there
was the visit to Joseph. He certainly looked to be facing the toughest decision
of his life amidst the gossip and character assassination he must’ve endured
when word got out that—
What!!! His
betrothed was pregnant???
So, what
does God do? He again sends Gabriel to minister to Joseph through a dream and
assures him this is all going to be fine.
More than fine. Part of the divine plan.
But the
messages from the 400-year, no-longer-silent God weren’t over yet. He sends
Gabriel again to proclaim to the lowliest of the low—stinky, poor, but faithful
shepherds. And not only do they experience this single beaming angel, but God
sends out the choir!
The
heavenly hosts! Praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest…”
Why write
this to you—many of you who likely know more about the deep theology behind it
all and have heard the announcements read over and over again?
Or maybe
you haven’t.
My husband
and I were relaxing, listening to Christmas music. The old carols in particular
draw my attention because of the depth of the message in many of them. I was
taken aback by such words even though I’ve heard them hundreds of times.
But between
the songs, I turned to Brian and said, “I’ve been thinking about the 400 years
when God was silent. Can you remind me if that all happened just prior to the
events we’re remembering now—the pronouncements?”
“Yes,” he
said thoughtfully, “starting with Zachariah.”
“Thinking
of this, I cannot fathom for the life of me God being silent all that
time. I mean, I can’t even imagine Him being silent one single day, and
then…Boom!”
“Boom?” asked
Brian giving me the odd look he tends to at times. (You’d
have to know us.)
“Bursts
of Hope! Like an unexpected meteor shower or something! All of a sudden! So
close together when you think of Gabriel’s visits! This astounds me!”
“Yes, it
really does,” he agreed.
Yes.
It really
does.
We live in
times where it might seem God is again silent. Times when the people He’s
created do not acknowledge Him. Turn away from Him. Do evil upon evil to the
point of killing each other, setting up false gods to replace Him, and more.
Is the
“silence” God weeping? Waiting?
Is the
silence us not paying attention?
As we come
upon this Christmas time, may we who love God—the wonderful Counselor, the
mighty God, the everlasting Father, the Prince of peace—celebrate His birth and
the reason for His coming with hearts bursting with Hope—
Like a
meteor shower or something!
If you’re
going through a season in your life where you cannot hear God and think Him
silent, be like those shepherds on the hillside outside Bethlehem.
That was a
silent night, once the sheep were all settled for the night. Oh, maybe an
occasional bleating from a suckling lamb searching for its mother’s milk.
Silence
doesn’t mean God is not there. You may not expect it—but if you seek
Him, you will find Him.
BOOM!
A meteor
shower of Hope to the world!
God With
Us!
Emmanuel!
How silently, how silently, the wondrous
gift is giv’n!
So God imparts to human hearts the
blessings of His heav’n.
No ear may hear His coming, but in this
world of sin,
Where meek souls will receive Him still,
the dear Christ enters in.
O holy Child of Bethlehem, descend to us,
we pray;
Cast out our sin and enter in; be born in
us today.
We hear the Christmas angels, the great
glad tidings tell;
O come to us, abide with us, our Lord
Emmanuel!
(from O Little Town of Bethlehem by
Phillips Brooks, 1868, public domain)
#Godsilent400years #Christmas #ZachariahElizabeth
#Hashem #MaryJoseph
#JesusSavior #EmmanuelGodWithUs #shepherds
*”The
Name”—the Hebrew word that devout/orthodox Jews use when mentioning God,
believing Him too holy to even be called
“God/Yahweh/Jehovah” also writing “G-d” or “Hashem” in reverence
**the
one known as John the Baptist, sent by God and anointed to “prepare the way of
the Lord”
***Jewish
ceremony when 8-day-old baby boys are circumcised and their names announced
Photo Credit: freeBibleimages.org
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