There were 400 years of silence from God between Malachi and the birth of Jesus. 400 years!
So when the angel appeared to Zechariah it's not overly surprising that he had trouble believing what the angel said to him, that he would play a role in the coming of the Messiah! But once his son John was born Zechariah believed without a shadow of a doubt that what the angel had told him would come to pass.
And Mary. I can't even imagine what that must have been like for her. Sure, the angel explained the miracle of immaculate conception to her. But he didn't explain it to her fiancé (initially), her parents, her siblings, her friends, the local townspeople. She knew what people would think of her, but she was God's willing servant anyway.
Do we, like Zechariah, take God at His Word and trust His promises?
Do we, like Mary, joyfully obey God no matter the personal cost?
Do we, like Israel, continue to believe God's promises, even after years of silence?
Tomorrow's Bible In a Year Passage: Matthew 1:18-25,
Matthew 1:1-17, Luke 3:23-38, Luke 2:1-28
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John 1:3-5
Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. 4 In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome[a] it.
Powerful and educating words, they form the basis for what life is all about!
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