+DEV+ Message of God's Timing

Date: April 24, 2012 10:52 PM
Topic: +DEV+  Message of God's Timing

Message of God's Timing

"Who are you? What do you say about yourself?” John replied in the words of Isaiah the prophet, “I am the voice of one calling in the desert, Make straight the way for the Lord."  (John 1:22-23)
Scripture Focus: Luke 1:5-25;  Isaiah 40:3

Zechariah was an old man who loved God dearly, but he held one great sadness close to him: he and Elizabeth had never had a child. In Jewish society this was considered a sign of God's punishment because of sin. Yet Luke tells us they "observed all the Lord's commandments and regulations blamelessly." So what was wrong? Nothing. it was all in God's perfect timing. Both Zechariah and Elizabeth would have known Isaiah's prophecy of "A voice of one calling: 'In the desert prepare the way for the Lord'" (40:3). They were watching for this person. They did not know, until Gabriel's message, that it would be fulfilled by their son, who was yet to be conceived!

Now the time had come. The forerunner of the Messiah was about to be born, the fulfillment of prophecy set into motion. Ultimately, Zechariah was privileged to be the first to understand the timing, the perfection in planning that is God's alone. The years of disappointment of unanswered prayer would vanish, and hope would be restored.

Insight: The plan started back in the garden had begun. the forerunner of the Messiah calls out to us today, too, to behold Him.