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Luke 1:8-12
There were thousands of priests that served in the temple in Jerusalem, and each one had a time assigned when they would go to Jerusalem and serve on a rotating basis. The individual duties that were to be performed by each group of priests were assigned by lot, which was a way of choosing duties that was believed to be determined by God. On this occasion the duty assigned to Zacharias was to burn incense. The altar of incense was in the “Holy place,” which was just outside of the “most Holy place.” The “most Holy place” was only to be entered by the high priest once a year, and only a very few priests were allowed entrance to the “Holy place” in performing the duties assigned at the temple. Some priests would never receive this opportunity, and it was highly sought after as a priestly duty. As Zacharias performed these duties, an angel of the Lord appeared to him. The duties of the temple were very specific in the way they were to be performed as given to Moses by God in the law. Zacharias became troubled, or afraid that possibly he had performed the duty incorrectly, in his own questioning of why the angel of the Lord had appeared.
This is an example of following God’s will for our lives, in and how He instructs our hearts, and being humble to His almighty sovereignty.
The time recorded in this passage is still in observance of the law of the Old Testament and the duties of the priests were to be followed exactly as the Lord has instructed Moses in the Old Testament books of Exodus and Leviticus. Even though we live in a time after the death and resurrection of Jesus which fulfilled the requirements of the Old Testament Law, we are still to follow the instructions that God puts in our hearts through His Holy Spirit that He sends to live within us when we believe and accept Jesus as our personal Lord and Savior. We must be humble to God’s sovereignty in being able to submit our lives to Him, but if we will, He will fill our hearts with His love and kindness that will reap the rewards of the heart, which can only be fulfilled through obedience to Him.
Dear Lord,
Thank You for sending Your Holy Spirit to live within our hearts in being our guide throughout our Christian life. As You speak to our hearts, help us to respond in submission and humility to follow in the footsteps of our Savior Jesus as He stated in Matthew 22:37-40 (NKJV), “…‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind’ [Deuteronomy 6:5]. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself’ [Leviticus 19:18]. On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.” Jesus proclaimed in John 13:34-35, “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” In Jesus name I pray, amen.