365 Days in the Gospels and Spirit of Prophecy
Born for a Mission, Set Apart by God — January 7 [Description]
Bible discovery
5 There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judea, a certain priest named Zacharias, of the division of Abijah. His wife was of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. 365D 7.2
6 And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless. 365D 7.3
7 But they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren, and they were both well advanced in years. 365D 7.4
8 So it was, that while he was serving as priest before God in the order of his division, 365D 7.5
9 according to the custom of the priesthood, [c] his lot fell to burn incense when he went into the temple of the Lord. 365D 7.6
10 And the whole multitude of the people was praying outside at the hour of incense. 365D 7.7
11 Then an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing on the right side of the altar of incense. 365D 7.8
12 And when Zacharias saw him, he was troubled, and fear fell upon him. 365D 7.9
13 But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zacharias, for your prayer is heard; and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John. 365D 7.10
14 And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth. 365D 7.11
15 For he will be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink. He will also be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother’s womb. 365D 7.12
16 And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God. 365D 7.13
17 He will also go before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah, ‘to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children,’ and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.” 365D 7.14
18 And Zacharias said to the angel, “How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is well advanced in years.” 365D 7.15
19 And the angel answered and said to him, “I am Gabriel, who stands in the presence of God, and was sent to speak to you and bring you [d] these glad tidings. 365D 7.16
20 But behold, you will be mute and not able to speak until the day these things take place, because you did not believe my words which will be fulfilled in their own time.” 365D 7.17
21 And the people waited for Zacharias, and marveled that he lingered so long in the temple. 365D 7.18
22 But when he came out, he could not speak to them; and they perceived that he had seen a vision in the temple, for he beckoned to them and remained speechless. 365D 7.19
23 So it was, as soon as the days of his service were completed, that he departed to his own house. 365D 7.20
24 Now after those days his wife Elizabeth conceived; and she hid herself five months, saying, 365D 7.21
25 “Thus the Lord has dealt with me, in the days when He looked on me, to take away my reproach among people.” 365D 7.22
Spirit of Prophecy Reading
The Desire of Ages pp.97-100: 365D 7.23
This chapter is based on Luke 1:5-23, 57-80; 3:1-18; Matthew 3:1-12; Mark 1:1-8. 365D 7.24
From among the faithful in Israel, who had long waited for the coming of the Messiah, the forerunner of Christ arose. The aged priest Zacharias and his wife Elisabeth were “both righteous before God;” and in their quiet and holy lives the light of faith shone out like a star amid the darkness of those evil days. To this godly pair was given the promise of a son, who should “go before the face of the Lord to prepare His ways.” 365D 7.25
Zacharias dwelt in “the hill country of Judea,” but he had gone up to Jerusalem to minister for one week in the temple, a service required twice a year from the priests of each course. “And it came to pass, that while he executed the priest's office before God in the order of his course, according to the custom of the priest's office, his lot was to burn incense when he went into the temple of the Lord.” 365D 7.26
He was standing before the golden altar in the holy place of the sanctuary. The cloud of incense with the prayers of Israel was ascending before God. Suddenly he became conscious of a divine presence. An angel of the Lord was “standing on the right side of the altar.” The position of the angel was an indication of favor, but Zacharias took no note of this. For many years he had prayed for the coming of the Redeemer; now heaven had sent its messenger to announce that these prayers were about to be answered; but the mercy of God seemed too great for him to credit. He was filled with fear and self-condemnation. 365D 7.27
The Holy Spirit rested upon Zacharias, and in these beautiful words he prophesied of the mission of his son: 365D 7.28
“Thou, child, shalt be called the prophet of the Highest;
For thou shalt go before the face of the Lord to prepare His ways;
To give knowledge of salvation unto His people
By the remission of their sins,
Through the tender mercy of our God,
Whereby the Dayspring from on high hath visited us,
To give light to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of
death,
To guide our feet into the way of peace.”
365D 7.29
“And the child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, and was in the deserts till the day of his showing unto Israel.” Before the birth of John, the angel had said, “He shall be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink; and he shall be filled with the Holy Ghost.” God had called the son of Zacharias to a great work, the greatest ever committed to men. In order to accomplish this work, he must have the Lord to work with him. And the Spirit of God would be with him if he heeded the instruction of the angel. 365D 7.30
John was to go forth as Jehovah's messenger, to bring to men the light of God. He must give a new direction to their thoughts. He must impress them with the holiness of God's requirements, and their need of His perfect righteousness. Such a messenger must be holy. He must be a temple for the indwelling Spirit of God. In order to fulfill his mission, he must have a sound physical constitution, and mental and spiritual strength. Therefore it would be necessary for him to control the appetites and passions. He must be able so to control all his powers that he could stand among men as unmoved by surrounding circumstances as the rocks and mountains of the wilderness. 365D 7.31
In the time of John the Baptist, greed for riches, and the love of luxury and display had become widespread. Sensuous pleasures, feasting and drinking, were causing physical disease and degeneracy, benumbing the spiritual perceptions, and lessening the sensibility to sin. John was to stand as a reformer. By his abstemious life and plain dress he was to rebuke the excesses of his time. Hence the directions given to the parents of John,—a lesson of temperance by an angel from the throne of heaven. 365D 7.32