Born into the priestly line, married to a priest, righteous, and obedient to the Lord. But she was barren – and probably at least 60 years old.
Children secured a man’s reputation, ensured his lineage, and proved God’s favor upon him. A child, especially a son, also provided for a widowed mother, preventing her from destitution in old age. Society treated marriage and motherhood as women’s only job. A barren woman had little value.
***
23 When Zechariah’s week of service in the Temple was over,
he returned home.
24 Soon afterward his wife, Elizabeth, became pregnant
and went into seclusion for five months.
Luke 1:23-24
Five months to delight in her condition. At five months her pregnancy would show, so all could see her truth.
25 “How kind the Lord is!” she exclaimed.
“He has taken away my disgrace of having no children.”
Luke 1:25
God was getting ready to shake the world, and He was using Zechariah’s wife to do it. Elizabeth rejoiced, because the blessing being sent to the whole world was also a blessing especially for her.
***
“Luke’s Gospel account of the Christmas event is full of activity …
And yet, in the middle of the frenetic action,
here is this woman wrapped in mystical silence …
She demonstrates the necessity of a quiet place
within ourselves at Christmastime —
that place where we are most ourselves in relation to God.
“It is a place of silence, not because it is untouched by all the activity of our lives,
but because it is capable of wonder.
Every prayer begins with silent wonder before it turns to words.
Our first response to God is dumbstruck awe at who he is
and what he has done for us.”
William Freburger
***
Elizabeth is a Greek transliteration of the Hebrew Elisheba, which means “My God has sworn” or “God of oath.” An oath is a promise. God keeps His promises. All of them.