ONE
ANGEL, TWO QUESTIONS
~
and two DIFFERENT Responses ~
OR
Zacharias vs Mariam
Luke
1 ~
ZACHARIAS
12 And when Zacharias saw him [ the angel
Gabriel ], he was troubled, and fear fell upon him.
13 But the angel said unto him,
Fear not, Zacharias: for thy prayer
is heard;
and thy wife Elisabeth shall bear
thee a son,
and thou shalt call his name
John.
MARIAM
29 And when she [ Mary ] saw him [ the angel Gabriel ],
she was troubled at his saying,
and cast in her mind
what manner of salutation this
should be.
30 And the angel said unto her,
Fear not, Mary: for thou hast
found favour with God.
+ + +
So far, so good.
Both Zacharias and Mariam were
troubled at Gabriel’s presence and both had fear.
Both of them were assured by the
angel Gabriel.
Both had several statements
presented to them, to explain and to instruct and to comfort. Zacharias had 12
such good statements spoken by Gabriel to him. Mariam had 12 good statements
spoken to her by Gabriel , as well.
Both asked a question, but the
angel Gabriel responded totally differently to Zacharias and to Mariam.
Zacharias was rebuked and
chastened for his question :
18 And Zacharias said unto the angel,
Whereby shall I know this?
for I am an old man, and my
wife well stricken in years.
19 And the angel answering said
unto him,
I AM GABRIEL,
THAT STAND IN THE PRESENCE OF GOD;
and am sent to speak unto thee,
and to shew thee these glad
tidings.
20 And, behold, thou shalt be dumb, and not
able to speak, until the day that these things shall be performed,
because thou believest not my words,
which shall be fulfilled in their season.
MARIAM’S QUESTION ~
34 Then said Mary unto the angel,
How shall this be, seeing I know not a man?
35 And the angel answered and said unto her,
The HOLY shall come upon thee, and the
power of THE HIGHEST shall overshadow thee: therefore also that HOLY THING which
shall be born of thee shall be called the SON OF GOD.
36 And, behold, thy cousin Elisabeth, she hath
also conceived a son in her old age: and this is the sixth month with her, who
was called barren.
37 For with GOD nothing shall be impossible.
38 And Mary said,
Behold the handmaid of the LORD;
be it unto me according to thy word.
And the angel departed from her.
Scripture tells us Zacharias and
Elisabeth were righteous before The LORD:
6 And they were both righteous before GOD,
walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the LORD blameless.
So then . . . WHAT made the difference
between Zacharias and Mariam when the angel Gabriel responded so differently to
their questions ?
Zacharias questioned the TRUTH of the angel’s
announcement.
However, Mariam wanted to know HOW this
peculiar happening was going to occur.
NOTICE the angel Gabriel’s first words to
Zacharias:
“I AM GABRIEL “ in response to Zacharias’ question.
Then the angel gave the rest of his
credentials:
“. . .THAT STAND IN THE PRESENCE OF GOD.”
That is: Why are you doubting MY
word to you ?
Are you
calling me, THE ANGEL GABRIEL WHO STANDS IN THE PRESENCE OF GOD , a liar
. . . someone you CANNOT believe ?
And, we ALL know THAT was a very wrong move !
Zacharias was chastened soundly for questioning
the veracity of
the angel GABRIEL . . . not for his questioning per se.
Mariam, in contrast, did not doubt the angel Gabriel’s word from The LORD to her but
pondered how it could possibly come about .
+
+ +
LET US PRAY:
Thank YOU, LORD, for Mariam’s faith-filled
heart. I see she did not waver being convinced of Your Truth towards her.
Thank YOU that she received Your Will and
walked in it, nothing doubting.
Thank YOU for righteous Zacharias, also, who
eventually walked in Your Will as well.
Help me to obey Your Word to me and to
receive Your Will as the BEST THING that could happen to me, regardless of how
long it may take me to SEE it.
Help me NEVER to doubt Your faithfulness to
me; help me NEVER to be unfaithful to YOU.
This I pray in the LIFE-GIVING NAME of The
LORD JESUS CHRIST. Amen.
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