Elizabeth

Elizabeth was the mother of John the Baptist. John the Baptist was a forerunner of Jesus and spent his life preaching about Jesus.  He also famously baptized Jesus.  Let’s look at his mother, Elizabeth and maybe a different side of her story. 

We first hear of Elizabeth in Luke 1:5-7

In the time of Herod king of Judea there was a priest named Zechariah, who belonged to the priestly division of Abijah; his wife Elizabeth was also a descendant of Aaron. Both of them were righteous in the sight of God, observing all the Lord’s commands and decrees blamelessly. But they were childless because Elizabeth was not able to conceive, and they were both very old.

So we see here that she and her husband’s  lineage is rich with spiritual history.  They were Levites and descendants of Aaron. Since they were righteous in the sight of God, we can guess that they knew the Old Testaments very well and were well versed on the prophets and prophecies.  So she knew that some day the Messiah would come but she probably never imagined the role she would play.

We see in verse 7 that Elizabeth was childless and a very old age.  In this time, not being able to conceive was more or less embarrassing.  It was all about genealogy and having your name carried on.  There were several women (couples) in the Bible that struggled with infertility. Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and Rebekah, Jacob and Rachel, Elkanah and Hannah. I am sure Elizabeth knew those stories well.

The first take away that we should learn from Elizabeth is she was not having her one dream fulfilled of being a mother yet she still loved and worshiped God.  She trusted him with her life.  She at this point in her life had given up on the dream.  We can learn a lot from her.  God is in control.  He has plans for our lives but it might not be what we want.  We need to learn to trust God with every part of our life.

Maybe she kept Jeremiah 29:11 near and dear to her heart.  Remember, she knew the scripture well.

For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

Not only is Elizabeth a strong woman of faith, we will also see she is a woman of strong patience.   In this story, Zechariah is visited by an Angel and told he and Elizabeth will have a son.  He questions the Angel and what the Angel said because he didn’t believe that this would be true.  He questioned a messenger of God.  For questioning God, the Angel told him he would not be able to speak until the child is born.

As Zechariah’s wife, Elizabeth needed a lot of patience during this time.  She is managing finding out she is going to have child, Zechariah not being able to speak, and her older age.  She is a woman of God and she trusts God throughout this time in her life.  

Elizabeth is at an old age, some scholars say anywhere from 50-80 years old. At this time in her life, she may have stopped praying for a child because she knows that her time has past but God has heard her prayers earlier in her life and at His right timing has decided to bless her and answer her prayer. We see in verse 13 that the angel says “for your prayers have been answered”  We have to believe that God remembers prayers, no matter how long ago you pray them. Even if you have given up, God has not given up on you - He knows what is best for you.

 I don’t know about you but being pregnant is tiring at any age but this probably was worse for her due to her age. I personally can't fathom having a child right now at 60!  She is dealing with her own pregnancy and all that goes with it and now she now has to deal with a husband who can’t speak!  Now some of us might jokingly think that wouldn’t be so bad but think about how she probably had to step up and help him communicate for almost 9 months. In this day and age, there was no technology and possibly no sign language. She had enough to deal with on her own but now she had to be a verbal caregiver for her husband.

The third time we see this incredible woman show her patience and kindness is later in Luke.

You might be familiar with the passage in verse 26th:

In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, 27 to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. 28 The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.”

Now Mary is told she is pregnant yet a virgin and she is scared so what does she do?

In verse 39 we read

At that time Mary got ready and hurried to a town in the hill country of Judea, where she entered Zechariah’s home and greeted Elizabeth.

This verse shows me what a strong woman Elizabeth was.  Mary is scared and the first person she thinks of is Elizabeth!  Not her mother, not someone close in proximity to her but Elizabeth!  It is recorded that Elizabeth was more than 90 miles away.  Elizabeth had that kind of mothering, mentoring, and love for others and that is what Mary needed.

We now  get to Elizabeth’s third high level of patience and love.  Remember she is very old, very pregnant, dealing with her husband who can’t speak but she embraces Mary until John is born, she is the one who comforts and takes care of young Mary.  What a woman she is!  Even though we don’t know the full story, I can’t think of a better example of selflessness.

For me there is another magical thing about this story and Elizabeth.  They say that babies can hear the voices of people while in the womb, think of what Jesus heard and learned from this incredible woman.  I believe she had a strong role in showing Mary, maybe even Jesus how to be patient and comforting.

What can we learn from this incredible woman?

Trust God with your life, He knows what he is doing. Remember it is at His timing, not yours. One way to help you do this is to know the Bible and scripture.  Being able to recite in your mind verses to help you hear from God.

Second, she is humble and a caregiver.  She wasn’t thinking about herself, her focus was taking care of others.

Her role was overshadowed by Mary and her son, John the Baptist but she didn’t want or need the limelight.  God was using her and she was a huge part of the overall story.

Maybe you do small things in your life for others and no one knows it or you don’t get the credit for it.  Just remember that God sees it and he is the only one that matters.