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.” Luke 1:13

Luke is the only gospel to record Elizabeth’s story, and in this first mention of her Luke includes the mention of Zacharias’ prayers for Elizabeth to conceive, giving strong evidence of the long years he prayed and the long years he and Elizabeth endured together, childless. We can only imagine the depths of Elizabeth’s disappointment and long-suffering in waiting for a child that never came as her life was measured out month by month by month. But then comes this day of breakthrough, yet unknown to Elizabeth and peculiar in the use of language. For Gabriel doesn’t say, “your prayers ‘have been’ heard.” Rather, he speaks in the present tense – “your prayer is heard.” This may merely reflect the Hebrew language use of ongoing present tense, as later in the New Testament, translated from the Greek, it’s recorded/translated into English that an angel spoke to Ananias saying “your prayer has been heard, but it may also signify Zacharias’ faith to continue to pray and God’s ever-present work in our lives, as He is always doing a present work in our lives. At any rate we cannot possibly imagine the grief Elizabeth endured in the years of her ongoing barrenness.

And when Gabriel delivers the news to Zacharias, it’s while he’s performing his priestly duties, for Elizabeth’s long-awaited son would also be a priest, but a priest who would usher in a new order. And the news doesn’t end with the announcement that Elizabeth would bear a son, but continues with an all-encompassing prophetic word spoken over the life of this as-of-yet unconceived child, whom the Lord Himself names as John. For this is the child who would be born, this is the prophet who would prepare the way for the Lord. This prophet would not perform a single miracle, yet his very life would be the miracle. This angel’s prophecy spoke of this child’s entire life and mission on earth and includes the detail that John will be filled with the Holy Spirit from the time of his mother’s womb.

But Zacharias, though he had prayed fervently and faithfully, reverts back to human wisdom and understanding when he hears the glorious and heavenly news and reminds the angel of the “fact” – that he is an old man and his wife Elizabeth is advanced in years, instead of simply rejoicing in the good tidings the angel has brought to him. Zacharias also makes the mistake of asking the angel, “How shall I ‘know’ this?” - Also meaning “How shall I ‘understand’ this? This angers the angel, for some things, particularly the Word of the Lord, are not always to be understood, but rather to be received and acted upon. Accordingly, the angel now announces himself as Gabriel “who stands in the presence of God and who was sent to you to bring you these glad tidings.” Further highlighting the principle that God requires our obedience whether or not we have an understanding, and that obedience must come first. Gabriel now continues with a hard word:

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. Luke 1:20

Let this serve as a reminder of the importance of coming into agreement with the Lord of the Lord, rather than opposing or questioning it, as Zacharias has done. For just as Gabriel has spoken, Zacharias is made mute. He fulfills the number of days of his priestly service, all the while mute, then returns home, mute. But of course Zachariah is able to communicate

with the woman he’s spent the majority of his life with and Elizabeth is equally able to understand the communication of the man she’s known since her youth. And as Elizabeth receives this astounding news that she will conceive a child, it’s likely she thinks of another woman – Sara - who also received news from an angel that she would conceive and bear a son in her old age. And perhaps this is what kept Elizabeth’s and Zacharias’ hope alive all through their years together - knowing and believing that what God accomplished once He could do again. At any rate, Gabriel’s prophecy set certain things in motion in their marriage union. Their physical intimacy would now likely be invigorated with a new level of excitement, hope, and perhaps also vigor. For in the fulness of time, God’s perfect time, Elizabeth conceives. It’s a time of rejoicing, but the word of the Lord is just beginning to take form. There is more joy yet to come.

For in six month’s time, Mary comes to visit. And we aren’t told the means of Elizabeth’s knowing or the moment of her knowing, but she knows. Perhaps she knew by revelation, but we’re only told that that Elizabeth’s baby leaps in her womb upon Mary’s greeting, and that she is filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesies about Mary’s baby. In essence, Elizabeth recognizes who Jesus is in Mary’s womb, one of the few chosen few who have this privilege of knowing. Others would recognize Jesus is as a baby, but Elizabeth recognizes who He is while he’s yet unborn. And this speaks powerfully to the sanctity of life in a mother’s womb, as well as to identity, even in the womb.

And the two women spend three months together, marveling at the Lord’s hand upon them as Elizabeth is the only one who can fully understand Mary’s secret. As the elder with more life experience, we can only imagine the conversations these two had; the catching up on family affairs and the comfort and counsel Elizabeth provides for Mary. And in the fulness of time, after Mary returns home, Elizabeth brings forth her son and neighbors and relative rejoice with her. Oh what care and attention this long-awaited child must have received from the hands of Elizabeth. Paradoxically however, God would use the care and the doting John would receive from his mother Elizabeth to prepare him for a life in the wilderness that would not be filled with comfort. This is the way the Lord chose it to be.

Then came the eighth day – the time for Elizabeth’ baby to be circumcised. And here is yet another sign that this baby will be different. And that his life will not be one that follows custom. For according to custom Elizabeth’s baby will be named Zacharias, after his father, but Elizabeth gently but firmly responds, “No, he shall be called John.” She is the one who has the honor to announce the baby’s identity and name. Friends and family are bewildered, but when Elizabeth looks to Zacharias to confirm this break with tradition, John takes a tablet and settles the issue as he writes, “His name is John.” And now that Zacharias comes into public agreement with the word of the Lord spoken through the Angel Gabriel (he’s had ample time to come into private agreement), now is the moment his tongue is finally loosed. Now he too can openly rejoice with Elizabeth and others, and now at last he too is filled with the Holy Spirit.

It’s likely Elizabeth continued to celebrate, along with her husband, in the Lord’s goodness to remember her in her old age and to take away her reproach from among the people, as she herself mentions. It’s also likely she rejoiced as Sara had rejoiced - that nothing is too hard for the Lord. This is Elizabeth’s starting point as she raises the baby who will become the boy who will become the prophet who readies the people to make way for the Lord - the prophet who closes out an old chapter in Israel’s history and ushers in a new one. We can only imagine the wisdom with which Elizabeth, along with her husband, raised their long-awaited, long-hoped for, and long-prayed for son.

For Elizabeth was a woman of God’s choosing, a woman of priestly linage who lived a set apart life and who would model this set apart lifestyle for her son. A woman who had served faithfully in her own sphere as her husband served in his, to bear this fore-running child who would prepare the way for Her Lord. A woman who had nearly nine months to ponder the awesome hand of the Lord upon her life. A woman who would no doubt give testimony all of her days and impart the knowledge of the Lord to her son in his formative years. This is the woman God chose for such an unusual assignment.

We don’t know the number of Elizabeth’s days, as after this first chapter of Luke we don’t hear her name mentioned again. But we do know she was a woman devoted and consecrated to God. And it’s likely Elizabeth was spared the heart-ache of seeing her son’s latter days, and therefore rejoiced all the number of her days.

Scriptures For Reflection

For with God, nothing will be impossible. Luke 1:37

For I am the LORD. I speak, and the word which I speak will come to pass. Ezekiel 12:25

Thank you for reading. Truth is my passion and writing is my Kingdom business.

We’re going to hit the ground running for part two:

Now Deborah, a prophetess, the wife of Lappidoth, was judging Israel at the time. Judges 4:4

Here we have the Hebrew word (H802) “Ishshah ”(ish-shaw) translated as “wife” in this verse. It is “ishshah” in the singular and “nashiym” (naw-sheem) in the plural. It’s the derivative and the feminine form of i…

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Deborah carries the distinction of being one who broke out of tradition and became the only female judge in a time when the hearts of the children of Israel see-sawed between serving the One True God and the Baal and the Asherahs of the land. She carries further distinction in that she is one of only two judges identified also as a prophet. And she carried such authority that people came up to see her, up into the mountains of Ephraim where she sat to judge, to settle their disputes. Coming up the mountain to see Deborah likely wasn’t an easy task, but the people were willing.

And Deborah sat under a palm tree. The prophetic symbolism here is that she sat and ruled from a place of joyful victory. And the palm tree was known as “the palm tree of Deborah” further signifying the level of authority she carried in the land.

By the time Deborah’s story begins, the LORD, in His displeasure with their behavior, had sold the children of Israel into the hand of King Jabin, a king who harshly oppressed them for twenty years, with nine hundred chariots of iron under the command of Sisera. It' is in this harsh climate that Deborah rises up as a prophet to judge a nation - until the Day everything changed, as all things must eventually change.

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Give me a blessing; since you have given me land in the South, give me also springs of water.” Joshua 15:19.

In all of Achsah’s story, these are her only recorded words. But in these few short words, we can clearly hear and sense the boldness in her request, bordering on “demand” even, for she knew who she was. She knew she was her father’s daughter and she knew could not let the opportunity pass her by to ask her father for more. She grew up watching her father wait for his inheritance and she knew this was her moment to ask for more. Because she had learned a thing or two about inheritance after watching a generation wander in the wilderness and lose their inheritance. And she was determined by all means not to lose out on any measure of inheritance that could be hers for the asking.

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Understanding our starting point for Abigail and we will progress from this virtue, according to the chronology of Abigail’s story, but first, to extract from the Websters 1928 app:

Understanding: 1. The faculty of the human mind by which it presents the real state of things presented to it, or by which it receives or comprehends the ideas which others express and and intend to communicate. 3. Intelligence between two or more persons; agreement of minds; union of sentiments. There is a good understanding between the minister and his people.

Additionally, understanding is a word related to authority. Understanding has to do with whose authority you stand under. Ultimate understanding therefore comes through submitting to God’s authority. And Abigail had an immediate understanding of the intensity of the situation her servants reported to her.

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Now there was a man in Maon whose business was in Carmel, and the man was very rich. He had three thousand sheep and a thousand goats. And he was shearing his sheep in Carmel. The name of the man was Nabal, and the name of his wife Abigail. And she was a woman of good understanding and beautiful appearance; but the man was harsh and evil and evil in his doings… 1 Samuel 25:2-3

Here we are introduced to Abigail as a woman of “good understanding” in stark contrast to the description given to her husband, so let’s look at the Hebrew word for “understanding.”

Sekel (H7922): Intelligence, by implication success: - knowledge, policy, prudence, sense, understanding, wisdom, wise.

In the Hebrew, each word in the definition carries equal weight and application. This means Abigail carried all of the above traits. And because “sekel” is only used 16x in Scripture, this implies that the wisdom and understanding Abigail carried was rare. And it is one of the same the words used to describe Solomon. In all likelihood Nabal’s prosperity was connected to Abigail’s wisdom, particularly her wisdom in managing their household and their servants.

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Just as meekness is a strength (strength under control) and not a weakness, femininity is also a strength and not a weakness. For femininity, like masculinity, is a virtue. And it is not a lesser virtue. For any reference to a woman as a “weaker vessel” refers only to physical strength; it does not speak to her spiritual and emotional fortitude, which springs from her feminine virtue, which is no less than that of a man.

And thankfully, both the feminine and masculine strength are needed; the design of male and female each has its vital and complementary part. Therefore, when femininity and womanhood are properly understood and admired, it will not be a requirement that masculinity be dishonored or despised. Both have virtue. Both have honor. Both are meant to be celebrated. And even though many have come out of alignment with the male and female design and our private and public relations with one another, this can be remedied with a fuller understanding of the God-given strengths of femininity and how it was meant to be expressed. For the original design of womanhood was never meant to intimidate men, or to rob men of their strength.

Because woman was created, like man, to be powerfully impactful on this planet and to stand with man in the dominion mandate give to both “male and female.” ..... To be continued

“So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.” Genesis 1:27

Give me a blessing; since you have given me land in the South, give me also springs of water.”

These are the words of Achsah as recorded in Joshua 15:19. Do you hear the boldness in her request? But first, an introduction:

Achsah is the daughter of Caleb who’s been taking conquest of the land that’s been promised to the Israelites – the one who had made his own bold request when it finally came time to take the land, “Give me my mountain!” And on the outskirts of a city yet to be conquered Caleb had announced “He who attacks Kirjath-Sepher and takes it, to him I will give Achsah my daughter as wife.” Caleb’s nephew Othniel rises to the occasion and takes the city, thus obtaining Achsah as his bride. Othniel however, receives much more than what he had been originally promised, and this was because of his willingness to listen to and receive the words of his wife.

But a quick side note – a woman who’s not given a choice as to who she will marry isn’t too tasteful by today’s standards, but let’s look at this from the culture out of which it came. Caleb was one of only two men who were willing to take God at His word and who had believed and declared “we can take the land” while the other ten men had said, “there are giants in the land and we are grasshoppers in their sight.” And during those forty years while the children of Israel wandered in the wilderness waiting for the next generation to rise up and enter the promised land, imagine the stories Caleb likely shared with Achsah – the stories of God’s mighty deeds on behalf of his people. Imagine also Caleb instilling his spiritual DNA into his daughter through the telling of these stories. It’s highly probably Caleb raised her to be a strong woman. And what does a strong woman need? A strong man! And so by giving his daughter to the victor, Caleb was ensuring a strong man for his daughter, as he knew that only a strong man would suit her.

But back to Achsah now. Newly married to Othniel, she employs an astute and discerning eye to her situation and the land that’s been apportioned to her, and makes the bold decision to ask her father for more! Because she has accurately assessed that the land that’s been granted to her is far from ideal. It’s a land without water and a land without water or water rights is not enough! It will not reach its capacity for fruitfulness and Achsah is not willing to settle for less. She wants the full measure of her inheritance; she wants all that’s within her right to receive as the daughter of the one who’s been instrumental in taking the land.

Achsah therefore, after consulting with her husband, approaches her father with the only recorded words we have of her, “Give me a blessing…give me also spring of water.” In actuality, this is more of a demand than a request, and with these actions and these words we glean much insight into the character and virtue of Achsah. She comes not with timidity, but with boldness and with same measure of confident faith her father had expressed when he had boldly declared “we can take the land!” She portrays here that she is indeed her father’s daughter.

And without hesitation Caleb grants her both the upper and lower springs. He is her father and not surprisingly he wants what’s best for his daughter. And Achsah must have known this. After forty years spent in the wilderness, wandering with no battles to fight and no land to take, Caleb had ample time to share his heart with his daughter. Achsah models for us that we have a responsibility to ask, lest we become like those James speaks of who “have not because they ask not.” One of Achsah’s virtues was her boldness and her willingness to simply ask. She knew her father’s heart and she knew all she had to do was ask. She could have settled for less, but she understood there was more to be gained in the asking. And she asked forthrightly, without shame, and without guilt. She knew her worth in her father’s eyes. And in the asking and receiving, she proved her worth to her new husband through her role in the expansion of their newly-acquired territory. She honored him as well, by consulting him first, and in doing so she modeled she was a wife worthy of his trust.

You also have a loving Father who wants what’s best for you, a Father who has an inheritance for you, a Father who is more than willing. And able. And perhaps you also know your current situation is not enough. You know God has more for you. You have the vision and you see it. It doesn’t matter that others can’t see what you see or that other may only see what “is” and not what could be or should be; or that others may be willing to settle for a lesser portion. Hold true to who you are and what you know God has for you, as did Achsah. You too have a Father you can approach boldly with your requests, and there is never any reproach in the asking. In fact, God delights in the faith tucked inside of your ask. He is your father who delights to give you good gifts out of the abundance of the goodness of His heart toward you.

Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks, it will be opened. Matthew 7:7-8

Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need. Hebrews 4:16

In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestined according to the counsel of His will…. Ephesians 1:11

Just as meekness is a strength (strength under control) and not a weakness, femininity is also a strength and not a weakness. For femininity, like masculinity, is a virtue. And it is not a lesser virtue. For any reference to a woman as a “weaker vessel” refers only to physical strength; it does not speak to her spiritual and emotional fortitude, which springs from her feminine virtue, which is no less than that of a man.

And thankfully, both the feminine and masculine strength are needed; the design of male and female each has its vital and complementary part. Therefore, when femininity and womanhood are properly understood and admired, it will not be a requirement that masculinity be dishonored or despised. Both have virtue. Both have honor. Both are meant to be celebrated. And even though many have come out of alignment with the male and female design and our private and public relations with one another, this can be remedied with a fuller understanding of the God-given strengths of femininity and how it was meant to be expressed. For the original design of womanhood was never meant to intimidate men, or to rob men of their strength.

Because woman was created, like man, to be powerfully impactful on this planet and to stand with man in the dominion mandate give to both “male and female.” .....

“So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.” Genesis 1:27