Morning Moments

As we continue the outline previously presented about the events leading to the Incarnation consider:

Luke 1:67-80 (KJV)
67 And his father Zacharias was filled with the Holy Ghost, and prophesied, saying,
68 Blessed be the Lord God of Israel; for he hath visited and redeemed his people,
69 And hath raised up an horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David;
70 As he spake by the mouth of his holy prophets, which have been since the world began:
71 That we should be saved from our enemies, and from the hand of all that hate us;
72 To perform the mercy promised to our fathers, and to remember his holy covenant;
73 The oath which he sware to our father Abraham,
74 That he would grant unto us, that we being delivered out of the hand of our enemies might serve him without fear,
75 In holiness and righteousness before him, all the days of our life.
76 And thou, child, shalt be called the prophet of the Highest: for thou shalt go before the face of the Lord to prepare his ways;
77 To give knowledge of salvation unto his people by the remission of their sins,
78 Through the tender mercy of our God; whereby the dayspring from on high hath visited us,
79 To give light to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.
80 And the child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, and was in the deserts till the day of his shewing unto Israel.

The Doxology “filled…saying”
In this doxology there are 17 quotations from 7 OT books. It is quite obvious that Zechariah knew the Word of God. No wonder God chose him for this wonderful miracle.

I love the way God shows theologians who have it all figured out that He can do what He wants, How He wants, When He wants, Where He wants, with whom He wants.

This is another example of a man filled with the Holy Spirit BEFORE Pentecost. And just as it was at Pentecost and after Pentecost, Zachariah was filled and SPOKE IN A LANGUAGE PEOPLE COULD UNDERSTAND. His words were words of praise to God.

I find it very interesting that he was praising God for the MESSIAH as if the Messiah had already been born. That is of interest to me because it shows that God is always in the NOW. In other words, Zacharias knew the Scripture and what he was prompted to speak was perfectly consistent with the previous REVELATION of God about Jesus. His son, John, was the forerunner who would come in the spirit of Elijah, but the focus of his praise is upon the DAYSPRING, the HORN of salvation, and SALVATION itself.

This child, John, would prepare the way by preaching REPENTANCE, without which (in any age of generation), there is NO forgiveness of sins.

Finally, I find it interesting that John was filled with the Holy Spirit from His moehter's womb. Hmm!

BLESSINGS!