December 17th

For 400 years, God had been silent.

When He broke the silence, it was not with Mary or Joseph. 

He broke the silence in an encounter with Zechariah.

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.
Once when Zechariah’s division was on duty and he was serving as priest before God, he was chosen by lot, according to the custom of the priesthood, to go into the temple of the Lord and burn incense. And when the time for the burning of incense came, all the assembled worshipers were praying outside.
Then an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing at the right side of the altar of incense. When Zechariah saw him, he was startled and was gripped with fear. But the angel said to him: “Do not be afraid, Zechariah; your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to call him John. He will be a joy and delight to you, and many will rejoice because of his birth, for he will be great in the sight of the Lord. He is never to take wine or other fermented drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit even before he is born. He will bring back many of the people of Israel to the Lord their God. And he will go on before the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the parents to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous—to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”
Zechariah asked the angel, “How can I be sure of this? I am an old man and my wife is well along in years.”The angel said to him, “I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I have been sent to speak to you and to tell you this good news. And now you will be silent and not able to speak until the day this happens, because you did not believe my words, which will come true at their appointed time.”
Meanwhile, the people were waiting for Zechariah and wondering why he stayed so long in the temple. When he came out, he could not speak to them. They realized he had seen a vision in the temple, for he kept making signs to them but remained unable to speak.
When his time of service was completed, he returned home. After this his wife Elizabeth became pregnant and for five months remained in seclusion. “The Lord has done this for me,” she said. “In these days he has shown his favor and taken away my disgrace among the people.”
Luke 1:5-25

Zechariah was just doing what he was supposed to do, He was performing his duty, He was praying to God.
As he had done for years, he spoke to God on behalf of the people. As he had done for years, he waited on God to speak to him. Then, seemingly out of nowhere, God sent a message. The angel told him that it was almost time. The One for whom Zechariah and all the priests before had been waiting was on His way. 

God was sending the one Isaiah said would “prepare the way” for the Messiah. That special person was going to be born to Zechariah and his wife Elizabeth. Eventually, that child would be named John. When he became an adult, he would be called John the Baptist. 

God had spoken. After years of waiting to hear His voice, God had spoken. And God still speaks.

Right now, take a moment to thank God for being willing to speak to us. Thank Him for His Word (the Bible) and recommit yourself to hearing Him speak each day. Then, take a few moments to think of someone who might need a Bible this Christmas. Then, decide if that’s a gift you are willing to give.