Elizabeth is the relative of Mary who Mary visited after her heavenly encounter with the angel Gabriel. We know that Elizabeth is the wife of Zechariah and the mother of John the Baptist. What else can we learn about her life and her faith? Her story is found in Luke 1:5-80. (https://tinyurl.com/52xuwtty).
Elizabeth’s Story
Elizabeth, a descendant of Aaron, was married to Zechariah, also a descendant of Aaron. As such, Zechariah was a priest. Luke tells us that both Zechariah and Elizabeth were “righteous in the sight of God, observing all the Lord’s commands and decrees blamelessly.” They were older and they had no children.
It is likely that she was chosen to be Zechariah’s wife since priests could only marry a pious woman, and a woman who had not been married before (Leviticus 21:7-15). She had learned the lessons and lived a life of piety as a priest’s daughter and as a priest’s wife. She was a righteous woman but a childless woman: being righteous and childless was a source of humiliation for any woman in Elizabeth’s day. Another writer says this much better than I can. She writes:
“Old Testament Law plainly states that those who are obedient to God’s ordinances would not be barren (Deut. 7:12-14). So, infertility was seen as a sign of divine disfavour and a great deal of shame was attached to being childless. This shame was felt more acutely by women, as childbearing was considered to be the primary function of women in Bible times. Moreover, infertility was typically believed to be the woman’s failing and not the husband’s.” (Mowczko, 2017).
Undoubtedly, it had been Elizabeth’s dream and desire to become a mother to a son. It is likely that she and Zechariah had prayed for a son for most of their married life. Elizabeth’s name means “God is my oath” and that is how she lived her life.
Her husband, Zechariah, had been chosen to go to the temple and burn incense before the Lord on this specific day. While in the temple, the angel Gabriel appears to Zechariah with a message from the Most High God saying that he and Elizabeth would have a child. We learn this child’s name was to be John and that John would be the forerunner of the Messiah.
Because Zechariah asked the angel how this could happen, Zechariah became speechless and would remain so until after John’s birth. Zechariah’s time of service ended and he went home to his wife. She conceived and stated, “The Lord has done this for me. In these days he has shown his favor and taken away my disgrace among the people” (Luke 1:25).
Six months later, the angel Gabriel visited Mary and told her what was going to happen in her life. After Mary’s encounter with Gabriel and the Holy Spirit, she went to visit her relative Elizabeth. Scripture tells us what happened next:
“When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. In a loud voice she exclaimed: ‘Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear! But why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord would fulfill his promises to her!’” (Luke 2:41-45 NIV.)
As such, “Elizabeth was the first woman to confess Jesus in the flesh.” (Lockyer, 1988). Indeed she was not just the first woman, she was the first person to confess Jesus as the Lord.
Mary stayed with Elizabeth for three months then soon after her leaving, Elizabeth gave birth to her son. Luke tells us that all her community rejoiced with her.
When it was time for the son’s dedication on the eighth day, she stated clearly that his name was to be John just as the angel Gabriel had told her husband. When Zechariah was asked the same question, he wrote on a tablet “His name is John.” His mouth was opened and he began a song of praise to the God who had kept His oath in their lives. The story ends with John growing and becoming strong in the Spirit and living in the wilderness.
What Can We Learn from Elizabeth’s Story
Lesson One—Be an Encourager
Elizabeth’s confession of Jesus as Lord must have been an encouragement to Mary who had just had her encounter with Gabriel and the Holy Spirit. Her first words to Mary were words of affirmation and encouragement. She herself had experienced a blessing from God in being pregnant in her older years. She speaks of her baby leaping for joy but in the context of encouraging Mary as she began her journey of faith.
Elizabeth’s words lead to Mary’s song of praise or the Magnificat. Mary’s song did not come following her encounter with the angel, but following Elizabeth’s confession of Jesus as Lord. Elizabeth also said, “Blessed is she who believed the Lord would fulfill her promises to her.” Was she talking only about Mary or was she also talking about herself? Elizabeth was speaking the Word of the Lord into Mary’s heart from her own heart. As we encounter others, do we speak words of encouragement for what God is doing in another’s life or are our words something else? (Keepers, nd).
Lesson Two – While Waiting On God – Be Obedient
Elizabeth and Zechariah were obedient all of their lives and their faith did not waver while they were childless. They remained obedient even as others must have been wondering to themselves what they had done wrong since they did not have children. Elizabeth supported her husband Zechariah in his service of God as he went to burn the incense in the temple.
She obeyed the words that Gabriel had given to Zechariah in the naming of their son. Until the writing on the tablet and the return of Zechariah’s voice, she had not heard him speak since he went to perform his service in the Temple. She did not know if his speech would return.
She must have wanted to praise God with her husband for the miracle that had happened in their lives. Not only were they awaiting the birth of their son, they were waiting for the forerunner of the long awaited Messiah to be born. Surely, the days of exile would be ending soon as the long promised Messiah was coming.
In our waiting, are we obedient? Do we trust God in the waiting? Do we live our lives waiting and expecting God’s actions or do we just live them hoping He will act?
Lesson Three – God is a Miracle Worker
In Elizabeth’s story, there are two miracles. The miracle of the birth of John the Baptist and the miracle of the birth of the Lord Jesus Christ. The same angel Gabriel announced both. An angel is a messenger from and for God. The participants in the story had an open heart to hear from God through his messenger Gabriel and they believed Gabriel.
In our lives are we open when others might speak the Word of God to us? Do we believe that miracles will happen or that they might happen? When God speaks, do we listen? Do we listen with an open heart like Elizabeth and Mary or do we question God like Zechariah did? If we question, are we ready for the consequences?
Lesson Four – Choose Joy and Not Comparison
Elizabeth is so happy for Mary when they meet. She is also ecstatic for the approaching birth of her own son.
She was not jealous that she had not been chosen to give birth to the long awaited Messiah. She was joyful that she was going to give birth to his forerunner. She chose joy and not comparison.
As we interact with others, are we joyful for what God is doing in their lives or are we jealous that God is not doing the same thing in our lives? Are we joyful for the doors God opens for others or are we disappointed that God is not opening the same doors for us? As we choose joy, we can be agents of encouragement to others as Elizabeth was to Mary.
Conclusion
As I reflected upon Elizabeth’s story, the recording of the first confession of Jesus as the Messiah came from an obedient and righteous woman, Elizabeth. I have always appreciated the miracle of the birth of John the Baptist but had not reflected on the confession of Jesus as the Christ.
The second thing that stood out to me is that Elizabeth’s words to Mary led to Mary’s great song of praise found in Luke 1:46-55. Her words regarding the naming of John the Baptist in Luke 1:60 led to Zechariah’s voice being restored and his own words of blessing God found in Luke 1:67-79.
I found myself asking if my words and actions do the same thing. Do my words encourage others to bless God in their words and actions? Elizabeth whose name means God is my oath - her life and ministry to others reflected that. Do my life and ministry reflect that God is my oath?
References
2021 Women of Noble Character (2021) Elizabeth in the Bible Eight Lessons We Can Learn from Her Story retrieved from
https://www.womanofnoblecharacter.com/elizabeth-in-the-bible/
Elisabeth in LOCKYER'S ALL THE WOMEN OF THE BIBLE – ELISABETH (1988) retrieved from
https://www.biblegateway.com/resources/all-women-bible/Elisabeth
Keepers, D. E. (nd) Elizabeth and Mary: Called to Encourage. She is God Women of the Bible Study Reformed Church Press retrieved from
https://www.faithward.org/elizabeth-and-mary-called-to-encourage/
Mowczko, M. (2017) All About Elizabeth (Luke 1) retrieved from
https://margmowczko.com/elizabeth-bible-woman-luke-1/
Roeleveld, L.S. (2021)
Why Elizabeth is Such an Important Woman of the Bible
Crosswalk.com retrieved from
https://www.crosswalk.com/special-coverage/christmas-and-advent/why-elisabeth-is-such-an-important-woman-of-the-bible.html
Painting:
Visitación By Raphael, Public Domain,
https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=19514464
