ELISABETH BIBLE STUDY

One day Zacharias was burning incense in the Lord's temple, as this was his duty, and the congregation was praying outside according to their customs, when an Angel of the Lord came to Zacharias. When he saw the Angel, he was scared, but the Angel said to him, Don't be afraid Zacharias. Your prayer has been heard. Elisabeth will bear you a son and you will name him John.

Many people will rejoice about his birth. He'll be special in the Lord's eyes and he won't drink wine or strong drink. He'll be filled with the Holy Ghost from the time he's conceived. He'll turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God. And God will lead him with the spirit and power of Elijah to turn the heart's of fathers to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous. He'll prepare people for the coming of the Lord.

Zacharias doubted out loud, How can this be true? I'm an old man, and my wife, she's old too. (In the book of Genesis, Abraham and Sarah had the same thing happen and in that case, it was Sarah that doubted ... Sarah Will Have a Son.) The Angel said, I am Gabriel, who stands in the presence of God and I was sent to tell you all this, but because you doubted, you won't be able to speak until the day that this comes true because you didn't believe my Words. These things will come true in their own time.

The people outside were surprised that Zacharias was taking so long inside the temple and when he came out, he couldn't speak to them. They thought that he had a vision because he gestured to them but kept silent.

The beginning of Matthew 1:1-17 tells the genealogy of Jesus Christ if you would like to study it. Matthew's account of Jesus lineage goes back to Abraham. Luke gives his account going all the way back to Adam in Luke 3:23-38. These men share with us the bloodline of Jesus. Most people today don't know their great great grandfather's name, so you can understand that the record we have in the Bible is very precious. It's kinda like looking up Jesus' family tree.

Looking back through Jesus' bloodline, several prophecies are fulfilled by His birth. He was of the seed of Abraham (Genesis 12:3), the seed of Isaac (Genesis 17:19), and the seed of Jacob (Numbers 24:17). He was also from the tribe of Judah (Genesis 49:10), and heir to the throne of David (Isaiah 9:6-7; 2 Samuel 7:12-16).

In biblical times, a family and its descendants were referred to as a tribe, and sometimes a house. In the city of Nazareth in Galilee there was a man named Joseph from the house of David and the tribe of Judah who was engaged to a woman named Mary.

Mary was related to Elisabeth. This makes John the Baptist and Jesus ... Cousins. They were born six months apart. So when Elisabeth was in her sixth month of pregnancy, with John the Baptist ... The Angel Gabriel was sent to Mary and he said, Rejoice, you who are very special. The Lord is with you. You are blessed among women.

When Mary saw him she was confused about what this meant. Gabriel said, Don't be afraid Mary, you have found favor with God and you shall conceive and bear a son and will name Him JESUS. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David. He will reign over the house of Jacob for ever and His Kingdom will have no end.

Mary said to the Angel, How can this be, seeing I have never been with a man? And the Angel said to her, The Holy Ghost will come upon you and the power of the Highest will overshadow you. That holy thing which will be born of you will be called the Son of God. Elisabeth has also conceived a son in her old age and this is the sixth month with her, who was barren. For with God nothing shall be impossible. And Mary said, I am the handmaid of the Lord. Let it happen to me as you have said. And with that, the Angel left.

Mary went to visit Elisabeth after Gabriel's visit. When Elisabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the baby inside her leaped in her womb and Elisabeth was filled with the Holy Ghost. Happily she said, Blessed are you among women and blessed is the fruit of your womb. How did it come about that the mother of my Lord should come and visit me? As soon as the voice of your greeting touched my ears, the baby inside me leaped in my womb for joy. And blessed are you for believing, because the things that the Lord told you will come true.

Mary said to Elisabeth, My soul praises the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior. He has considered my modest life. From this time forward, all generations will call me blessed. He that is mighty has done great things to me and holy is His name. His mercy is on them that fear Him from generation to generation. He has shown strength with His arm, He has confused the proud in the imagination of their hearts. He taken the mighty down from their thrones and lifted up those who are lowly. He has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich, He has sent away empty. He has helped His servant Israel in remembrance of His mercy as He spoke to our fathers, to Abraham, and to his seed for ever.

Mary stayed with Elisabeth for about three months and then returned to her own house. When it was time for Elisabeth to deliver, she gave birth to a son. Her neighbors and her cousins heard how the Lord had mercy on her by allowing her to give birth at such a late age and they rejoiced with her. On the eighth day, when they were fulfilling the Jewish customs for a newborn son, the men there named the child Zacharias after his Dad. But, because Zacharias still could not speak, Elisabeth said, No, he'll be called John. And they said to her, But there isn't anyone in your family with the name of John. They made signs to Zacaharias asking what he wanted to name the child. Zacharias asked for a writing table and wrote, His name is John. Immediately Zacharias could speak again and he praised God.

The neighbors were all afraid then and people gossiped about it throughout all the hill country of Judea. Everyone who heard rumors about it wondered what kind of child this would turn out to be. And the hand of the Lord was with the child.

Zacharias prophesied, saying, Blessed be the Lord God of Israel. He has visited and saved His people. He has sent a messenger of salvation for us in the house of his servant David, as He spoke in the Words of His holy prophets which have been since the world began, that we will be saved from our enemies and from the hand of all that hate us. To keep the promise that He made to our father Abraham, that He would pass on to us, that we, being delivered out of the hand of our enemies might serve Him without fear, in holiness and righteousness all the days of our life.

And you child, will be called the prophet of the Highest because you will tell about Him and prepare people for His coming. You will tell the people about salvation by the forgiveness of their sins by the tender mercy of our God, by which the new dawn from Heaven has visited us to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide us to the way of peace.

The child grew, and became strong in spirit and lived in the deserts until the day he showed up in Israel. Can you imagine how hard it was for those who were chosen to BELIEVE? It's still hard today. We must just continue in faith.