1. Zechariah prayed for a child and his prayer got answered.
2. His muteness was a punishment for his unbelief.

Last Sunday as I was listening to the sermon, I questioned these two traditional assumptions and came up with some new thoughts that deserve more investigation. Frankly, I haven’t done any further research yet, but I’d like to share my thoughts and see if anyone has any feedback.

1. First of all, nowhere says Zechariah and Elizabeth prayed for a son. We only know that they are righteous and blameless in front of God (1:6), and they are childless and well advanced in years (1:7). If Zechariah really prayed for a son, why would he be so surprised and doubtful of God’s ability when his prayer was answered (1:18)? Shouldn’t he be happy and praise God instead?

   I think it’s much more likely that he DID NOT pray for a son, but prayed for what every faithful Jew would pray for in that context–the coming of the Messiah and God’s vindication for Israel. (Afterall, we know that he’s a righteous and blameless Jew serving in the priesthood.) What actually surprised him then, I think, was HOW God would achieve His plan, i.e. through a son, bore by his barren wife, to become the forerunner of the coming Messiah. That’s why he was a bit perplexed and doubtful of Gabriel’s message. I think this explanation is more logical and congruent to the context. So no, I don’t think they ever prayed for a son. They knew their condition (barrenness & old-age) and accepted it as their fate.

2. Most preachers would introduce the background of this story by saying that there was a famine of God’s word for almost 400 years (Amos 8:11). God stayed mute to His people for 400 years. I suddenly connected the dots and wondered if Zechariah’s muteness has anything to do with God’s muteness. Was it only a punishment for his unbelief, or more like a chance for him to experience what it is like to stay mute and be patient until the appointed time of the fulfillment of things? God stayed mute for 400 years. Zechariah stayed mute for 40 weeks. I don’t know, but I always think that God does not do things randomly without reason. If God wanted to punish Zechariah, he could do it a thousand ways differently. Why must it be muteness? There must be some connection between his muteness and God’s muteness prior to this event…

   No matter what, the effect of Zechariah’s muteness was that this miracle caused him, first of all, to praise God when he opened his mouth (1:64), and more importantly, the people in all the hill country of Judea to start fearing God (1:65). So part of what John was supposed to do (1:17) was already accomplished through his father’s incident. Even punishments can have positive and constructive purposes.

So that’s what I thought. What do you think, my friends? Have you come across any commentaries that connect God’s muteness with Zechariah’s muteness? I’ll check out some Luke commentaries from the library tomorrow. Will see…

“Maushart decided to unplug the family because the kids — ages 14, 15 and 18 when she started The Experiment — didn’t just ‘use media,’ as she put it. They ‘inhabited’ media. ‘They don’t remember a time before e-mail, or instant messaging, or Google,’ she wrote.”

What happens when mom unplugs teens for 6 months? by By Beth J. Harpaz, Associated Press – Tue Jan 18, 2011

Use media when you need it, instead of inhabiting in it.

Inhabit in Christ, instead of just using Him when you need Him. (John 15:4-11)

“There is apparently a profound inability in humans to stick to a straight line when blind-folded, or when there is no fixed point–no sun, no moon, no mountain-top to guide them.” (1:55)

Wow. How profound this is. Think about how we are spiritually blind without Jesus the light of the world opening our eyes and guiding us.

“I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” (John 8:12)

Besides learning cool tricks, I found something interesting. I searched for all the imperative verbs within the Old Testament. Then I opened up the hits graph and the table bar chart for the average number of hits for each book and this is what I got (click on image to blow it up):

Joel has the highest average number of imperatives, but that makes sense, because it is such a short book. Next in line is Psalms, and it makes sense, because we are often instructed to “Praise the Lord.” What surprised me most is Leviticus having the least average number of imperative verbs in the entire Old Testament canon. What? Leviticus? Least imperatives? I have always thought of Leviticus as full of instructions and commandments from the Lord.

Interesting, huh? I don’t know what to make of this yet, but if you have any thoughts, please drop a note below.

“Fools have no interest in understanding;
    they only want to air their own opinions.”

– Proverbs 18:2, NLT

“Every man shall give as he is able, according to the blessing of the Lord your God that he has given you.” (Deut. 16:17)

“But who am I, and what is my people, that we should be able thus to offer willingly? For all things come from you, and of your own have we given you.” (1 Chr. 29:14)

“And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work…… You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God.” (2 Cor. 9:8, 11)

Before we ask the question “What can I give?”, let us ask ourselves “What have I been given?”

Sometimes we question others: “Why are you not giving?” I think there may be a hidden phrase not spelled out: “Why are you not giving [what I am expecting you to give]?” Perhaps it is better to first examine what have they been given by God.

Identify, Empower, Unleash — the three-steps to mobilize people according to their gifts.

Curses:

33 He turned rivers into a desert,
flowing springs into thirsty ground,

34 and fruitful land into a salt waste,
because of the wickedness of those who lived there.

Blessings:

35 He turned the desert into pools of water
and the parched ground into flowing springs;

36 there he brought the hungry to live,
and they founded a city where they could settle.

37 They sowed fields and planted vineyards
that yielded a fruitful harvest;

38 he blessed them, and their numbers greatly increased,
and he did not let their herds diminish.

Yes, you are right.

Curses are contingent upon the sin of mankind, but blessings are given freely out of God’s mercy without any human cause.

There is no “because” to make the blessings conditional.

What did Abraham do to merit God’s blessing in the beginning of Genesis 12? Absolutely nothing.

This contrast just highlights the inherent goodness and the steadfast love of God…… which is in fact the overarching theme of Psalm 107.

Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever. (Ps. 107:1)

“You of little faith, why did you doubt?” (Matthew 14:31)

I just found out that the Evangelical Theological Society is holding its 62nd Annual Meeting during Nov 17-19, 2010 in Atlanta, GA , with these heavy-weight panelists speaking on “Justification by Faith“:

• Pastor John Piper (Pastor of Bethlehem Baptist Church, Minneappolis)
• The Rt Revd N. T. Wright (Bishop of Durham)
• Dr. Frank Thielman (Presbyterian Professor of Divinity, Beeson Divinity School)

With Theilman leaning more on the side of Wright, I’m afraid Piper will find himself in a difficult position. Anyways, I’m sure there will be a fierce debate, but I hope they can come to a better understanding of each other after this.

I’m so tempted to go, but I need to find pals to go with first.

More resources about this debate:

• The Justification Debate: A Primer by Trevin Wax (Christianity Today)
• Introduction and Summary of the New Perspective on Paul by Mark M. Mattison (thepaulpage.com)
• Justification: God’s Plan & Paul’s Vision by N. T. Wright
• The Future of Justification: A Response to N. T. Wright by John Piper
• Paul and the Law: A Contextual Approach by Frank Thielman

Related posts:

1. What Jesus Demands From The World
2. John Piper Hates the Prosperity Gospel

(The jaw-dropping fill beginning at 4:00 is what I want to comment about.)

I think this is a perfect illustration of what N.T. Wright proposed as his five-act play to understand what biblical authority means. The role of the church as living in the fifth act of a play with unscripted scenes ahead, is not to simply repeat what was done in the previous acts, but try to improvise with a sensitivity that maintains consistency and congruency with the overall theme and thrust of the plot, such that the end can achieve its intended grandeur.

So in order to be a church that is faithful to the biblical narrative and calling, we have to be a “Context-Aware Fill” church. Perhaps we need to upgrade first, eh?