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Sunday, 4 January 2015

Z for Zachariah

Zachariah was a prophet and the father of John The Baptist.
 His wife was the Righteous Elizabeth, it was thought that she was unable to bear children.
One day when Zachariah was in the temple an angel of the Lord appeared before him
and told him that his aged wife would bear a son who "will be great in the sight of the
Lord (Luke 1 : 15) and will go before him in the spirit and power of Elias" (Luke 1:17).
The prophet doubted that this prediction would come true and for his weakness of faith
he was punished by becoming mute.
When Elizabeth gave birth to a son, through the inspiration
of the holy spirit, she announced that his name was John, although no one in their family
had this name.
When Zachariah was asked he wrote down the name of John on a tablet..
Immediately the gift of speech was returned to him, and inspired by the holy spirit he
began to prophesy about his son as the forerunner of the Lord.
.
King Herod knew about John's unusual birth, fearing that he was the foretold King of the Jews he ordered
the killing of all the boys born about that time.
 When Elizabeth heard this she hid herself and the infant in the hills, The murderers searched
everywhere for John to no avail.
 When they were getting near to Elizabeth she implored God for their safety, and immediately the hill opened up and concealed her and the infant from their pursuers. 


During these tragic days St Zachariah was taking services in the temple when Herod's soldiers slaughtered him because he wouldn't conceal the whereabouts of his son.
 Elizabeth died forty days after her husband and St. John, preserved by the Lord, dwelt in the wilderness until the day of his appearance to the nation of Israel.
It was said that he existed on honey and locust. He eventually went on to be known as John the Baptist and baptised Jesus but there lies another wondrous story.
Jesus being baptised by John the Baptist,



My thanks to Denise and Roger and all the helpers for keeping the ZESTY ABCW going from strength to strength!
Happy New Year to all the ABCW friends
Di. xx








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30 comments:

  1. Reader Wil4 January 2015 at 14:56

    I didn't know thisversion of the biblical story of the birth of John the Baptist. It looks like a mixture of the birth of Jesus and John's.
    John was at least 6 months older than Jesus, his cousin.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Trubes6 January 2015 at 09:32

      Hello Wil, If you check the texts I've quoted from the New Testament in the book of Luke it gives a very clear account of the Angel Gabriel visiting Elizabeth and then 5months later visiting Mary the Virgin to tell of their forthcoming arrivals. Mary and Elizabeth were indeed cousins, Also in the book of Zachariah near the end of the Old Testament it tell you a lot about the forthcoming events,

      Best wishes,
      Di,
      ABCW team.

      Delete
  2. MERYL JAFFE, PhD - parent, psychologist, teacher, author...6 January 2015 at 08:42

    Happy new year to the AWESOME ABCWednesday team and followers. Wishing you a year of good health, joy, peace and success. And my thanks to you all for creating such a wonderful community.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Arnoldo L. Romero, MLA6 January 2015 at 14:42

    Thank you for reminding me of this marvelous story. Blessings!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Melbourne Australia Photos7 January 2015 at 04:27

    Thanks for hosting. Here's to another Happy New Year of ABC's!
    Let's zip off to zappy Zürich!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Trubes7 January 2015 at 04:57

    thank you for your kind comments Arnoldo.
    Blessings,

    Di.
    ABCW team

    ReplyDelete
  6. Trubes7 January 2015 at 04:59

    Meryl.
    Happy New Year to you too and thank you for your kind comments.

    Best wishes,

    Di.
    ABCW team

    ReplyDelete
  7. Trubes7 January 2015 at 05:02

    Nick V,

    Thank you for your kind comments.
    Happy New Year,

    Di.
    ABCW team.
    Di.

    ReplyDelete
  8. My Desktop Daily7 January 2015 at 05:22

    Happy New Year to all at ABC Wednesday.
    "Z" stands for "ZINNIAS"!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Trubes10 January 2015 at 06:51

      Happy New year,
      I've just been to look at your Zinnias, they are so pretty,
      one of my favourite colours too.

      Best wishes,
      Di.
      ABCW team.

      Delete
  9. Dina7 January 2015 at 06:08

    Shalom and thanks for the story (although I didn't understand who Ruth is in your second line). Especially touching for me, as until last year I lived in the hills where Elisabeth, Zachariah, and John lived.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Trubes8 January 2015 at 04:23

      Dina, On checking your comment about 'Ruth' all I can say is 'Oops' that was an error...should have read 'Elizabeth'...
      I just don't know where Ruth came from other than to say Ruth is one of my favourite Old Testament characters..
      When the opportunity arises I shall write about her, quite a touching story that I have enjoyed since I was a girl.
      Than you for drawing my attention to the error,
      Best wishes to you and yours for 2015.
      Di,x
      ABCW team.

      Delete
    2. Trubes8 January 2015 at 04:32

      Shalom Dina,
      I forgot to say that I was held in awe when you mentioned that you had lived in the hills where Elizabeth, Zachariah and John lived,
      You must have been very sad to leave.
      I loved the part in the story when Elizabeth asked God for protection for her and her son, so God 'opened up the hills' to protect them....The very hills where you lived for so long.
      Wondrous!
      Blessings,
      Di,
      ABCW team.

      Delete
    3. Dina8 January 2015 at 08:32

      Thanks Di. You can see John's cave where he probably lived with his mother after his father died, and more about John, in my posts http://jerusalemhillsdailyphoto.blogspot.co.il/search/label/John. And look at the label "Jerusalem Hills" for pictures of the beautiful hills, or "wilderness," where they lived.

      Delete
  10. Shady Gardener7 January 2015 at 07:17

    Interesting how stories can differ in details. Thank you, Di, for sending me to the Bible this morning. I do recall the census being called after John's birth; necessitating Joseph and Mary's trip to Bethlehem. Luke describes both John's and Jesus' births and the message to and travels of the shepherds to see Jesus. Matthew describes the star, the wise men and their visit with King Herod, as well as their dream warning not to return to Herod and the angel's visit to Joseph to have them escape to Egypt. Matt. 2:16 states Herod's fury when the Magi did not return and issued the edict to kill all boys in Bethlehem and vicinity two years and under.

    I need your help, Di. I've never heard or read an account of Zechariah and Elizabeth after their son John was born. (In skimming the book Zechariah this morning, written 500+ years before Jesus' birth, I found several prophetic statements about Jesus, as well as end times.)

    According to my Bible footnote, "Zechariah blended prophesies of the present, near future, and final days into one sweeping panorama. Through his message we learn that our hope is found in God and his Messiah . . ." I'm sure we agree on this!!

    I'm looking outdoors at a very serene, beautiful, snowy scene. Have a great day!! :-)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Trubes8 January 2015 at 07:35

      Shady Gardener: Hello,
      Thank you so much for opening the debate about the deaths of John The Baptist's parents Zachariah and Elizabeth, in the light of this I have written on my 'Trubes' blog site my explanation for my take on the story.
      Most of it is fact but some of it may be folklore, who knows?

      If you click on my 'Trubes' site on ABCW you will find my theories about Zachariah etc....Just for you ! xx

      I'm so glad you've taken to looking at your bible,
      I'm not deeply religious but am a believer in the Christian doctrine and do occasionally go to a service at thel Liverpool Anglican Cathedral, I love to listen to the choir there, one of the finest in the country, (it is said)!
      I used to sing in our local church choir and have a great love of sacred and choral music. This must be where my Christian upbringing manifests itself.
      How lucky are you to be looking at a beautiful snowy scene ,
      Best wishes,
      Di,
      ABCW team.

      Delete
  11. Uppal7 January 2015 at 07:36

    Thanks for your good wishes and other members of the ABC team for keeping the creative juices afloat throughout! A great effort to revisit history!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Trubes8 January 2015 at 08:17

      It's a great wayeam for free expression....Long may it last,

      Best wishes,
      Di,
      ABCW t

      Delete
  12. Su-sieee! Mac7 January 2015 at 08:24

    Insecure rulers are such a pain. Happy New Year!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Trubes8 January 2015 at 08:19

      So true Su-sieee !

      Best wishes,
      Di,
      ABCW team.

      Delete
  13. Lmkazmierczak7 January 2015 at 09:21

    What a great post...reminding us that John and Jesus both escaped that terrible infanticide...and they did not have many peers growing up because of it.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Trubes8 January 2015 at 08:21

      Yes, sad but true, What a wicked king Herod was,
      Thanks for your kind comments.
      Di.
      ABCW team.

      Delete
  14. lotusleaf7 January 2015 at 21:12

    Thanks for the story.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Trubes8 January 2015 at 08:24

      My pleasure Lotus Leaf,
      Good to hear from you again,
      Best wishes,
      Di,
      ABCW team,

      Delete
  15. Anonymous7 January 2015 at 21:45

    Thanks for this account. You really did your homework. There is so much messianic scripture in Z, as well as Isaiah and even the Psalms. Even though I am Christian - actually, I call myself a follower of Jesus because "Christian" gets as misconstrued as "Muslim" these days, there are so many extremists, and I am not one - I don't take the stories literally. There are too many myths that parallel the Bible, such as Romulus and Remus vs. Cain and Abel, that I concentrate on the message of LOVE and leave the rest to others to debate!! Happy New Year, y'all. Glad to be back. Amy

    ReplyDelete
  16. Trubes8 January 2015 at 09:26

    Hi There SLP, thanks for your kind comments.
    I totally agree, Love and peace is all we need to make the world a better place
    best wishes,
    Di,
    ABCW team,.

    ReplyDelete
  17. Powell River Books8 January 2015 at 21:13

    Great post. Thanks for all you do for ABC Wednesday. - Margy

    ReplyDelete
  18. Trubes9 January 2015 at 02:27

    Powell River Books:
    Thank you for your kind comments, I am delighted that so many people haven taken the time to read my
    take on Zachariah, his wife Elizabeth and their son John the Baptist.
    It is a most interesting story but there doesn't seem to be an account in the Bible of Elizabeth's latter
    years. The story I adhere to is the one I learned at my Christian Sunday School so many years ago.
    There is an account in the American Orthodox Church's site that is almost identical to my story.
    it is posted on my 'Trubes' site which can be accessed by clicking. on it on the ABCW site.
    Best wishes for 2015,
    Di.
    ABCW team.

    ReplyDelete
  19. Suzy9 January 2015 at 23:20

    Thanks for sharing the story of John the Baptist as I had not heard it before.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Trubes10 January 2015 at 06:27

      Hi Suzy glad you enjoyed my story, needless to say there are other takes on it but I think my
      account is about as factual as can be!
      Best wishes,
      Di .
      ABCW team.

      Delete

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