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 inspirationof 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 orderedthe 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
Di. xx
