“Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel, because He has come to His people and redeemed them.” Luke 1:68 NIV
Zechariah broke forth in this beautiful psalm of praise to God for His great mercy in sending the Saviour who had been promised centuries before. You will recall that although he was a godly man, Zechariah had doubted the word of the angel that he and his wife, Elizabeth, would have a son. To discipline him, the Lord had caused Zechariah to become deaf and dumb. But the promised son had been born, and at his circumcision, family and friends gathered, assuming that they would name the boy Zechariah, or at least after another relative. But when Zechariah wrote on the tablet in obedience to God’s command, “His name is John”, his tongue was loosed and he broke forth in praise to God for His great salvation. Salvation is the theme of Zechariah’s prophecy. Nine months earlier, Zechariah had doubted the Word of God, now he believes so strongly that he speaks of a future event as if God has already done it. The word “redeemed” implies that those being redeemed are in bondage. God’s salvation comes to those who know that they are enslaved by sin. Their desperate condition is further described as “those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death” (Luke 1:79). Zechariah, who is described as a righteous and blameless man, knew that he desperately needed God’s salvation. When God is about to accomplish His redemption, the Holy Spirit opens our eyes to see our sin. Formerly blind to our sin and the need for a Saviour, we realize that we are in bondage to sin and we long for deliverance. This is good news for us!
PRAYER THOUGHT
Lord, thank You for opening our eyes to see our need for You as our Saviour.
PRAYER FOR TODAY
Holy Spirit, thank You for Your convicting work in our lives, for showing us that we are in bondage and need a Saviour. Thank You, too, Lord Jesus, for being our Redeemer and Saviour. AMEN
INTERNATIONAL BIBLE READING ASSOCIATION (IBRA)
Luke 2:36-40
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