A JOURNEY THROUGH THE GOSPEL OF LUKE: GOD BREAKS HIS SILENCE

Malachi 4:5-6

   Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and awesome day of the LORD comes.
   And he will turn the hearts of fathers to their children and the hearts of children to their fathers, lest I come and strike the land with a decree of utter destruction. (ESV)

Malachi 4:5-6

Luke 1:11-13

   And there appeared to him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense.

   And Zechariah was troubled when he saw him, and fear fell upon him.

   But the angel said to him, "Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John." (ESV)

Luke 1:11-1

   There are over 400 years of  Israeli history between the above two passages recorded in Holy Scriptures.  Over 400 years of  God sending no prophets to speak to the Jewish people either to bless or to curse.  Over 400 years of no new revelations spoken directly from God.  Over 400 years of no new books being written by a messenger of God.

   Those 400 years or more for Israel can also almost be seen as being under one foreign occupation after the other. First there was the Presians, then the Greeks, and after that the Romans.  There were short periods in between these occupations when Isreal as a nation had a sense of independence, but those periods were relatively sort ones.  No doubt there were cries from the people of Israel like, "Where is God in all of this?" and "Where is our promised Messiah?"  Many Jews most have thought that God had forgottened them in their dispair.  But, our sovereign God never forgets or fails to bring to pass any of His promises.

   God promised that He would send Israel a special messenger before He would send Israel their promised Messiah.  The birth of John the Baptist was the answer to that promise.

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SELAH

   We as believers have many promises given to by our loving Father in His Word.  Remember that our God is sovereign, and that He will keep all of His promises that are in His Word to us. Here are a couple that we can hold on to no matter what comes our way as we travel along the earthly journey:

Hebrews 13:5

   Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, "I will never leave nor forsake you." (ESV)

Hebrews 13:5

Philippians 1:6

   And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ. (ESV)

Philippians 1:6

Your servant in Christ,

Michael Hotard

Soli Deo Gloria