Now while he was serving as priest before God when his division was on duty, according to the custom of the priesthood, he was chosen by lot to enter the temple of the Lord and burn incense. And the whole multitude of the people were praying outside at the hour of incense.
Luke 1:8-10
Have you ever received a message from God? Maybe you were reading a passage in the Bible, and some portion jumped out at you. In that moment you knew in your heart that God was speaking to you to confirm or convince you of something. Maybe you were going about life and someone approached you with the words, “Hi, I’m sorry to interrupt you in your daily routine, but I feel like God wants me to tell you…” What followed struck your heart in a way and aligned with Scripture in a way that you knew God was speaking.
In times of difficulty, we cry out to God to say something to us. When He does, do we understand the unique value of those moments?
Luke 1:8-10 presents words that can be easily skipped. In our current context and culture, the unique value of the moment can be lost. Let’s recapture their meaning for a moment.
The priesthood consisted of twenty-four divisions.* Of those twenty-four divisions, Zechariah was a member in the eighth division, placing him in a pool of 18,000 priests.* Those priests served on a programmed rotation throughout each year due to their large numbers.* Each priest could expect to serve one week, twice per year, plus at each of the festivals.* Each and every day, an ever-burning sacrifice of incense went up to God as a symbol of prayer.* To keep this spice-sacrifice going, it was administered twice per day at dawn and dusk.* This sacrifice was made in the Holy Place, the area right outside of the Holy of Holies, where the presence of God rested on the Ark of the Covenant.* Coming to administer the sacrifice of incense was the closest any single person could hope to ever get to the presence of God and live.*
Because of the large number of priests, the priests drew lots to select who would administer each burning of incense.* It was understood that through this “random” selection process that it was God doing the choosing.* The ratio of number of priests to number of days with the limit of lifespan determined that a priest could only hope to perform this sacred and holy task once in their lifetime.* As a part of this holy moment in this holy place, the holy sacrifice conducted by the holy person included holy words: the Aaronic Blessing:
The Lord bless you and keep you;
the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you;
the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.Number 6:24-26
What made this proclamation of the Aaronic Blessing unique from all other times of its proclamation was the use of the word Yahweh.* The name of God was too holy to utter by any mortal, so typically the word Adonai was used in its place.* This once-in-a-lifetime moment allowed the priest to utter the name of God and live.*
Do you understand the uniqueness of this moment? It was no ordinary moment for Zechariah. It was the pinnacle of his life.* While it was no ordinary moment for him, it was a moment replayed twice a day for the entire history of the Temple (and Tabernacle prior to the permanent Temple).* It was a part of the priestly routine.
Zechariah did not come into that most-holy moment expecting anything other than to do his job. Thinking that the moment could not get any holier, something happened in verse 11:
And there appeared to him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense.
As we will see, this angel began to speak on behalf of Yahweh. God spoke. God interrupted the routine. This had never happened before. It was completely set apart; it was holy.
Could it be that in those routine moments of quiet time in the morning, gathering with the church on the weekends, praying for a meal, speaking with a friend, reading God’s Word, or being interrupted in a coffee shop by a stranger appearing out of no where saying, “I hear the Lord saying to you…” that God is interrupting something more holy than we realize to deliver something holier than we appreciate?
Jesus is Emmanuel… God with us (Isaiah 7:14; Matthew 1:23). That is routine for Christians, but completely unique. We are a royal priesthood (1 Peter 2:9). We are invited to speak the name of God as we ask in the name of Jesus (John 14:14). The gravitas of our reality should not be lost on us.
When God speaks to us, it isn’t just to help us stop feeling a certain way, or assure us during difficult times (though our Good Father does this). God speaks to us because of who we are and where He is in proximity to us. This should place us in awe.
Wow! God speaks and He is near!! Can you believe it?!
Today, take a step.
Maybe today the one step God wants you to take is to hear one Word from Him. Perhaps today God wants you to draw close to Him, away from the masses, and into the quiet place. Maybe today God wants to interrupt your routine for a holy purpose. Perhaps today God wants you to know how chosen you are.
Whatever the step, ask God to direct it. Take a moment to take that step. Invite Him to speak. He will.
Life is a long road. Walk it with Jesus.
Feel free to comment at the bottom of this page! We would love to hear from you!
*Bock, D. L. (1994). Luke (Lk 1:8–23). InterVarsity Press.
Garland, D. E. (2012). Luke (pp. 65–66). Zondervan.
Edwards, J. R. (2015). The Gospel according to Luke (D. A. Carson, Ed.; pp. 34–35). William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company; Apollos.
Liefeld, W. L., & Pao, D. W. (2007). Luke. In T. Longman III & D. E. Garland (Eds.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Luke–Acts (Revised Edition) (Vol. 10, pp. 54–55). Zondervan.
Bock, D. L. (1996). Luke (pp. 48–49). Zondervan Publishing House.
Bock, D. L. (1994). Luke: 1:1–9:50 (Vol. 1, pp. 79–80). Baker Academic.
Nolland, J. (1989). Luke 1:1–9:20 (Vol. 35A, pp. 27–28). Word, Incorporated.