Women of the Bible Lesson 24 Elizabeth: A Story of Waiting Faith

Luke 1:5-25, There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judea, a certain priest named Zechariah, of the division of Abijah. And his wife was of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. 6 They were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blamelessly. 7 But they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren, and they both were now well advanced in years. 

8 Now while he served as priest before God, when his division was on duty, 9 according to the custom of the priest’s office, his lot was to burn incense when he went into the temple of the Lord. 10 And the whole crowd of people were praying outside at the hour of incense. 

11 Then an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing on the right side of the altar of incense. 12 When Zechariah saw him, he was troubled, and fear fell upon him. 13 But the angel said to him, “Do not fear, Zechariah, for your prayer has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John. 14 You will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth. 15 For he will be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother’s womb. 16 He will turn many of the sons of Israel to the Lord their God. 17 And he will go before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.” 

18 Zechariah said to the angel, “How shall I know this? For I am an old man and my wife well advanced in years.” 

19 The angel answered him, “I am Gabriel, who stands in the presence of God. And I was sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news. 20 And now you will be silent and unable to speak until the day that these things happen, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their season.” 

21 The people waited for Zechariah, and wondered why he waited so long in the temple. 22 When he came out, he could not speak to them. They perceived that he had seen a vision in the temple, for he made signs to them and remained speechless. 

23 As soon as the days of his service were fulfilled, he departed to his own home. 24 After those days his wife Elizabeth conceived, and for five months she hid herself, saying, 25 “Thus the Lord has dealt with me in the days when He looked on me, to take away my reproach among men.” (MEV) 

This week we will look at the life of Elizabeth, the mother of John the Baptist.  Like, Mary, there is very little about her in scripture, however, what we do find demonstrates for us a life “waiting faith”.  

Waiting faith: to stay in place in expectation, with belief and trust in God.  

“Spiritual maturity is the ability to wait. Faith is waiting for the answer, understanding that sometimes the answer is delayed. In God’s plan, timing is so crucial. Many times it may be the right thing, but it’s just the wrong time.”i 

Just as God preserved Sarah and remembered her in old age, to bear the child of promise for Abraham, so God preserved Elizabeth and remembered her in her old age, to bear the promised forerunner for the Messiah.  

Malachi 3:1, “Look! I am sending my messenger, and he will prepare the way before me. Then the Lord you are seeking will suddenly come to his Temple. The messenger of the covenant, whom you look for so eagerly, is surely coming,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. (NLT) 

Isaiah 40:3-5, Listen! It’s the voice of someone shouting, “Clear the way through the wilderness for the Lord! Make a straight highway through the wasteland for our God! Fill in the valleys, and level the mountains and hills. Straighten the curves, and smooth out the rough places. Then the glory of the Lord will be revealed, and all people will see it together. The Lord has spoken!” (NLT) 

It is interesting to note that Zacharias means the Lord remembers, and Elizabeth means the oath of God.ii If we put that together we get: God remembers his oaths.  The prophecies above coupled with the account in Luke 1 confirm that this is indeed true.  God’s prophetic word is a His oath (something (such as a promise) corroborated by an oath)iii 

It is also interesting to note that due to the vast number of Levites, the honor to get selected by lot to burn incense in the temple was a once in a lifetime opportunity.  It was no accident that Zacharias was chosen at this exact time in his life. God’s timing is perfect, and those who wait on the Lord will never be put to shame (Psalm 25:3). 

In those days barrenness was considered a disgrace and people thought it was caused by sin in the woman’s life. However, Luke 1:6-7 tells us, when speaking about Zacharias and Elizabeth, “They were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blamelessly. But they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren, and they both were now well advanced in years.” (MEV) This does not mean that they did not sin.  What it does mean is that when they did sin, they took the necessary steps of animal sacrifice to have that sin covered by blood.   

It leads one to ask the questions, “Was Elizabeth barren in order for the birth of John to be noteworthy to those who heard of it?” “Was her barrenness part of God’s divine plan and timing?” As we read above, sometimes we are praying for the right things, however, the timing is not right yet.  What is important to remember, however, is that even in her advanced age, she continued to ask and believe God for a child.  Luke 1:13 says, But the angel said to him, “Do not fear, Zechariah, for your prayer has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John. (MEV)  

“Waiting reminds us that we're not in control. Someone else has the wheel in this car and we have to trust Him.”iv 

There are three lessons we can learn from Elizabeth’s life.   

First, patience (waiting faith) produces in us the character of Christ. During our waiting there is usually an opportunity to give up or to feel sorry for ourselves.  We may experience ridicule or rejection by others.  Elizabeth faced the shame of barrenness, however, rather than growing bitter or giving up, she endured and continued to grow in her relationship with God.  She continued to seek Him for a child.  Her waiting faith during the trials of life produced the harvest of a son!! 

James 1:2-4, Consider it nothing but joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you fall into various trials. Be assured that the testing of your faith [through experience] produces endurance [leading to spiritual maturity, and inner peace]. And let endurance have its perfect result and do a thorough work, so that you may be perfect and completely developed [in your faith], lacking in nothing. (AMP) 

1 Timothy 6:6, But godliness with contentment is a great gain. (HCSB) 

Second, waiting faith is practiced through active waiting.      

There is a difference between passive waiting and active waiting.  Passive waiting is sitting around waiting for something to happen. “Often, when we’re sitting around waiting for something to happen we’re in a negative state. We do nothing, or we complain about the waiting. We may even be filled with cynicism and doubt that anything will actually happen.”v 

Active waiting on the other hand “chooses to believe there’s purpose in the delay, and the person waiting seeks to develop good habits that are focused on preparing for this next thing. We are patient in our waiting.”vi  

“Waiting is the confident, disciplined, expectant, active, and sometimes painful clinging to God. It knows that we will reap a reward.”vii 

Zechariah and Elizabeth practiced active waiting.  They did not stop living and sit around waiting for the answer to their prayers for a child. Rather, Zechariah continued to fulfill his priestly duties.  Elizabeth as a priest’s wife probably ministered to those in her community much like the wives of most pastors do today.  

Isaiah 40:31 teaches us that there are benefits of waiting.  Isaiah 40:31 (AMP), But those who wait for the Lord [who expect, look for, and hope in Him] Will gain new strength and renew their power; They will lift up their wings [and rise up close to God] like eagles [rising toward the sun];They will run and not become weary, They will walk and not grow tired. 

Isaiah 40:31 (KJV), But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint. 

Benefit 1: renewed strength - “the verb "renew" suggests an exchange of strength, we exchange or tired, weak strength for God’s omnipotent strength.” viii 

Benefit 2: rise close to God (being drawn into deeper intimacy with God) 

Benefit 3: travel through life without growing weary or fainting back- “They shall walk, they shall run, the way of God’s commandments, cheerfully and with alacrity (they shall not be weary), constantly and with perseverance (they shall not faint); and therefore in due season they shall reap.”ix 

Finally, we must keep our perspective right while we wait in faith.  We can trust that Zachariah and Elizabeth kept a proper perspective in their lives because we know that they walked righteously and blamelessly before God. There are two major steps we can take to keep our perspective right.  

Step one: stayed anchored in Christ. Hebrews 6:18-20 (AMP), so that by two unchangeable things [His promise and His oath] in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled [to Him] for refuge would have strong encouragement and indwelling strength to hold tightly to the hope set before us. This hope [this confident assurance] we have as an anchor of the soul [it cannot slip and it cannot break down under whatever pressure bears upon it]—a safe and steadfast hope that enters within the veil [of the heavenly temple, that most Holy Place in which the very presence of God dwells], where Jesus has entered [in advance] as a forerunner for us, having become a High Priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek. 

Warren Wiersbe said, “The anchor was a popular symbol in the early church. At least sixty-six pictures of anchors have been found in the catacombs…. However, this spiritual anchor is different from material anchors on ships. For one thing, we are anchored upward—to heaven—not downward. We are anchored not to stand still, but to move ahead! Our anchor is “sure”—it cannot break—and “steadfast,” it cannot slip. No earthly anchor can give that kind of security!” 

Step two: stay focused on the Word. Philippians 4:8 (AMP), Finally, believers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable and worthy of respect, whatever is right and confirmed by God’s word, whatever is pure and wholesome, whatever is lovely and brings peace, whatever is admirable and of good repute; if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think continually on these things [center your mind on them, and implant them in your heart]. 

In closing, today we learned that patience (waiting faith) produces in us the character of Christ, waiting faith is practiced through active waiting, and we must keep our perspective right while we wait in faith.   

We all have things that we are waiting for.  As we think about the life of Elizabeth and her role in the Christmas story, let us remember to practice waiting faith!! 

Works Cited: 

i https://pastorrick.com/waiting-is-evidence-of-faith/ 

ii Believer's Bible Commentary Copyright © 1989, 1990, 1992, 1995, 2016 by William MacDonald. 

iii https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/oath 

iv https://justbetweenus.org/overcoming-adversity/waiting-on-god/when-god-has-you-waiting/ 

v https://faithstrongtoday.com/robynroste/how-to-practice-active-waiting 

vi https://faithstrongtoday.com/robynroste/how-to-practice-active-waiting 

vii http://www.parishwindow.co.uk/waiting.html 

viii Expositor's Bible Commentary (Abridged Edition): Old Testament Copyright 2004. 

ix Matthew Henry's Commentary