Luke 1:7

Letters to the Faithful - Luke 1:7

Berean Standard Bible

But they had no children, because Elizabeth was barren, and they were both well along in years.

King James Bible

And they had no child, because that Elisabeth was barren, and they both were now well stricken in years.

Greek Text:

καὶ οὐκ ἦν αὐτοῖς τέκνον, καθότι ἦν ἡ Ἐλισάβετ στεῖρα, καὶ ἀμφότεροι προβεβηκότες ἐν ταῖς ἡμέραις αὐτῶν ἦσαν.

Transliteration:

Kai ouk ēn autois teknon, kathoti ēn hē Elisabet steira, kai amphoteroi probebēkotes en tais hēmerais autōn ēsan.

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But they had no children

In the cultural context of ancient Israel, having children was considered a blessing from God and a sign of His favor. Childlessness, therefore, was often viewed as a source of shame and social stigma. This situation would have been particularly difficult for Elizabeth and Zechariah, as they were both from priestly lines, and the expectation to continue their lineage would have been significant. The absence of children in their lives sets the stage for the miraculous birth of John the Baptist, highlighting God's intervention and the fulfillment of His divine plan.

because Elizabeth was barren

Barrenness is a recurring theme in the Bible, often preceding a miraculous birth that plays a crucial role in God's redemptive history. Notable examples include Sarah, Rebekah, Rachel, and Hannah, all of whom were initially barren but later bore children who were significant in Israel's history. Elizabeth's barrenness emphasizes the miraculous nature of John's birth and aligns with the pattern of God using unexpected means to fulfill His purposes. It also underscores the theme of God's sovereignty and His ability to bring life where there is none.

and they were both well along in years

This phrase indicates that Elizabeth and Zechariah were beyond the typical childbearing age, making the prospect of having children naturally improbable. This detail highlights the miraculous nature of John's conception, drawing a parallel to the story of Abraham and Sarah, who also had a child in their old age. The advanced age of Elizabeth and Zechariah serves to magnify God's power and faithfulness, demonstrating that nothing is impossible for Him. It also foreshadows the miraculous birth of Jesus, who would be born to a virgin, further emphasizing the divine nature of these events.

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But they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren, and both were advanced in years. O beloved people of God, hear the poignant truth of Luke’s Gospel, where the Spirit-inspired words unveil the tender story of Zechariah and Elizabeth, a righteous couple standing in the shadow of unfulfilled longing, yet steadfast in their faith before the Lord. In this single verse, we glimpse a moment of human frailty, where the ache of barrenness and the weight of years might have dimmed hope, yet it also reveals the prelude to God’s miraculous intervention, His sovereign power to transform despair into divine purpose. This is no mere record of human limitation but a sacred testimony to the God who sees the silent tears of His people, who hears the unspoken prayers of their hearts, and who works all things for His glory and their good. Let us gather our hearts in reverent awe, for in Luke 1:7 we find the promise of God’s faithfulness, the hope of His redemption, and the call to trust in His perfect timing, even when the world’s measures declare it too late.

Consider, O children of the Most High, the lives of Zechariah and Elizabeth, a priest and his wife, described as righteous before God, walking blamelessly in His commandments. Yet, despite their faithfulness, they bore the heavy burden of barrenness—a reproach in their culture, a wound in their hearts, a silent question mark over their prayers. Advanced in years, they stood at a point where human hope might falter, where the world might whisper that their time had passed, that their dreams were impossible. Yet the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God who opens wombs and fulfills promises, was not absent from their story. Their barrenness was not a mark of divine abandonment but a canvas for divine glory, a stage for the Almighty to display His power to do what is impossible with man. The same God who brought life from Sarah’s barren womb, who gave Hannah a son in her distress, was preparing to work a miracle through Zechariah and Elizabeth, heralding the dawn of salvation through their son, John, the forerunner of the Messiah.

O how great is our God, whose ways are higher than our ways, whose timing is perfect, and whose love never fails! The barrenness of Elizabeth and the advanced years of Zechariah were not the end of their story but the beginning of God’s redemptive plan. In a world that measures worth by outcomes, that judges hope by timelines, and that dismisses the faithful in their waiting, the Lord declares that He is not bound by human limitations. He sees the tears shed in secret, He hears the prayers offered in faith, and He moves in His own time to fulfill His promises. Let this truth fill your hearts with hope, beloved, for the God who saw Elizabeth in her barrenness sees you in your struggles, your delays, your unanswered prayers. He is not indifferent to your pain, nor is He delayed by your circumstances. He is the God who makes all things beautiful in His time, who turns mourning into dancing, and who brings life where the world sees only barrenness.

The story of Zechariah and Elizabeth calls us to a faith that endures, a hope that persists, and a trust that rests in the sovereignty of God. Their barrenness was not a denial of God’s favor but a preparation for His miracle. So, too, the trials you face—the seasons of waiting, the dreams unfulfilled, the hopes deferred—are not a sign of God’s absence but an invitation to trust in His presence. The world may look upon your struggles and declare them hopeless, just as it looked upon Elizabeth’s barrenness and saw only shame. But the Lord looks upon you with compassion, knowing the plans He has for you, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future. He is the God who works in the waiting, who weaves His purposes through the silence, and who brings forth His glory from the ashes of human impossibility.

This is our charge, O church of the living God: to live as a people who trust in the God who sees, who wait upon the God who acts, and who worship the God who redeems. In a world that hurries past the barren, that scorns the waiting, that mocks the faithful, let us be a community that stands firm in faith, that holds fast to hope, and that clings to the promises of God. Like Zechariah and Elizabeth, let us walk blamelessly before the Lord, not because we are perfect, but because we trust in His grace. Let us offer our prayers with persistence, our worship with sincerity, and our lives with surrender, knowing that the God who answered in His time for them will answer in His time for us. Let us be a light to those who wait in darkness, a comfort to those who bear the weight of unfulfilled longing, and a testimony to the God who makes all things new.

Beloved, as you walk through the seasons of your own barrenness—whether of body, heart, or spirit—remember the One who saw Zechariah and Elizabeth, who knew their pain, and who fulfilled His purpose through their lives. Your waiting is not in vain, your tears are not unseen, your faith is not forgotten. The God who brought forth John the Baptist from a barren womb is the God who brings forth hope from despair, life from death, and salvation from the cross. Live, therefore, as a people who trust in His timing, who rest in His promises, and who proclaim His faithfulness. Let your life be a song of praise to the God who sees, who hears, and who acts, the God who turns barrenness into blessing and waiting into worship. To Him who works all things for His glory and our good, be all honor, power, and praise, now and forevermore. Amen.

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O Almighty and Everlasting God, whose mercy knows no bounds and whose faithfulness endures through all generations, we come before Your holy throne with hearts bowed in reverence, voices lifted in adoration, and spirits humbled by the wonder of Your sovereign grace. Your Word declares in the Gospel of Luke that Zechariah and Elizabeth had no child, for Elizabeth was barren, and both were advanced in years—a tender testimony to their faithfulness amidst the ache of unfulfilled longing, yet a prelude to Your miraculous power that transforms barrenness into blessing and waiting into worship. O Lord, You who see the silent tears of Your people, who hear the prayers offered in the quiet of their hearts, and who work all things according to Your perfect will, hear us now, we pray, as we, Your children, gathered from every nation and tongue, seek Your strength, Your comfort, and Your hope in the seasons of our waiting.

We glorify You, O God, for You are the One who knows the depths of every heart, who sees the pain of every barren place, and who holds the times and seasons in Your hands. Zechariah and Elizabeth, righteous before You, walked blamelessly in Your commandments, yet bore the heavy burden of barrenness, a wound made heavier by the years that passed without the fulfillment of their hopes. Yet You, O Lord, were not absent from their story; Your eye was upon them, Your ear attuned to their prayers, Your hand ready to work a miracle that would herald the coming of Your Son. We praise You for Your faithfulness, which never falters; for Your power, which turns impossibility into possibility; and for Your love, which weaves redemption through the tapestry of our trials. You are the God who opened the womb of Sarah, who answered the cries of Hannah, and who brought forth John the Baptist from Elizabeth’s barrenness, proclaiming through their lives that nothing is too hard for You.

Forgive us, O merciful Father, for the times we have grown weary in our waiting, when we have doubted Your goodness or questioned Your timing. We confess that we have not always trusted in Your sovereign plan, allowing the weight of unfulfilled desires or the passage of years to dim our faith. Too often, we have looked to the world’s measures of time and success, forgetting that You are the God who works in the silence, who moves in the unseen, and who fulfills Your promises in Your perfect time. Cleanse us, we pray, by the blood of Your Son, Jesus Christ, and renew within us a steadfast spirit. Grant us the faith of Zechariah and Elizabeth, who walked blamelessly before You, trusting in Your promises even when hope seemed lost. Fill us with Your Holy Spirit, that we may wait with patience, worship with sincerity, and live with the assurance that You are always at work, even in our barren places.

We lift up Your church, O Lord, called to be a beacon of hope in a world that hurries past the waiting, that scorns the barren, and that measures worth by fleeting outcomes. Strengthen us, we pray, to stand firm in faith, to hold fast to Your promises, and to reflect Your faithfulness in every season. Like Zechariah and Elizabeth, may we be a people who walk in Your truth, who offer our prayers with persistence, and who trust in Your timing, knowing that You are preparing us for Your purposes. Fill us with Your Spirit, that we may be a community of compassion, offering comfort to those who wait, encouragement to those who weep, and hope to those who feel forgotten. Make us a living testimony to Your power, which brings life from barrenness, light from darkness, and joy from sorrow.

O God of all compassion, we intercede for those among us who bear the weight of unfulfilled longing—those who wait for answers, for healing, for provision, or for the fulfillment of dreams deferred. You see their tears, O Lord, as You saw Elizabeth’s; You hear their prayers, as You heard Zechariah’s. Speak to them now, we pray, with the voice that brings peace, and let them know that You are near, that Your plans for them are good, and that Your love never fails. Deliver them from despair, shield them from the lies of the world that call their waiting futile, and fill them with the hope that comes from trusting in You. Send forth Your church to walk alongside them, to bear their burdens, and to point them to the Savior who turns mourning into dancing and barrenness into blessing.

We pray, too, for a world that languishes in spiritual barrenness, chasing after empty promises, fleeting pleasures, and broken dreams. The nations strive for meaning, yet turn from the One who is the source of all life. O Lord, use Your people to carry the good news of Your Son, Jesus Christ, the One foretold by John, whom You brought forth through Elizabeth’s miracle. Let us be vessels of Your love, ambassadors of Your kingdom, and heralds of Your salvation, proclaiming that You are the God who sees, who hears, and who acts. Where the world sees only barrenness, let us proclaim Your power to bring life; where it sees only delay, let us declare Your perfect timing; where it sees only despair, let us shine with the hope of Your redemption.

O Lord, who reigns forever, we place our trust in You, knowing that Your faithfulness is our anchor, Your promises our hope, and Your Spirit our strength. Keep us steadfast in our waiting, fervent in our worship, and bold in our witness. Let us not be swayed by the world’s timelines or discouraged by its judgments, but rooted in the truth that You are at work in all things, bringing forth Your glory in Your time. May our lives proclaim the beauty of Your faithfulness, the power of Your redemption, and the certainty of Your coming kingdom. As You worked through Zechariah and Elizabeth to prepare the way for Your Son, work through us now, that we may prepare the way for Your glory in this world. We offer this prayer in the name of Jesus Christ, our Savior and Redeemer, who reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.