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One more example of how men are held to a greater degree
of responsibility and then we’ll stop. Let’s go to Luke
1:5-38, Zacharias the priest is whom we will focus
on first. Zacharias is the father of John the Baptist. But
before John was born there was some things that took place
that are very interesting from a responsibility aspect. Zacharias
was in the temple serving, as was his duty, when an angel
of the Lord appeared to him. Now I’ll quote Luke
1:12- "And Zacharias was troubled when he saw
him and fear gripped him. But the angel said to him, "do
not be afraid, Zacharias, for your petition has been heard,
and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you will
give him the name John. And you will have joy and gladness,
and many will rejoice at his birth. For he will be great in
the sight of the Lord, and he will drink no wine or liquor:
and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit, while yet in his
mother’s womb. And he will turn back many of the sons of Israel
to the Lord their God. And it is he who will go as a forerunner
before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah, To turn the
hearts of the fathers back to the children, and the disobedient
to the attitude of the righteous: so as to make ready a people
prepared for the Lord." And Zacharias said to the angel,
How shall I know this for certain? For I am an old man and
my wife is advanced in years. And the angel answered and said
to him, I am Gabriel, who stands in the presence of God: and
I have been sent to speak to you, and to bring you this good
news. And behold, you shall be silent and unable to speak
until the day when these things take place, Because
you did not believe my words, which shall be fulfilled in
their proper time." So there he is and he
does not recognize the message or the messenger. So when he
questions a messenger of God, bam, he is punished. And as
we all know, back in those times priests where also politicians
as well as priests. Imagine a politician in our time losing
his voice. This is a pretty extreme punishment.
But now lets flip the page and see what happens next. Luke
1:26-38, I will not quote it all so please read the
passage in total. Anyway, the angel Gabriel visits Mary; the
future mother of Jesus and here’s what happens. In verse 29
it says Mary is troubled just like Zacharias was. In verse
30 she is told not to fear just as Zacharias was told in verse
13. In verse 34 Mary asks how this could be, but the angel
reacts differently to the question. Gabriel simply answers
her question and that is that. By implication Mary was not
expected to have the same degree of recognition as Zacharias.
When Zacharias questions he is told for not recognizing the
word of God he is to be punished, but when the woman asks
the same question she is not punished. She is not expected
to know the way a man is expected to know. Zacharias is expected
to know and Mary is not. Therefore the greater responsibility
is on the man.
Gentlemen, I can expand on this further if you would like,
but I see no need. The implications are obvious. You and I
will ultimately answer to God for ourselves and our wives
and children. Like it or not, listening to the voices of our
wives and not decerning the spirit of the voice will get us
in hot, hot water. It is proper to seek wise council and many
of us have some wise woman as our wives. But wise council
is not a substitute for personal knowledge and personal responsibility.
You will stand before God personally and you will be responsible
for the actions of the family and yourself. Stand up and be
men and recognize the word of the Lord. Only you can do this,
it can’t be done for you. Take control, take command and stand
tall before God.
Dina's Dad
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