LAUGHTER, A BASKET, AND SILENCE

LAUGHTER

Picture this: Sarah, Abraham’s wife, was minding her own business.  Going about her everyday activities.  You know, sweeping the floor, doing the dishes.  Trying to stay as cool as possible and working very hard to not say to Abraham, “Here I am, slaving away, in this heat, and there you are sitting at the entrance to our tent blocking the breeze.”  She thought, “Oh Sarah, he has worked hard all morning.  Let the old man sit and relax.”  Sarah went back to her chores. 

Abraham suddenly saw something.  There were three men standing nearby.  He quickly went toward the men and bowed low to the ground.  “If I have found favor in your eyes, my lord, do not pass your servant by.”

Abraham stuck his head in the tent and shouted, “Bring some water!  Bake some bread.  Use the good flour.  Our guests deserve the best.”

As they were eating, they asked, “Where is your wife Sarah?”  Abraham replied, “In the tent.”

Get ready for here comes the good part.  Ready?  Remember Abraham was 100 years old and Sarah was 90 years old.  100 AND 90!  Then the LORD said, “I will surely return to you about this time next year, and Sarah your wife will have a son.”

Sarah laughed at the idea of her having a child at this stage of her life.  Sarah delivered a bouncing baby boy and Abraham named him Isaac, which means laughter.

A BASKET

The Pharaoh was more than a bit concerned over the birth rate of the Hebrews.  They were increasing in number and that had to stop!  The Hebrew midwives were instructed to kill every baby boy born.  Instead of killing the babies, they told the king that the Hebrew women delivered the baby before they arrived.  The king went to plan B:  ALL Hebrew baby boys are to be thrown into the Nile.

A Levite woman gave birth to a son, hid the child for three months, and then put the baby in a basket.  The basket was placed in the Nile and floated to where the Pharaoh’s daughter bathed.

The baby grew older, became the son of the Pharaoh’s daughter, and was named Moses, which means I drew him out of the water.

SILENCE

Zechariah was excited to be the one serving as priest before God.  He was to go into the temple of the Lord and burn incense.  Everyone was outside praying while Zechariah lit the incense.  An angel of the Lord appeared to him and he was gripped with fear.  Oh, admit it.  If an angel of the Lord appeared to you while you were doing your morning prayers, you would be “gripped with fear.”  Back to the story.  Even though Zechariah and his wife were righteous in the sight of God, observed all the Lord’s commands and decrees blamelessly, he was wondering what the angel wanted with him.  The angel told Zechariah to not be afraid.  I am sure he was thinking, “That is easy for you to say.  You are an angel.  The angel of the Lord.”

Then Zechariah heard the angel say, “Your prayer has been heard.  Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son and you are to call him John.”  It was at this point that Zechariah should have kept quiet.  Instead he asked the angel, “How can I be sure of this?  I am an old man and my wife is well along in years.”

The angel said to him, “I am Gabriel.  I stand in the presence of God, and I have been sent to speak to you and tell you this good news.  And now (get ready for the angel to show his power) you will be silent and not able to speak until the day this happens, because you did not believe my words, which will come true at their appointed time.”

Elizabeth delivered a baby boy and she declared, “No! He is to be called John.”  Zechariah wrote on a tablet, “His name is John.”  John, which means God gracefully gave.

AHHHH -- A BABY

Women smile and go “ahh” when they see a baby.  Men look, nod their head, and go back to what they were doing.  We do not look at a baby and say, “This child will be an astronaut.”  Or the President.  Or a teacher.  But God had special plans for these boys.

Isaac obeyed his parents, obeyed God, and continued the covenant line.  Abraham was the father of Isaac, Isaac the father of Jacob, ….  And Jacob the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary, and Mary was the mother of Jesus who is called the Messiah.

Moses had a different life than Isaac.  His birth was hidden, he was raised in a palace, and he committed murder.  He hid until one day he said to God, “Here I am.”  With those three words, Moses became the person to bring the Israelites out of Egypt.

John was not allowed to drink wine or fermented drink and he dressed funny.  God had a special job for John.  He was to bring back many of the people of Israel to the Lord their God and prepare the way for Jesus.

Three special babies who grew up to obey God. 

BUT — Does God also have special plans for children before they become adults? Read next week to find out.

TODAY’S SCRIPTURES: Genesis 18:1-16, 21:1-7, Exodus 1, 2:1-4, 10, and Luke 1:5-25, 57-64