The Timing of God
Do not say, “Why were the old days better than these?” For it is not wise to ask such questions. Ecclesiastes [7:10]
Zechariah asked the angel, “How can I be sure of this? I am an old man and my wife is well along in years.”
“I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I have been sent to speak to you and to tell you this good news. And now 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.”
Gabriel
Maybe I’m a little crazy but I have always wondered what it would be like to live in a different time period. Often I had even thought that it would be more enjoyable or beneficial to live during whatever period of my choosing. Maybe you have felt the same way.
Reading through the first chapters of Luke it is striking how Jesus came at the exact time period in history that fulfilled prophecy and moved us into the reality of the Kingdom of God. He was the fulfillment of the Old Testament prophecies and the shattering of the kingdoms of earth as Daniel had promised.
And there was Zechariah standing in the Temple looking at an angel and questioning whether or not the angel was speaking the truth. You see, I envision Zechariah a little bit like us. Probably a little upset about his current circumstances, probably a lot frustrated with his fellow Israelites for either not being zealous enough about his interests or too zealous about their own interests.
Possibly, even as he is fulfilling his Temple responsibilities, which are a once in a lifetime opportunity for his family, he is dreaming of what it would have been like to fulfill these responsibilities during the times of David or Solomon. Maybe not. Maybe he is fully involved in what he is doing, but the doubt that creeps into his voice – and angers Gabriel – leads us to believe otherwise.
There is no better time for us to be alive than right now. As children of God, we live in the presence of the One who commands the Heavenly Messengers. And as Solomon warned, pining for the ‘good ole days’ is misdirected energy because they were never what we thought they were in the first place.
Daniel Harding