Making a Differencewith Pastor Phil Erickson

Dec 18th, 2012 Just for Ladies – by Camille Stahl

Today’s Passage – Philemon – Hebrews 4; (Click on the references to listen to the audio – click here to view the text from the Blue Letter Bible website)

(Second Milers also read –Psalms 86 – 90; Proverbs 18)

Memory passage for the month of November – Luke 1:26 – 38

Listen to this morning’s Scripture song – 1 John 4:7 & 8

A Study of the Women of the Bible

Elisabeth – A Woman of Character

“There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judaea, a certain priest named Zacharias, of the course of Abia: and his wife was of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elisabeth. And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless. And they had no child, because that Elisabeth was barren, and they both were now well stricken in years. And it came to pass, that while he executed the priest’s office before God in the order of his course, According to the custom of the priest’s office, his lot was to burn incense when he went into the temple of the Lord. And the whole multitude of the people were praying without at the time of incense. And there appeared unto him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense. And when Zacharias saw him, he was troubled, and fear fell upon him. But the angel said unto him, Fear not, Zacharias: for thy prayer is heard; and thy wife Elisabeth shall bear thee a son, and thou shalt call his name John.” (Luke 1:5-13)

“And Mary arose in those days, and went into the hill country with haste, into a city of Juda; And entered into the house of Zacharias, and saluted Elisabeth. And it came to pass, that, when Elisabeth heard the salutation of Mary, the babe leaped in her womb; and Elisabeth was filled with the Holy Ghost: And she spake out with a loud voice, and said, Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb. And whence is this to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For, lo, as soon as the voice of thy salutation sounded in mine ears, the babe leaped in my womb for joy. And blessed is she that believed: for there shall be a performance of those things which were told her from the Lord.” (Luke 1:39-45)

Elisabeth was a remarkable woman. She was the wife of a priest. Priest’s were only allowed to marry a woman who’s behavior was blameless. Elisabeth was such a woman. She was a descendant from the tribe of Aaron. Elisabeth and her husband Zacharias, were both righteous before God. Life was good to her as she served God, but her childlessness must have been painful to her. Every Jewish woman since Eve who conceived, thought she might be the mother of the Messiah. Yet Elisabeth suffered the humiliation of being childless. She must have question God “What’s wrong with me? Why hasn’t God answered my prayer?” Maybe she drew strength from the lives of Sarah, Rebekah and Hannah, who were also without children for a long time. But life is full of surprises, Elisabeth, who also waited many years, finally had a son who would be greatly used of God.

Elisabeth’s life could be characterized by humility and modesty. These were shown when a family member, Mary, visited her during her pregnancy. Rivalry was foreign to Elisabeth. Rather than talk about herself, she gave attention to Mary. She knew now that she was the mother of John, the preparer of the way, in the presence of the mother of the Messiah, whose way must be prepared. Elisabeth acknowledged this with great humility and modesty. She was not jealous at all. She had no problem calling Mary the mother of the Lord and “Blessed among women.”

With writing “Just For Ladies” each week, I can’t help but compare my life with the ladies I blog about. I want to share what I learned about myself from Elisabeth. I hope this will help you also.

With Christmas getting closer, I find myself very depressed and not much in the Christmas spirit. I try to stay out of stores as much as possible, but when there, I can’t help see parents getting excited about buying Christmas gifts for their children. I’m jealous and very angry that I no longer have my child, to celebrate Christmas with. Elisabeth could have reacted in the same way and said, “Why was Mary chosen to bare the Messiah, and not me……” She didn’t.  She drew all her attention to Mary and her babe.  Her eyes and heart were on the Lord and not herself.

In today’s society, we seem to look at others and want what they have.  We secretly are jealous of someone’s marriage, child or possession. You name it. Think of Potipher’s wife and what she did because she wanted Joseph. Paul asked God to take away the thorn in his flesh and His response was “My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. ”

As hard as it is to admit, I wish I could take matters into my own hands, like Potiphar’s wife, and get what I want. But I know the answer God gave Paul, is also the answer for me. How about you? Take a good hard look at your life. Ask yourself, what am I jealous about or covet?

As hard as it may be or even if we don’t like it, we should follow the example of Elisabeth.   Remember, the only way, is God’s way.

Thank You

1 John 5:13