He Will Remember What He Has Not Forgotten

In the time of Herod king of Judea there was a priest named Zechariah, who belonged to the priestly division of Abijah; his wife Elizabeth was also a descendant of Aaron. Both of them were righteous in the sight of God, observing all the Lord’s commands and decrees blamelessly. But they were childless because Elizabeth was not able to conceive, and they were both very old. – Luke 1:5-7

This is my “short devos based on a couple of verses” phase, in case you wondered. Which I’m sure you didn’t, but one never knows and I think it’s always better to be safe than sorry. I’m pretty throughtful like that.

I like how Luke connects this new covenant beginning with the old covenant, don’t you? He made sure we knew that the priest, Zechariah, was from the division of Abijah. When King David was on the throne, he divided the priesthood into divisions, and Abijah was the eighth divison. He also let us know that both Zechariah and Elizabeth were descendants of Aaron.

Old to new. Seamless. Covenant flowing into covenant.

But do you know the Hebrew meaning of the name Zechariah?

זְכַרְיָה – “Yahweh has remembered”

The Hebrew doesn’t imply that He forgot a thing and then remembered it. It means the time came for His promise, or His prophecy to be fulfilled.

He remembered Zechariah and Elizabeth would bring forth the “voice of one crying out in the wilderness” from Isaiah 40:3.

And now it was time.

There are things I’ve been waiting on, things promised in His Word; things my heart longs to see fulfilled. Somedays, those feel like forgotten things. Like heaven has moved on while my faith filled prayers are in a corner gathering dust.

Today, I am reminded that my Father never forgets and the day will come when He will remember. Because it will be time.

Take heart today, my friend. God has not forgotten, and when it’s time, He will remember. Keep praying.