At that moment, his power of speech returned, and his first words were a b’rakhah to God. Luke 1:64 (CJB)
What follows this text is a magnificent prophecy spoken by Zechariah after his mouth was opened and he received the Holy Spirit.
“Praised be Adonai, the God of Isra’el,
because he has visited and made a ransom to liberate his people
by raising up for us a mighty Deliverer
who is a descendant of his servant David… Luke 1:67-79
I recommend you go and read it, in full. I felt the Holy Spirit come on ME when I read what Zechariah proclaimed. Wonderful! Powerful! Beautiful! I chose verse 64 because of the Hebrew word b’rakhah that was used in my CJB translation. It means “blessings” or “benedictions” and it comes from the word “knee”. It shows the connection between kneeling and worship.
I imagine him, with his voice returned, after nearly a year, falling on his knees and declaring Gods praises. How intimately he knew what was happening – who his own son was – an more importantly that the Messiah was coming – and soon! Others had the ability to question or doubt, even believing Elizabeth’s pregnancy was miraculous, but not Zechariah! I wonder how God spoke to his heart in the quiet of his waiting that when God opened Zechariah’s mouth all this poured forth, from his knees.
Just today I was overwhelmed by Gods presence and glory in a simple moment during my work day and it brought me to my knees. It’s not hard for me to imagine the emotion he must have felt in this moment.
The word says “his power of speech returned”. Not many translations say this the same way, opting for “his tongue was freed” or “loosed” and that is accurate, but I like this translation because it reminds me of the power of our words both toward ourselves and others. It reminds me how preoccupied our generation and even our church culture is with power. We want God to move in big, “powerful”, experiential ways and we want to be used as a vessel for it. I remember reading Acts thinking I want to be like Peter where people would be healed by my shadow falling on them. Isn’t that wild? Here, I’ll tell you plainly: we have power. Open your mouth and tell someone about the goodness of God.
About the Author: Amber Rockey
