Elizabeth's Story: When Shame Doesn’t Get The Last Word (SEEN SERIES)

In Luke 1:5–80, we meet Elizabeth, who has long since given up hope of bearing a child. She and Zechariah are too old for their prayer to be answered. And in a culture where women were valued based on the number of sons they produced, Elizabeth feels the sting of shame. But God looks upon her and removes her disgrace. He gives her a child in her old age, who is not only the answer to her prayer, but also the answer to the prayers of all who are awaiting the Messiah.  

Elizabeth's story is for anyone who feels behind on life’s timeline. She reminds us that God sees our shame and hears our prayers. He isn’t limited by things that might hold us back. He is the ultimate shame-lifter, and hope-giver. Where all feels barren, He can bring fruitfulness.

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Transcript

Shame Doesn’t Get The Last Word

Teresa Whiting 0:00

God did not allow shame to have the last word in Elizabeth's story. Sometimes I think shame says things like, It's too late. Your time has passed. God can't use you now. You're too old. God is not limited by our age. Our society puts these constructs on us. You're only valuable at this time. At this age, if you're capable of doing these things, and God's like, says who? If I have a plan for your life, I'm gonna carry that plan out, and nothing can stop it. Hi friend. If you've ever wondered how God's word connects with the messy, broken parts of your story, you're in the right place. Welcome to Beauty in the Brokenness, where we have honest conversations about the Bible, our real life struggles, and the hope God brings for healing. I'm your host, Teresa Whiting, an author, Bible teacher, and trauma-informed life coach, but mostly a friend and fellow struggler. No matter who you are or where you've been, I'm inviting you to encounter with a God who is still creating beauty right in the midst of your brokenness. As we continue our scene series, today we're talking about Elizabeth's story. Elizabeth is one of those characters, and I feel like she kind of gets lost in the shadow of Mary. Her story starts in Luke chapter one, and you kind of see her, and then real quickly, we jump into the story of Mary and Jesus, and Elizabeth kind of falls to the wayside, but she's one of those unseen characters that we can learn so much from. Let's start with the creative retelling of Elizabeth's story. I smoothed the creases in the linen tablecloth and feeled the bread with the back of my hand. A hard crust has formed. What is taking Zacharias so long? He's been gone this week for his priestly duties but should have been home hours ago. Everything I had prepared has cooled to lukewarm. It won't be the first time he eats an unimpressive meal. Over our many years together he's been patient, as I've learned to cook. Now we keep our meals simple barley bread, lentil stew and a small fig split between us. We don't need much. I've almost stopped imagining what it would have been like to cook for a brood of children, to sit around a full table. What meals might have been their favorites? What family traditions would have become precious memories? You would think by now the ache would have subsided, but here it is, decades after the possibility of bearing children has passed. All my thoughts and might have bins are interrupted as the gate creaks open, and Z's familiar footsteps approach the house. I pull the door open before he gets to it. What in the world took there's a look in his eyes. I can't quite put my finger on it. Excitement, terror, disbelief? Thoughts about our cold meal vanish. What is it? What's happened? You look as if you've seen a ghost. Zachariah bursts into what appears to be a laugh, but nothing comes out. He's like a mime mutely mimicking a laughing man. He just pulls me into a strong hug. What is this? I ask. What are you doing? Are you trying to distract me from the fact that you should have been home hours ago? I often pepper Z with questions when he returns home. He usually waits patiently and then asks with a grin, Where would you like me to begin? But he hasn't made a single sound since coming in the door, and my curiosity is mounting. What happened at Temple this week? Were you chosen to burn the incense? It was an honor to be chosen by Lot to enter the temple. He had only had this opportunity a few times in his life. And why are you being so mysteriously silent? My impatience is growing, but I'm trying to remain calm. He moves past me and picks up the tablet, leaning on the shelf. He writes while holding up his hand to still my incessant questions. What is going on, Z? Why don't you just tell me? He holds up the tablet. One sentence is scrawled at the top. You are going to have a baby. I don't know whether to laugh or cry. Why would he write such words? He knows the pain we've shared for so many years. He knows I'm well beyond my ability to conceive. He knows he couldn't give me a child even if he wanted to. And oh how he wanted to. Zachariah is not one to make light of my pain. He continues writing furiously. I try to read as fast as he writes. These five words go straight to my heart. Our prayer has been heard. Nine months later, cradling my newborn, I stare beyond tears into his deep brown eyes with awe, wonder, and love. It's still beyond my understanding that God has given us this gift. After enduring years of shame, the Lord has looked upon me and taken away my disgrace. He has granted my deepest desire. But our infant is not only the answer to our prayers, he's the answer to the prayers of our people. As I trace my finger along his tiny cheek, I remember everything that led to this moment. After the angel's apparition, Zechariah wrote the words on a scroll so he wouldn't forget them. He wanted me to know exactly what Gabriel told him. Do not be afraid, Zachariah, because your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to give him the name John. He will be a joy and delight to you, and many will rejoice at his birth, for he will be great in the sight of the Lord. He shall never take wine or strong drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit even from his mother's womb. Many of the sons of Israel he will turn back to the Lord their God, and he will go on before the Lord in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to their children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous, to make ready a people prepared for the Lord. It's a wonder that God has chosen me and Zechariah as his instruments to fulfill this miraculous promise, a promise I had not dared to wish for in so many years. When I realized I was pregnant, I could barely believe it. I kept myself hidden for five months, avoiding public gatherings. Our community would have called me crazy. They knew something had happened to Zachariah during his temple service, but nobody would have believed fertility would have come to this old couple. It wasn't until Mary arrived in my sixth month that I found someone who could share my joy and revel in the glorious mysteries of our God. At the first sound of her voice, John leaped in my womb, and God confirmed these two truths to my heart. This was no ordinary baby. And young, brave, beautiful Mary, though a virgin, was carrying my Lord in her womb. What a gift it was to have one another, young and old, city dweller and country woman, virgin and elderly wife. We couldn't have been more different, but our mutual love for Adonai and our affection for one another created a bond of love between us. We laughed and cried and promised to see one another through to the end of her journey. Today, as we follow the covenant of circumcision, all our neighbors have gathered in our home. I can see in their eyes bewilderment, awe, and worship of God. But I also see the guilt they carry for years of judgment, whispered gossip and outright criticism. Their wounding words that had stung for so long seemed to be losing their weight. The whispers and sideways glances from years ago have turned to gasps and outright questions How they stammer while they are overcome with joy for our sake. But I don't think they understand how special this child is. Zechariah enters with another man. They approach me, and I know it's time for the ceremony. I hand John off to Z so the Mohel can perform the circumcision. It's over quickly, and we wrap him up like a cocoon. I hold him close and try to comfort him. Little Zechariah is just perfect, my neighbor says. Oh Elizabeth, what a gift you've been given. Yes, I nod. But we aren't calling him Zechariah. His name is John. John all heads turn in unison as the room erupts. What kind of name is that? Who do you know with that name? None of your relatives is named John. They're talking on top of one another, intent on convincing me that I'm making a big mistake. Zechariah, you won't stand for that, will you? One of them exclaims. Did you know Elizabeth wants to call him John? This is crazy. Of course you won't agree to that. They wave their arms and make signs to John, as if he were deaf as well as mute. It has been the better part of a year since the angel had tied Zechariah's tongue. He hasn't spoken a word to anyone since that fateful morning in the temple. He motions for his tablet. My neighbor Miriam nearly trips over herself trying to bring it to him. The room falls silent. As my husband takes the stylus and writes just a few words, he stands tall and turns the tablet for all to see. In bold letters it says, His name is John. Instantly his tongue is loosed, and Zechariah begins to praise God. We listen in awe as a message from the Lord pours from his lips. Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel, because he has come to his people and redeemed them. He has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David, as he said through his holy prophets of long ago, salvation from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us, to show mercy to our ancestors, and to remember his holy covenant, the oath he swore to our father Abraham, to rescue us from the hand of our enemies, and to enable us to serve him without fear in holiness and righteousness before him all our days. With tears he turns toward our infant son, and you, my child, will be called a prophet of the Most High, for you will go on before the Lord to prepare the way for him, to give his people the knowledge of salvation through the forgiveness of their sins, because of the tender mercy of our God, by which the rising sun will come to us from heaven to shine on those living in darkness and in the shadow of death to guide our feet into the path of peace. The room erupts with shouts, laughter, questions, and awe. The people are amazed. They realize now that this was no latent pregnancy, but a miracle from God most high with Zechariah. I lift my heart in praise. And like all our neighbors, I whisper the question that echoes through the hillside of Judea. What then will this child become? As always, I want to encourage you to read this story directly from the Bible. You can find it in Luke chapter 1, verses 5 through 80. If you're anything like me, a lot of the details of these stories can get lost, whether it's because they're familiar or because we're paying too much attention to other parts of the story. But I want to point out a few things about Elizabeth's story, things that encourage us in our faith walk, things that maybe we might have missed along the way. If we look at Luke chapter 1, it says, In the time of Herod, king of Judea, there was a priest named Zachariah who belonged to the priestly division of Abijah, and whose wife Elizabeth was a descendant of Aaron. Both of them were righteous in the sight of God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and decrees of the Lord. But they had no children, because Elizabeth was barren, and they were both well along in years. Like he saw them, he knew them, but immediately it also explains their pain point. Elizabeth was barren. In fertility in our culture is extremely painful. But back in Elizabeth's day, not only was infertility personally painful, it was a social mark against you. Back in that culture, the value of a woman was largely determined by how many children she had. And Elizabeth was a zero. Not only that, barrenness was seen as a curse from God. And to make matters worse, both Elizabeth and Zachariah were from a priestly line. Sometimes people have these unrealistic expectations of people in ministry. I know what this is like because I'm married to a pastor and I have been for 30 years. And it's so funny. People meet me, and when they find out that I'm a pastor's wife, they're like, oh, I wasn't gonna, I wouldn't have said those things. I didn't know. Just really funny and kind of strange reactions. I get that often. And so I always tell people, like, please don't tell anyone I'm a pastor's wife, just because I don't want people to have this image in their mind of, you know, people think, well, oh, you're a pastor's wife. And honestly, I don't know what that means to them. I don't know what they think a pastor's wife is, but whatever it is, I don't want to be it. So I feel, in a sense, I feel some of Elizabeth's pain because because they were from a priestly line, barrenness would have carried more disgrace for them. I mean, it's like you guys are spiritual leaders and you can't get pregnant. Like, what is going on? Because it was seen as a curse from God. And so their friends, their relatives, their community would have been giving some sideways glances to Elizabeth and to Zachariah. Like, what's going on with you guys? What's wrong with you? We know for a fact that she felt this because if you read Luke 1.25 in various translations, um, one of them says, The Lord has done this for me. In these days, he has shown his favor and taken away my disgrace from among the people. In the new living, it says, How kind the Lord is. He has taken away my disgrace of having no children. And I love the English standard because it says, Thus the Lord has done for me in the days when he looked on me to take away my reproach among the people. So that this concept of having no children and being barren was an absolute disgrace. It was a source of shame for Elizabeth. But shame doesn't only come for Elizabeth, it comes for all of us. Shame is like Satan's native language. It's what he began in the garden. Immediately when sin entered the world, shame followed right on its heels. And we have talked about shame on this podcast multiple times. And there's all different types of ways shame comes to us. We've talked a lot about sexual shame, but I want to talk about some different forms of shame. I think we have come to understand that barrenness is not a curse from God, but it still brings so much pain and heartache. There's that longing, especially when our sisters and our friends and our neighbors are having children, and there's this desire that we have, and God is not allowing that desire to be filled. We can turn to ourselves and we can think, what did I do wrong? What am I doing wrong? Like, why can't we figure this out? And I just want to say to that woman that it's not something you're doing wrong. God is the one who opens and closes wombs. We don't understand his ways, but we feel that pain and we understand that that hurts and that is a legitimate longing. It's a legitimate desire. For you, you may feel shame in other areas of life. Maybe it's a different kind of barrenness. Maybe you're feeling like, you know, I've been working at this thing for a really long time and there's no fruit being produced. Or you might look at your adult children and say, they've gone away that I never thought they would go. And that's painful to me. It's it's shameful. It's like, what did I do wrong? We could look back on our life, we could think about our mistakes or our failures, or ways that we have wanted to honor God and fallen short, or even ways that people have discredited us or criticized us. And we can listen to those voices of shame, but that is not God's voice. What I love about Elizabeth's story is that even though the people around her may have scorned her, may have criticized her, God saw the truth. His commentary on her was that she was righteous. She walked with God. And if she had had a baby at the normal time like every other woman, it would have been no big deal. But God was waiting for just the right time. God was going to use this woman in an incredible way in the story of redemption. She gives birth to John the Baptist, the forerunner of Jesus. And everybody around, when he's born, is like, whoa, something's going on here. Like, what is this child going to become? God did not allow shame to have the last word in Elizabeth's story. Sometimes I think shame says things like, it's too late. Your time has passed. God can't use you now. You're too old. That is something that I have had to work through myself. And you might be listening thinking, Teresa, you're not old. And I'm not. But I look around at writers or speakers or other women in ministry and I see, wow, they started 20, 30 years ago. They started when their kids were young. I'm so late to the game. Like, I should probably just not even be doing this. What am I doing? But Elizabeth and Zachariah weren't the only old people that God used. They were in their old age when God removed their disgrace. Moses and Aaron were in their 80s when they led the Israelites out of Egypt. Sarah was 90 and Abraham was a hundred when Isaac was born. And then on the flip side, Mary was a teenager when she gave birth to Jesus. Jesus was 30 years old when he began his public ministry. My point is this: God is not limited by our age. You're only valuable at this time, at this age, if you're capable of doing these things. And God's like, says who? If I have a plan for your life, I'm going to carry that plan out. And nothing can stop it. Not being too young, not being too old, not being infertile, not your lack of eloquence. Thinking of Moses, where God told Moses, I'm going to have you lead the people. And Moses just gave argument after argument after argument, like, God, not me. I can't. I'm too old. I'm too this. Like, I can't speak. And God's like, listen, I'm going to be with you. And I think God has that message for us. Like, if I have a job for you, I am with you and I'm going to fulfill that purpose in you. Psalm 138.8 says, the Lord will fulfill his purpose for me. I don't know where you are today, but I want to encourage you to press on. God has given you a gift. If you belong to him, he has imparted a spiritual gift to you. So don't listen to the lies that tell you you're too small or it's too late or others don't need what you have to offer. You have been given gifts to share with the body of Christ. God has fashioned you like clay in the hands of a potter for a particular purpose. What do you think that might be? What is God calling you to? I just want you to know it's not too late. You're not too old. God has known you from eternity past, and if he calls you to something, he will accomplish it. So listen for his leading. Him. Act in accordance with the gifts and the abilities he's given you. But you don't need to stress out and fret and strive and try to make things happen. God is the one who accomplishes the work. What would it look like for you to step into God's call on your life? To put that shame out of your head, like to silence that voice that's that tells you it's too late, you should be ashamed, you're not good enough. Whatever that voice is, what do you need to do to silence that voice? And then I want to encourage you to do it. To listen to what God says about you. Don't let shame stop you. Don't let the voices of the enemy stop you. Don't let other people's evaluations or criticisms stop you. God has given you gifts. Step into your calling. Thanks for hanging out with me today on Beauty and the Brokenness. To find anything I mentioned on the episode, go to TeresaWiting.com slash episode dash one four to find all the show notes. Also, I have a question. Have you signed up for my weekly podcast updates? Each week I send a short email with all the details about the podcast, when I have guests, you can learn how to connect with them and all their related resources. All of that fun information goes out every week through my Substack newsletter. If that's something you're not getting yet, you're missing out. I will have a link to that in the show notes. In closing, I want to leave you with this prayer from number six, 24 to 26. The Lord bless you and keep you. The Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you. The Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace.