Waiting: Day 3

Tuesday December 2, 2025

Now while he (Zechariah) was serving as priest before God when his division was on duty,

according to the custom of the priesthood, he was chosen by lot

 to enter the temple of the Lord and burn incense.

Luke 1:8, 9, English Standard Version

Zechariah doesn’t just show up when it’s his time. He also does his job. Here’s how it worked.

Not only did the divisions rotate their times of service, but they also had to divide up the various priestly duties among the men of the division once they were in Jerusalem. This they did by casting lots.

Zechariah is chosen for the task of entering the temple and burning incense. He doesn’t shirk his responsibility, but instead he steps up and does what he’s asked to do. Likely, it wasn’t a tough decision for this was the most highly desired duty, much like preaching at a big conference or serving Holy Communion to a large gathering. Nonetheless, he heads inside the temple.

This is where things get really interesting. Because he showed up, and because he stepped up, Zechariah is in position for a divine appointment. Here is what verse 11 tells us-And there appeared to him (Zechariah) an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense. This doesn’t happen every day, not even in the New Testament. How do we know? Because verse 12 tells that Zechariah was “troubled” when he saw the angel, and that “fear fell upon him.” On Zechariah, that is. Not the angel.

The supernatural breaks into the ordinary life of a priest. Zechariah shows up, and so does a messenger from God. It’s a great reminder that we need to keep our eyes and ears open during the day to day because we never know when the Lord might just pay us a visit.

Do you ever feel like skipping some duty of the Christian life-something like reading your Bible, pausing to pray, sharing your faith? Would it really matter if I just didn’t do some little thing that is part of being faithful to Christ? Probably no big deal, at least that one time. Right?

But what if old Zechariah had sluffed it off? What if he’d told some other priest to go burn the incense that day? Showing up is important, for sure. But so is doing what we’re supposed to do. Look where it got Zechariah.