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[This post is a part of my series on infertile women in the Bible, Barren + Biblical. Click here to return to the Barren + Biblical homepage.]
The infertility story of Elizabeth in the Bible stands out for a couple of reasons: 1. It is the only story of infertility in the New Testament; and 2. It seems to reiterate many — if not all — of the lessons from the Old Testament stories of infertility.
Before going on, read Elizabeth’s story of infertility in Luke 1.
A brief recap:
Elizabeth, despite “observing all the Lord’s commandments and regulations blamelessly,” was barren. She and her husband were also quite old (seems to quite a common theme in these stories, doesn’t it?).
Her husband Zechariah goes into the temple one day, and the angel Gabriel explains that he will have a son. He should name the son John, and he will prepare the way for the Christ (v. 17). Zechariah doesn’t really believe it (speaking of common themes in these stories…), and so Gabriel tells him that he will be silent until John’s birth.
Elizabeth gets pregnant and acknowledges that the Lord caused this to happen (v. 25). Meanwhile, Gabriel visits her cousin Mary and tells her that she will conceive the baby Jesus. And the rest is history….right?
Actually, I think some of the most interesting parts of this story come after this point, when Mary visits Elizabeth and after John is born:
When Mary comes to visit Elizabeth, John “leaps in her womb,” and she is filled with the Holy Spirit. Elizabeth blesses Mary’s baby. Then she gives birth to John, and the neighbors are all filled with awe (v. 65). Her husband Zechariah praises the Lord and gives a prophecy in verses 68-79, ending the chapter.
Themes
As I mentioned above, many of the themes in this story remind me of the other infertility stories from the Old Testament:
1. God does miraculous things, sometimes when we think it’s “too late”: Zechariah didn’t believe it when an angel told him they would have a child because they were too old (just like Sarah)
2. God listens to our prayers: The husband’s prayer is specifically mentioned as “having been answered” in verse 13 (just like Issac’s for Rebekah)
3. God, not your own work, is ultimately the source of all blessings: After getting pregnant, the phrase, “God has taken away my disgrace” is used in verse 25 (just like with Rachel’s story)
4. God doesn’t want us to know every detail of His plan: Zechariah + Elizabeth wanted more information…but the angel wouldn’t give it to them (just like Manoah and his wife)
5. God has infinite wisdom: His wisdom is showcased in the “perfect timing” of the birth of John, to prepare the way for the Christ (just like with Hannah and the perfect timing of the birth of Samuel)
6. God is “not fair” according to the world’s standards: Elizabeth, despite being a blameless and godly woman, was barren (just like the Shunammite woman)
While each of these themes is important, I want to focus this last infertility Bible story commentary on something else: How God uses infertility to bring others to him.
God’s purpose
I think we often lose sight of God’s purpose in everything that happens to us.
He wants to save us.
God’s wants more people to repent and put their trust in Jesus. And so through our stories and the stories of others, He reveals Himself.
Did you notice how much attention Zechariah and Elizabeth’s story attracted?
In verse 25, the people realized Zechariah had seen a vision. (Suddenly he couldn’t speak for 9 months?! Imagine how many people took notice of that.) In verse 58, all of Elizabeth’s neighbors and relatives “heard that the Lord had shown her great mercy, and they shared her joy.” (Can you imagine hearing the story of an old, barren woman suddenly giving birth? You’d want to tell all of your friends, too.)
Then Elizabeth wants to call her son John, which is bizarre because they have no relatives named John. So they ask Zechariah. He writes on a tablet, “His name is John,” and suddenly he can speak again. Verse 65 says, “The neighbors were all filled with awe, and throughout the hill country of Judea people were talking about all these things.” (Literally everyone was talking about this.)
John’s mission on earth was to prepare the way for the Christ; to call people to repent and return to the Lord. And God made sure John was getting people’s attention even before he was born!
God’s purpose in this story — and in every story — is to make Himself known. He wants people to take notice of Him, seek Him, and find Him. He wants to save us.
How, then, should this knowledge change us?
Honestly, Elizabeth is pretty impressive to me in this story. (Although I have to remind myself that it is God that is impressive, as Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit.)
Remember how Mary came to visit her? Here is how I’m picturing this conversation went down, in modern language:
Elizabeth: “Guess what? I’m pregnant! Can you believe this? Finally! Crazy story. So Zechariah goes to the temple, right, and then–”
Mary: “Really?! Me too! Listen to this. We weren’t even trying…no, not like ‘not preventing it not trying,’ but actually for real not trying. And can you believe this? My baby is God Himself! He’s going to be the Savior of the world! …Oh yeah, what were you saying now?”
Elizabeth: “Oh. Never mind.”
Except Elizabeth didn’t say that.
She rejoiced.
(Tell me now, how would you react to this? No, don’t pretend you’d be so happy for her too. Mary just stole your thunder! And no, don’t act like you’ll be done with comparison once you get pregnant, either.)
Elizabeth rejoiced, because even though she had finally gotten pregnant too, she had placed her hope first and foremost in Jesus. And so she wasn’t thinking about herself: She was thinking about Jesus.
When Mary told Elizabeth she was pregnant, the Holy Spirit spoke within Elizabeth and she exclaimed, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear! But why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?” (verse 43)
Elizabeth — despite being in the midst of a miracle herself — couldn’t believe that the mother of Jesus was coming to see her, of all people. She didn’t try to steal the spotlight back to gush about her own miracle. Instead, she focused on the most important thing: God has come to save us. And the Holy Spirit revealed to her that He would do that with Mary’s son, Jesus.
Elizabeth recognized that her infertility story was not really about her; it was about pointing people to the bigger and more important story, the story of Jesus Christ.
God wants every story — including yours — to point to Him.
While this might seem to diminish the importance of your life story, it actually does quite the opposite: It elevates it. It’s YOUR story that God wants to use to bring others to faith. And if you are placing your hope in Jesus, the Holy Spirit will work within you too, just like Elizabeth.
Who is your story pointing others to?
Read more about Elizabeth’s story in my post on Coping with Infertility During the Holidays.
[This post is a part of my series on infertile women in the Bible, Barren + Biblical. Click here to return to the Barren + Biblical homepage.]
