The God of Israel is obsessed about His people. From time to time He raised up either a prophet judge or king to rule His people according to His commandments and statutes. The way was paved in and through these events for the entry of the promised Messiah.

The marvel of this Sovereign God is that He always chose the least qualified (according to the worldly way of understanding) and most rejected people for His great work. He sent His angel to a barren woman who had been humiliated for her entire life. This is the work of our God. We are comforted and con¬soled because if we are humiliated, rejected and are perceived as less qualified, God will choose us to be His powerful weapons in His Kingdom. When we are rejected, become persecuted and treated as less fortunate in this world and by our society we need to rejoice because that is when we will experience the miracles of God.

Samson was consecrated from his mother’s womb for God’s purpose. He was chosen to fight and defeat the Philistines. God could have chosen any other woman to be Samson’s mother, but Samson’s mother was chosen specially from God to reveal the power and the compassion of the God whom they worshiped and glorified.

John the Baptist’s conception was a replica of Samson’s conception. Though Zachariah and Elizabeth were respected by society, they had no children. The Jewish religious leaders treated barrenness as a curse from God. The angel of God was sent to the priest Zachariah with the good news. The highlight of the message was that the child would be filled with the Holy Spirit from his mother’s womb. When comparing John the Baptist and Samson, we see that instructions were given to Samson’s mother to guide the child. But in the case of John the Baptist, the angel declared the nature and the personality of the child. We need to identify the fulfillment of the promise of God. The purpose of the miracle of John the Baptist was to pave the way for the Messiah’s missionary entry.

Prayer: Abba Father, help me to recognise your hand on me and drive me to accomplish your Will. Amen