Zechariah's Humorous Response
I think the Bible is packed with humor. I also think that the humor isn't always obvious. I was reading in Luke last night and read something that made me laugh. Because I paid for this mic, I'm going to share it with you.
First, the background. The story revolves around the Jewish temple and the Jewish religious calendar. The Jewish Virtual Library has an article on the temple, giving the relevant background:
As glorious and elaborate as the Temple was, its most important room contained almost no furniture at all. Known as the Holy of Holies (Kodesh Kodashim), it housed the two tablets of the Ten Commandments. Unfortunately, the tablets disappeared when the Babylonians destroyed the Temple, and during the Second Temple era, the Holy of Holies was a small, entirely bare room. Only once a year, on Yom Kippur, the High Priest would enter this room and pray to God on Israel's behalf. A remarkable monologue by a Hasidic rabbi in the Yiddish play The Dybbuk conveys a sense of what the Jewish throngs worshiping at the Temple must have experienced during this ceremony:
God's world is great and holy. The holiest land in the world is the land of Israel. In the land of Israel the holiest city is Jerusalem. In Jerusalem the holiest place was the Temple, and in the Temple the holiest spot was the Holy of Holies.... There are seventy peoples in the world. The holiest among these is the people of Israel. The holiest of the people of Israel is the tribe of Levi. In the tribe of Levi the holiest are the priests. Among the priests, the holiest was the High Priest.... There are 354 days in the [lunar] year. Among these, the holidays are holy. Higher than these is the holiness of the Sabbath. Among Sabbaths, the holiest is the Day of Atonement, the Sabbath of Sabbaths.... There are seventy languages in the world. The holiest is Hebrew. Holier than all else in this language is the holy Torah, and in the Torah the holiest part is the Ten Commandments. In the Ten Commandments the holiest of all words is the name of God.... And once during the year, at a certain hour, these four supreme sanctities of the world were joined with one another. That was on the Day of Atonement, when the High Priest would enter the Holy of Holies and there utter the name of God. And because this hour was beyond measure holy and awesome, it was the time of utmost peril not only for the High Priest but for the whole of Israel. For if in this hour there had, God forbid, entered the mind of the High Priest a false or sinful thought, the entire world would have been destroyed.
Got it? This is serious business indeed. A priest by the name of Zechariah steps into this holy event. He and his wife were an old married couple. They'd been childless for so long that they'd given up on having children. Here's the story
Once when Zechariah's division was on duty and he was serving as priest before God, he was chosen by lot, according to the custom of the priesthood, to go into the temple of the Lord and burn incense. And when the time for the burning of incense came, all the assembled worshipers were praying outside.
Then an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing at the right side of the altar of incense. When Zechariah saw him, he was startled and was gripped with fear. But the angel said to him: "Do not be afraid, Zechariah; your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to call him John. He will be a joy and delight to you, and many will rejoice because of his birth, for he will be great in the sight of the Lord. ..."
Wow. Huge moment here. The entire nation waits with baited breath while Zechariah talks to God on their behalf. Zechariah has probably spent his entire life telling himself "Don't screw up, don't screw up, don't screw up" -- just over the matter of praying. Now he walks into this mostly empty room and an angel's standing there. Surely a miraculous occurrence! How does Zechariah respond?
Zechariah asked the angel, "How can I be sure of this? I am an old man and my wife is well along in years."
Hah! His first response is "Dude, are you for real?" It's the angel's response that really made me laugh though.
The angel said to him, "I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I have been sent to speak to you and to tell you this good news. ..."
Translation: "Hi. I'm an angel. Not just any angel. I'm Gabriel. I stand before the throne in YHWH's presence. You're here on the biggest day of your life, the biggest day of the religious calendar -- and you're asking me whether or not you can trust me?"
That just made me laugh. Not so much at Zechariah as at human nature. We're not good at handling surprise and trusting God. Had I been in the Holy of Holies that day, I'm sure I would have reacted just as Zechariah did.
I think the punishment definitely fits the crime:
"And now you will be silent and not able to speak until the day this happens, because you did not believe my words, which will come true at their appointed time."
"You know what -- if you can't say anything intelligent, just don't talk at all. It's safer that way."
So true.