Women of the Word | Elizabeth
God’s Word is full of women who were willing to answer His call on their lives. From Hannah to Rachel… Deborah to Esther… These women helped bring God’s Kingdom to earth through their faith, obedience, courage, and love, and they continue to do so today through the lessons their stories teach.
Join us as we discover how the faith and steadfastness of Elizabeth helped prepare the way for the Lord!
Women of the Word
While some may believe a false narrative about women—that God does not use them or that they do not factor into God’s ministry—God has always seen women as valuable. God has always loved them and used them for His Kingdom purpose… for good.
From Deborah who served as a judge and courageous leader for God’s people… to Esther who walked in obedience no matter the personal cost, saving many lives… to Mary who would have the faith to accept the plan of the Lord and give birth to the King of kings…
God used and continues to use women to answer His call!
“Blessed is she who believed, for there will be a fulfillment of those things which were told her from the Lord.”
—Luke 1:45
Elizabeth
Not long before Yeshua—Jesus—was to come to earth, there lived a man named Zacharias, and his wife, Elizabeth. Zacharias was a descendant of Levi and a priest who went yearly to the Temple of the Lord for one week to serve God. Elizabeth was also a descendant of the priestly lineage of Levi, with her ancestry going back to Aaron.
Yet, more than ancestry, both were righteous before the Lord and served Him faithfully, not being swayed by the Roman ways.
However, despite serving God faithfully, they were still without child though well-advanced in years.
“And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless. But they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren, and they were both well advanced in years.”
—Luke 1:6-7
Now at this time, to be without a child was a deep burden to bear. Firstly, because there was no heir to receive the inheritance, and therefore no direct legacy to remember the family name. Secondly, because it was common for people to view barrenness as a sign of God’s punishment.
This lack of a child would have affected both Zacharias and Elizabeth. Yet, while traditionally it is the wife who faces the deepest emotional hardships because of this—often due to the mocking and ridicule faced when barren—it was Zacharias, we are told, who prayed for a child…
“But the angel said to him, ‘Do not be afraid, Zacharias, for your prayer is heard; and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son…’”
—Luke 1:13
However, when the angel of the Lord, Gabriel, appeared to Zacharias, proclaiming the wonderful news that he and Elizabeth would have a son, Zacharias did not have the faith needed to immediately accept the promise. In fact, because Zacharias questioned the word of the Lord, God caused him to be mute until the promise was fulfilled.
It is interesting that Zacharias doubted the word of the Lord, as it reminds us of Sarah, who laughed at the idea of having a child due to her age. Yet, God did not revoke his promise, merely silencing the doubt until the appointed time of the promise.
With Elizabeth however, we are never told that she doubted. Instead, we are told that she, upon becoming pregnant, chose to remain five months within her home—five being the number of grace—saying, “Thus the Lord has dealt with me, in the days when He looked on me, to take away my reproach among people” (Luke 1:25).
Elizabeth chose to remain at home in honor of the grace God had given her in taking away her reproach among the people. This is a clear sign that Elizabeth was choosing to walk in the Lord’s righteousness… but a stronger sign than even that was coming…
When Elizabeth’s relation, Mary, came to visit while in the early stages of her pregnancy with Yeshua, Elizabeth, filled with the Holy Spirit and interpreting the leaping of the son within her womb, begins to prophesy…
“And it happened, when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, that the babe leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. Then she spoke out with a loud voice and said, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! But why is this granted to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For indeed, as soon as the voice of your greeting sounded in my ears, the babe leaped in my womb for joy. Blessed is she who believed, for there will be a fulfillment of those things which were told her from the Lord.”
—Luke 1:41-45
Even though Mary was not yet showing in nature that she was pregnant, God revealed this secret to Elizabeth, who asks why the mother of her Lord—the Son of God within Mary—should come to her. She knows Who is within Mary and is overcome by the power of the Holy Spirit! And Mary, overcome by the prophetic outpouring of the Holy Spirit, begins to sing to the Lord!
We do not know if Zacharias or Joseph fully understood the blessing within the wombs of their wives, but we do know that God was filling these women with His Holy Spirit. That He was revealing Himself to them, not just to bless their offspring, but also to bless them. Yet, God was not finished pouring out His Spirit…
Zacharias had been told by the angel of the Lord to name his promised son, John. Yet, as far as we know, no one else was told of this particular detail. And so, it was during the circumcision ceremony, eight days after their son was born, the time to name the child had come. Everyone expected the child to be named after the father, Zacharias, as was the custom. However, Elizabeth spoke up, saying that the babe was to be named John, despite this being contrary to tradition…
Surely God must have given this name to Elizabeth for their son. And she listened. Even when the crowd was against it, saying that no one within their family had been called John…
Even when they asked Zacharias what the child was to be named and he indicated he wanted a tablet to write his answer, Elizabeth did not apologize or say that she was wrong. Instead, she waited, standing in faith as God confirmed what He had put on her heart through her husband…
“His name is John” he wrote (Luke 1:63).
Because the fullness of the promise had come, and because Zacharias was obedient to give the child the name, John, the Lord opened the mouth of Zacharias to speak. And speak he did… praising God and prophesying about his son, John, who would “prepare the way of the Lord!”
And as Zacharias prophesied regarding John and even of the coming of the Lord, there was fulfillment.
John did indeed prepare the way of the Lord—just as the prophet Isaiah prophesied many, many years before—and the Messiah came!
“…the word of God came to John the son of Zacharias in the wilderness. And he went into all the region around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the remission of sins, as it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet, saying:
‘The voice of one crying in the wilderness:
“Prepare the way of the Lord;
make His paths straight.
Every valley shall be filled
and every mountain and hill brought low;
the crooked places shall be made straight
and the rough ways smooth;
and all flesh shall see the salvation of God.”’”
—Luke 3:2-6
In all of this God blessed Elizabeth and Zacharias with the manifestation of both biblical and personal prophecy and promise. They were granted a son AND were a part of preparing the way of the Lord through their obedience and faith in God.
The Lord used Elizabeth not only as a chosen vessel, not only for the carrying of a prophetic promise but also for bringing forth Holy Spirit inspired prophecy and testimony! Prophecy and testimony regarding the Great I Am—Yeshua our Messiah! And it was done through Elizabeth’s own lips, the lips of her husband, and the lips of her son who would preach unwaveringly of the coming of the Messiah!
This was the blessing of the Lord upon their lives. This was how He used Elizabeth to advance His Kingdom.
Elizabeth is one of the many women God used to advance His Kingdom and bring about Godly change. A few others include:
Check out Curt Landry Ministries blogs to discover more about these women, and explore the Curt Landry Ministries website and store to find further resources that empower women for their Kingdom calls!