“And immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue loosed, and he spoke, blessing God” (Luke 1:64 ESV).
In today’s New Testament reading from Luke, the Lord had made Zechariah mute for doubting the word of His angel Gabriel concerning the coming birth of his son, John, to his elderly wife, Elizabeth. He was mute for nine months until the day of John’s birth when God finally opened his mouth again. Zechariah was filled with the Spirit and prophesied a blessing over his son.
Ironically, the Old Testament reading today from the book of Numbers reported a similar story about a prophet, an angel, and how “the Lord opened the mouth of a donkey to speak” (Num. 22:28). For Balaam’s donkey was given the gift of speech to warn of an angel standing with a sword blocking their way. When Balaam saw him, the angel of the Lord told him to “speak only the word that I tell you” (Num. 22:35).
Such stories in the Bible cause some to discount them as fairy tales. Yet, we shouldn’t doubt. For as God asked Moses, “Who gave man his mouth?” (Ex. 4:11), so the Lord can make a doubting man mute or a speechless donkey talk. So, we must be careful concerning our speech. Indeed, sometimes it is better not to talk at all. As our reading from Proverbs today says, “a man of understanding remains silent” (Prov. 11:12).
PRAYER: Dear Father, thank You for Your Word today. Teach us when to speak and when to be silent. Fill our mouths with Your word to bless others today. In Jesus’ name, amen.