Why does Gabriel punish Zechariah for not believing? Shouldn't he forgive him?

Hi Daddy,

Why does Gabriel punish Zechariah for not believing? Shouldn't he forgive him?

 

Dear Esther,

First of all, whatever the reason is, unbelief is not acceptable.

It is because the object of our belief is God and his word.

The angel says, “I stand in the presence of God,”

and “I have been sent to speak to you and to tell you this good news.”

So the angel is now delivering the good news from God.

Then, Zechariah insisted on his and his wife’s human conditions (old age).

But God’s plan cannot be nullified by human conditions. Rather, it should be accepted and believed.

 

Esther! If we believe God fully, there is no issue between God and us.

For example, God heard Zechariah’s prayer and promised Zechariah to give him a son.

So there is not any problem between God and Zechariah.

But out of his unbelieving, Zechariah may complain that God has not listen to his prayer

until the couple become too old to have a baby.

In fact, this is not true.

God resolved all issues “at their proper time.”

So by faith, we don’t have issue with God.

Everything will be done well at the proper time.

 

I believe Esther also has some issues that you really want to be resolved as soon as possible,

or you may think it is hard to be resolved.

But God has already perfect plans for you concerning all the issues,

so you can almost say that you don’t have any issues to be solved.

What is really at issue is whether you believe or not.

You should just believe rather than saying, “How can I be sure of this? I am this, that, this, that ……”

 

Of course, Zechariah’s being unable to speak is surely God’s discipline for his unbelieving.

At the same time, however, it can be a sign of the surety of God’s promise.

When people saw that he could not speak to them, “they realized he had seen a vision in the temple.”

His dumbness was a miracle confirming that God’s word is fulfilled as it is spoken.

I believe that although he could not speak for several months,

Zechariah’s faith grew stronger during the period.

I may call this “miraculous loving discipline” rather than “punishment.”

When you are in the middle of discipline, you may feel pain without seeing any good purpose of God.

But whenever you are struggling with some difficulty,

I always see God’s hand working on you for his good purpose.

Thus, such difficulties are not “punishment” but are always God’s “loving discipline” for your stronger faith.