During the time Zachariah (Father of John the Baptist), there was actually more than 20,000 priests who could offer sacrifice in the Temple of Jerusalem. Given the ample supply of the priesthood, not everyone was selected to be inside the sanctuary. When Zachariah was chosen, it was like he won the lottery.
This would have been something he dreamt about as a youth. Both Zachariah and Elizabeth were God-fearing people. Preparing for that special day, Zachariah must have thought about who to pray for. But it was not only for his own family, but for his entire nation, and for that matter, the entire world.
Zachariah understood its significance, because many times he and Elizabeth gathered with thousands of people outside the temple before dawn as other priests went inside to offer the sacrifice. His heart desired that one day, it would be him.
When Zachariah was chosen, he may have sought advice from other priests, and of course, he would have memorized the prayers, which he practiced daily before the special day.
Inside the sanctuary, he waited until one priest prepared the fire, the second priest killed the sacrificial victim and sprinkled the blood on the altar, and then both would depart from the place, leaving Zachariah alone to incense the altar.
But then he met the Angel of The Lord. He probably thought to himself: "No one told me that this was going to happen."
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