Casting of Lots
The custom during the time of Zacharias was that lots were cast to determine which priest would be chosen to burn incense in the Holy Place before the Lord.
The use of the lot was a common practice of the priests and Jewish leaders in ascertaining the will of Jehovah in various matters—spiritual, business and personal matters.
A lot could be a piece of wood, a pebble, a piece of pottery, etc. Whomever the lot fell on, that was an indication of who Jehovah selected, or the revealing of His will regarding a matter.
The last time it was recorded in the Bible that lots were cast to determine the will of God was in Acts 1:26 when the apostles appointed two candidates, Justus and Matthias, to take the place of Judas Iscariot.
After praying and asking the Lord to reveal which man He had chosen to take over this apostolic ministry, they cast lots and the lot fell upon Matthias. However, once the Holy Spirit was poured out to earth on the Day of Pentecost, the use of the lots were done away with because now everyone can be filled with the Holy Spirit and hear from the Lord for their own selves. (Prior to the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, only a select few were filled with the Holy Spirit, i.e. priests, kings and prophets.)
The lot happened to fall upon Zacharias. This indicated that Jehovah had sovereignly chosen him to minister in the Holy Place that day.
It was a once in a lifetime honor to be chosen to serve in the Holy Place, as there are said to have been twenty thousand priests in Christ’s time.
Before entering the Holy Place, Zacharias went through the normal rituals of purification—washing with water from the laver, being properly dressed in white linen, the blood of a sacrificial animal being sprinkled upon his body and clothing, as well as blood sprinkled on the articles they used (tongs, pots, pans, etc.). He was anointed with holy anointing oil. Bells and a rope were tied to his ankle, and he very reverently entered into the Holy Place.
The other priests must have been just as shocked and puzzled as Zacharias was that he was chosen by God to minister in the Holy Place. After all, wasn’t he … “cursed”? How could God be pleased with Zacharias?
The priests tied the bells and rope around his ankle extra tight because they didn’t know if he would survive in the Holy Place, since he was “cursed”.
He and Elisabeth had no children because she was barren, and now they were too old anyways to bear children. In that day, the mindset was that barrenness was considered to be a curse.
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