Tidbits: Angels & Babies

While I'm working on some new “Hotspot” topics I thought I'd start a new mini-series called “Tidbits” = mini blogs on some observations & interesting things I've found in the Bible.

In Luke Chapter 1, we read the account of the announcement of the conception of both John the Baptist & Jesus by the angel Gabriel to the respective parents of each; here are the interesting things I found in this account:

• Gabriel physically appears to Zacharias (the father) but not to Elizabeth (the mother), v 11
• Gabriel physically appears to Mary (the mother) but not to Joseph (the father), v 28
• Zacharias was troubled when he saw him, v 12
• Mary was troubled when she saw him, v 29
• When speaking to Zacharias, Gabriel opens w/ “fear not” then he delivers the message, v 13
• When speaking to Mary, he opens w/ a blessing then says “fear not” & continues w/ the rest of the message, v 28

Now, in Matthew 1:20, Joseph had his mind made up about Mary but an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream, he did not physically appear to him as was the case w/ Gabriel appearing to Zacharias & Mary.

Questions:

• Why didn't the angel appear to just the women or just the men? 
• Why didn't the angel appear to them when they were together like he did w/ the parents of Samson?

In Judges 13 we have a slightly different scenario that unfolded:

• An angel of the Lord appeared to the wife of Manoah & told her she would have a child, v 3
• She told her husband (v 6) who asked the Lord to have him return & instruct them about this child, v 8
• The Lord listened to him (v 9) & the angel appeared again to the wife of Manoah, who ran & got her husband (v 10) & they both talked about this situation w/ the angel, who hung around for a while then split (v 11-20)
• Both the angel & the wife are not named

I just found these two scenarios interesting...