born, because, ‘you did not believe my words’. We see here the importance of trusting in the power of God to do the impossible (see v. 37). Doubt is always a stain upon one’s character, and God regards questioning his word as a sin rather than merely a weakness. Subsequently a very unusual situation arises: a husband unable to speak, and his wife, Elizabeth, though long past childbearing age, expecting a baby and living in seclusion from the world. In a sense Elizabeth’s