‘Now it came about that, while he executed the priest's office before God in the order of his course, according to the custom of the priest's office, his lot was to enter into the temple of the Lord and burn incense.'
Zacharias had been ‘on duty' in the Temple all week, but on this day he had ‘won the lottery' by being selected by lots to offer up the incense in the Temple at the hour of prayer. This offering was made twice a day by priests, and fortunate was the one who was chosen for the purpose of making it. Normally speaking it could only happen to him once in a lifetime, for once he had done it he would be excluded from the drawing of lots. And on this day it was Zacharias' lot to enter into the temple of the Lord and burn incense. His excitement and awe must have been almost too much for him, for he was a godly man who approached his duties with great devotion.
God's care in His selection of place and time should be noticed. The selection was in order that the declaration of the birth of Zacharias' son might take place at the most sacred time in the worship of the Temple, at the offering of the incense, so that it would be known to all that the child was a gift directly from God. He was making it as clear as possible to Israel how important John was to be, and how he came in response to the prayers of all Israel, which were offered at the time of the offering of the incense (Psalms 141:2). Everything about this announcement was sacred, and intended to be observed and remembered.
So there he stood in the outer sanctuary in the semi-gloom, lit only by the lampstand, while his companion priests, having completed their duties, went out through the great doors. He would then wait for the signal from the sacerdotal priest that it was the time for the incense offering. On one side of the sanctuary he could see in the dim light the golden table of showbread, with its twelve loaves of bread neatly arranged, and on the other the seven-branched golden lampstand with its flickering flames providing the only illumination in the sanctuary, while peering ahead he could see the golden altar on which he would make the incense offering, and behind which was the way of entry into the Holiest of All, over which hung the ancient veil. There at that golden altar, as he offered the incense, he knew that he would approach as close to God as any man dared in daily life, and there he would offer the incense on the behalf of the whole of Israel and pray for the salvation of Israel. The whole weight of Israel would be on his shoulders. It was a thrilling moment, the moment of a lifetime.