Firstly may I remind you of the
verses I was pondering over:
Luke 2 vs. 36 – 38
“Anna, a prophet, was also there in the Temple. She was the daughter of
Phanuel from the tribe of Asher, and she was very old. Her husband died when
they had been married only seven years. Then she lived as a widow to the age of
eighty-four. She never left the Temple but stayed there day and night,
worshiping God with fasting and prayer. She came along just as Simeon was
talking with Mary and Joseph, and she began praising God. She talked about the
child to everyone who had been waiting expectantly for God to rescue Jerusalem.”
Do you ever wonder why you read
about an odd character in the Bible and do not get the “full story” of who they
are? They appear once and then they are gone. No, or very little, history on
their background and noting to say what happens in their future.
Do you ever consider the
significance of such characters?
I do not believe anything in the
Bible is there by chance, or in error. Everything written has been done so in
accordance with God’s will, the writers, writing, in tune with the prompting of
the Holy Spirit their hands and thoughts guided by Him.
So in the Bible there are just
these three verses recorded that contain this woman Anna. That’s not a great
deal but it is more than some people in the Bible get. So what do we know
fairly certainly about Anna from these three verses?
Her name
was Anna
She was a
daughter of Phanuel
She was a
prophet(ess)
She was a
member of the tribe of Asher
She was
widowed after seven years of marriage
She was
now very old
She was
holy and devout and she regularly practiced prayer, praise and fasting
She spent
most of her life in the House of God – the temple
So the above few highlighted
comments are obvious and easy to see within the passage. So what is their
significance?
Anna: Anna is probably derived from “Hannah” but both
versions of the name carry the same meaning which is “favour” or “grace”. An
interesting point is that the first “Hannah” I can find in the bible was also a
Prophetess, and she was the mother of Samuel. There are also strong parallels
between the birth of Samuel and that of Jesus.
Phanuel: Phanuel’s name means “the face of God”
A Prophet(ess): A prophet is a spokesperson for God. The prophet
challenges, warns, directs, encourages, intercedes, teaches and counsels God’s
people. He/she brings the word of God to the people of God and calls the people
to respond to that word. The prophetic ministry begins in the presence of the
Lord. When the prophet knows the heart and mind of the Lord,
he/she speaks the word of the Lord to his people. He/she stands before the
people, as one who has stood before God. Because his/her words come from the
heart of God they are powerful and effective
Tribe Of Asher: is among the ten lost tribes of
Israel
Widowed: in these times a girl became a
woman around the age of 14 or 15 and this was the usual age of marriage. We
then know that she had been widowed at a very young age, around 22.
Age: I have found two streams of
thinking about Anna’s age. One that she was now 84 at the time Luke wrote this,
and some say that what Luke was saying was that after the death of her husband
she lived for 84 years as a widow before she met Jesus as a baby. That would
have made her around 106 years old. Either way she was not a young person, but
one that had been through some real "life" experiences as so many of
us do.
Dedicated:
we are told she was devout and also that she visited the temple DAILY. She did
not live there but made it her duty to visit the temple each and every day.
So why do I
believe these three verses are significant and important?
Here is someone
who at a very young age was dealt a terrible blow, the loss of her partner. At
that stage she could have just turned away from God, hated Him for that
happening, abandoned the teachings she would have received and basically given
up on life. But that was not Anna. She chose to dedicate her life to God. She
chose to persevere each and every day faithfully spending time before Him just
waiting for His promises for her and for mankind to come to fruition.
Surely she
must have felt like giving up – haven’t we when things are a bit tough, when
things don’t happen the way “we” want or the way “we” expect them too and when
things take far longer than we have the patience for. I am sure there were
those times but I am equally sure that she got through those times and remained
faithful attending the temple on a daily basis.
And just
when she may have been thinking she was too old and she had missed whatever God
had planned for her suddenly God’s perfect timing came about, and she was in
the temple when Joseph and Mary brought Jesus as a baby to the temple. After
this she didn’t sit back and think well that’s it now I can relax. No it says
that she “talked about the child to everyone who had been waiting expectantly for
God to rescue Jerusalem”!! She
continued in the ministry she had been given proclaiming the arrival of Jesus
Christ
We may not see our purpose in God’s
plan, we may not think there is anything left for us to do, BUT God has plans
for all of us until our final day, and we need to be Anna’s faithfully seeking
God’s purpose for our lives each and every day and keep pressing into Him
without ceasing
Three small verses rarely
referred to at Christmas but have so much to say to each and every one of us
God Bless
