Prev
Chapter 3.2 Light to the Nations
PART 1 - BIRTH AND CHILDHOOD - 7 B.C. to A.D. 26
Next
Homage of Anna, original oil painting on canvas by L. Lovett, size 16 x 11 inches, November 1987
Homage of Anna, original oil painting on canvas by L. Lovett, size 16 x 11 inches, November 1987
(CLICK on the image above for a LARGER version)

Simeon’s was not the only hymn of praise on that day. Anna was a prophetess and the daughter of Phanuel from the tribe of Asher. Her husband died when they had been married only seven years. She was now eighty-four years old and never left the Temple, but stayed there day and night, worshiping God with fasting and prayer. The seemingly hopeless exile of her own tribe, the political state of Judea, and the condition—social, moral, and religious—of her own Jerusalem all kindled in her deep yearning for the time of promised redemption and she knew it was surely near. No place suited her better than the Temple with its services pointing forward and upward, and no occupation so befitting as fasting and prayer.

Just as Simeon finished talking with Mary and Joseph, Anna came to them and knew at once Jesus was the answer to her prayer. Her wish to hold the Lord’s Messiah also was granted. As she looked down on his glorious face, he smiled back at her. At once Anna began praising God and handed him back to Mary exclaiming, “There are others in Jerusalem with the same expectancy and I must tell everyone he is born!” All of a sudden she felt young again and rushed out to share what she had just witnessed.

A while later with the glow of seeing the Lord’s Messiah still on her face, Anna once again sat in her little place in the Court of the Women where she worshipped. Her simple needs of water in a jar and bread near a warm hearth were always supplied by God’s loving provision, but now her soul was filled and completely satisfied.

God mercifully allowed Simeon and Anna to behold the Messiah of Israel in their lifetime. Celebration and acknowledgment of the infant Savior in the Temple was not by the leaders of Israel, but by representatives of earnest men and women who looked for his coming.

As Mary and Joseph returned to Bethlehem, they pondered what was said about their child in the Temple that day. How many people were there in Bethlehem and Jerusalem who believed the Messiah had been born? How far had the news actually spread? This could be greater than they even imagined—and they were right!

Prev
Next
Lovett Fine Art


Website designed by Sandpiper Interactive
© 2008 L. Lovett
In Beautiful Chino Valley, Arizona