Anna may seem just like an old woman that fasted and prayed alot, but if you take the time to pour over these few verses, she was quite a lady! There was a moment, in time, that God placed Anna in a very special place and Anna got to see the Messiah with her own eyes before she died! God showed Anna favor!
Only six women in the Bible are stated as, actually, carrying the title of prophetess. There are five in the Old Testament and only one, Anna, in the New Testament, although, Philip, in the book of Acts, had four daughters who are said to have prophesied, so that's ten in all. In Revelation there is a false prophetess, which is not from God.
A prophetess is just a female prophet ~ someone called by God. A prophet is a mouthpiece for God and speaks on His behalf, we can find a prophet's roll described in scripture:
Exodus 7:1-2 says,
Then the Lord said to Moses, "See, I have made you like God to Pharoah, and your brother will be your prophet. You are to say everything I command you, and your brother Aaron is to is to tell Pharoah to let the Israelites go out of his country."
In 1 Samuel 9:9 we see a prophet is, also, considered a "seer":
Formerly in Israel, if a man went to inquire of God, he would say, "Come, let us go to the seer," because the prophet of today used to be called a seer, because God gives him the gift of foreknowledge.
In Amos 3:7 we learn that God reveals His plans, His secrets, to His prophets:
"Surely the Sovereign Lord does nothing without revealing His plan to His servants the prophets."
Real prophesy is initiated by the Holy Spirit as seen in 1 Peter 1:20-21:
" Above all, you must understand that no prophesy of Scripture came about by the prophet's own interpretation. For prophesy never had it's origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit."
When a prophet spoke about things of the future and it did not come about, he wasn't a prophet of God, but a false prophet. (Like those today that predict the end of the world.)
In the following verses in 1 Corinthians and Ephesians we see that prophets ranked only second to the apostles:
1 Corinthians 12:28 says,
"And in the church God has appointed first of all apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then workers of miracles, also, those having gifts of healing, those able to help others, those with gifts of administration and those speaking in different tongues."
Ephesians 4:11-12 says,
" It was He who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God's people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up."
So, now that we've looked at the roll of a prophet or prophetess, let's take a look at the story of Anna the prophetess within it's context of scripture:
Luke 2:21-39 says, "On the eighth day, when it was time to circumcise Him (baby Jesus), He was named Jesus, the name the angel had given Him before He had been conceived. When the time of their purification according to the Law of Moses had been completed, Joseph and Mary took Him to Jerusalem to present Him to the Lord (as it is written in the Law of the Lord, "Every firstborn male is to be consecrated to the Lord.") and to offer a sacrifice in keeping with what is said in the Law of the Lord: "a pair of doves or two young pigeons."Now there was a man in Jerusalem called Simeon, who was righteous and devout. He was waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord's Christ. Moved by the Spirit, he went into the temple courts. When the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for Him what the custom of the Law required, Simeon took Him in His arms and praised God, saying: "Sovereign Lord, as you have promised, you now dismiss your servant in peace. For my eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared in the sight of all people, a light for revelation to the Gentiles and for glory to your people Israel."The child's father and mother marveled at what was said about Him. Then Simeon blessed them and said to Mary, His mother: "This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against, so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your own soul too. Now there was one, Anna, a prophetess, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was of great age and had lived with a husband seven years from her virginity, and this woman was a widow until she was eighty-four. She never left the temple, but worshiped night and day, fasting and praying. Coming up to them at that very moment, she gave thanks to God and spoke about the child to all who were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem."
Jewish families went through several ceremonies after the birth of a child. 1. Circumcision, every boy was to circumcised and named on the eighth day after his birth. 2. A firstborn son was to be presented to God, exactly, one month from his birth. 3. There was the purification of the mother: for 40 days after the birth of a son and 80 days after the birth of a daughter, the mother was ceremonially unclean and could not enter the temple. 4. At the end of her time of separation, the parents were to bring a lamb for a burnt offering and a dove or pigeon for the sin offering. Jesus was the Son of God, but his family carried out these ceremonies in accordance with God's law. Jesus was not born above the law, but born to fulfill it!
When Joseph and Mary brought Jesus to be consecrated, they met a man named Simeon ~ the name Simeon means "God has heard". He's been thought by some to, maybe, have been a levitical priest, but we don't know. We know Simeon was just or righteous ~ from the Jewish perspective, one who is in right standing with God, especially, when it comes to God's Covenant with Israel.
We can look at Acts 22:12b to get a good definition of devout from scriptures:
"A man named Ananias came to see me a devout observer of the law and highly respected by all the Jews living there." Simeon was a devout man, which means he was reverent and pious; though obedient to the law he was not proud and arrogant about it. Luke, also writes that Simeon was looking toward the consolation of Israel, which is a prophetic term for the Messiah. He was looking for one who would bring peace, comfort and relief from the afflictions of Israel. Such consolation is spoken of in Isaiah 44-66.
Finally, Luke records that the Holy Spirit was on Simeon, he led Simeon into the temple courts and that he told Joseph and Mary what their son would become. Can you imagine how they felt, as parents, hearing his words? We, also, read that Simeon had been told by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before seeing the Christ, the Messiah. Simeon would die in peace, a happy man, having seen and held the Messiah in his own arms! Can you imagine that?
We know that Anna, our focus of today's lesson, is the only prophetess mentioned in all four gospels, but we can, also, assume if Luke took the time to mention her, at all, that it's important. We know, also, that Anna was very old. (We know that Israelite women were known to marry as young as 13 or 14 years of age and we are told she was a virgin when she married.) We learn Anna's a widow and that she was married for 7 years, though, we aren't told the name of her husband ~ but we are told that her father is Phanuel from the tribe of Asher. Phanuel must have been a man of prominence, a devout man to have been mentioned. The tribe of Asher was known to have been a very prosperous people. In the middle - eastern culture, genealogy or lineage was important and was linked to status, wealth, honor and respect.
We, also, know that Anna somehow managed to survive among the male religious leaders of her day, who were very legalistic and biased against women. It says Anna never left the temple, but worshiped night and day. Anna was known to be a woman faithful to prayer and fasting, which always leads to a powerful life. Anna was, obviously, respected as a woman of great faith! And, because Luke writes about her we can assume that he too had a great respect for her.
We can go through life, sometimes wondering our purpose. Anna may have wondered for what purpose the Lord was prolonging her life for so many years. Yet, in that moment, the scriptures say, "Coming up to them (Joseph, Mary and the baby Jesus) she gave thanks to God and spoke about the child to all who were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem." God had given Anna and Simeon the foreknowledge of who this child was, the predicted Messiah that was to come and they were breathing in the moment! Can you imagine being Simeon and Anna?
I leave you today, rehearsing Simeon's words of great joy over again:
"Sovereign Lord, as you have promised, you now dismiss your servant in peace. For my eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared in the sight of all the people, a light for revelation to the Gentiles and for glory to your people Israel."
Both Simeon and Anna seem to believe that this ONE MOMENT in time, made their lives worth it all!
Their faith challenges me, their lives are a roll model and their faithfulness in prayer, simply, unnerves me and inspires me to kneel! May Anna and Simeon challenge and inspire you, today, as well.
May God bless you today!
(I have a friend that bears this precious name and she too, continually, challenges me and inspires me!) Thank you, Anna!
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