Waiting and Watching

March 27

Numbers 29-30

Psalm 37:30-34

Proverbs 9:1-6

Luke 2:21-38

Waiting and Watching

“And there was a prophetess, Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher.  She was advanced in years having lived with her husband seven years from when she was a virgin, and then as a widow to the age of eighty-four.  She never left the temple, serving night and day with fastings and prayers.  And at that very moment she came up and began giving thanks to God and continued to speak of Him to all those who were waiting for the redemption of Jerusalem.”  Luke 2:25-26, 36-38  LSB

Anna was a prophetess, the daughter of Penuel, of the tribe of Asher.  She was 84 years old.  She had married young and become a widow after 7 years.  Luke tells us that she never left the temple and spent her days in continual prayer and fasting.  It is interesting that Luke describes her as a prophetess because at this time God had not spoken through the prophets for over 400 years.  She was from the tribe of Asher.  Those who served in the temple were typically from the tribe of Levi.  Yet when Anna became a widow, she had dedicated herself to serving in the temple, praying and fasting and looking for the promised Messiah to come. 

Mary and Joseph brought Jesus to the temple when He was 40 days old to perform the purification ritual. A devout Jew named Simeon recognized that He was the Messiah and pronounced a blessing on Him.  He told Mary that He was destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel and that she would experience heartache because of Him.  There was another who saw Jesus that day that knew who He was.  When Anna saw Jesus in the temple, she immediately knew that He was the promised Messiah.  She gave thanks to God for Him and she told everyone who was looking forward to the Messiah’s coming about Him. 

Anna was watching for the coming Messiah.  She recognized Him because she was looking.  She dedicated herself to praying and fasting.  Her mind was focused on God.  She was not distracted.  God gave her the ability to recognize that this child was the long-awaited Messiah and she told everyone about it that would listen.  Anna used her sorrow as an opportunity to focus her attention on God.  She became a widow at an early age, but she did not become bitter and turn away from God.  She turned to Him and served Him faithfully all the days of her life.  Anna spent much time in prayer and fasting.  While we cannot spend all of our days in church praying and fasting as she did, we should dedicate time to prayer and fasting.  It should be a regular part of our daily lives.  Anna was looking for the Messiah.  Anna was one of the few people in her day who were actively watching for Jesus’ first coming.  She was rewarded because she got to see Him and she is recorded in scripture as one of the few who recognized Him.  Most of the people in that day missed the Messiah’s first coming.  Unfortunately, many will miss His second coming as well because they are not waiting and watching.