Anna, God’s timing
06 Dec 2022Little Devotionals - Ann
“Women of the Bible” series by Ann Little
Luke 2:36-39
At the end of the Christmas story passage in Luke, when Mary and Joseph visit the Temple, we meet Anna the prophet. As new parents Mary and Joseph followed the law very carefully for their newborn son. At his circumcision they named him Jesus just as the angel had instructed both of them. They presented him at the temple and gave an offering. According to Jewish law, a spotless lamb was the accepted offering for the first born son. However, because Mary and Joseph were poor, two doves or pigeons were acceptable.
Luke 2:36-39
At the end of the Christmas story passage in Luke, when Mary and Joseph visit the Temple, we meet Anna the prophet. As new parents Mary and Joseph followed the law very carefully for their newborn son. At his circumcision they named him Jesus just as the angel had instructed both of them. They presented him at the temple and gave an offering. According to Jewish law, a spotless lamb was the accepted offering for the first born son. However, because Mary and Joseph were poor, two doves or pigeons were acceptable.
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At the temple, they met two people, Simeon and Anna. After Simeon praised God and blessed Mary and Joseph, Anna made her appearance. There are several things said about her. She was a prophet, a rare thing for a woman. The two men in her life, her father and her husband, are mentioned, probably to give her some family identity. She “never left the temple” which suggests that she may have had a room at the temple, serving there as a prophet. She was very old, becoming a widow after only seven years of marriage. She also may have been child-less, so her life was probably characterized by loneliness. Best of all, she found her delight and companionship in God as she stayed in the Temple, worshipping day and night.
Here is where God’s perfect timing came in. Verse 38 says ”Coming up to them at that very moment…” She was at the right place at the right time to meet the son of God. She gave thanks and like the shepherds earlier in Luke 2, she spoke about the child to all around her. No angels had to tell her who this child was. Her constant communion with God the Father revealed this wonderful truth to her.