Samuel D. High
sdhigh@aristotle.net
-----Original Message-----
From: Apostle Tom <pressingon@hotmail.com>
Sent: Sun, 30 Dec 2007 19:28:39 -0600
To: <pressingon@hotmail.com>
Subject: Morning Manna (Dec. 31); BP: Lk. 2:36-38; RBTTY: Rev. 22; Malachi
December 31 "Grateful Witness"
"And she, coming in that instance, gave thanks likewise unto the Lord and spoke of Him to all them that looked for redemption in Jerusalem."
Luke 2:38
She didn’t get to hold Him, but she did behold Him—and that was all she needed to become the first female evangelist.
Some think Anna was over 100-years-old—quite possibly 104, if you count the "time of her virginity" (v.36d) as being around 13-years-of-age and add that to her seven years of marriage (v.36c) and 84 years of widowhood (v.37).
Regardless, it’s clear she was a Godly woman. . .a prophetess, in fact (v.36a). . . "the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher" (v.36b), who was the eighth son of Jacob by Zilpah, one of Lean’s maidservants (Gen. 30:13). Thus, it’s clear she was from a Godly heritage. And, the fact that Jacob, from his deathbed, had said of Asher, "Bread from Asher shall be rich and he shall yield royal dainties" (Gen. 49:20), makes us believe that seeing the Christ-child (the "Living Bread") with her own eyes was Anna’s "Royal Dainty." Hallelujah!!
Unlike Simeon, she didn’t just happen to be at the Temple that day when Mary and Joseph brought Jesus in to be dedicated and circumcised. Instead, she "departed not from the Temple, but served God with fastings and prayers night and day" (v.37). Simply put, she was a regular "fixture of faith" around the place and those who came to worship at the Temple knew full-well who she was and what she was about.
Why, then, did the Lord let Simeon be the one to hold Baby Jesus and not Anna? True, he also was a "just and devout person, waiting for the consolation of Israel" (v.25), just like Anna. But, why did he get the "up-close-and-personal" encounter with the Christ-child and Anna did not?
The answer is "Only God knows."
Our Lord God is a sovereign God Who "rains on the just and the unjust" (Mt. 5:45c). Or, as Jesus said, "He makes His sun to rise on the evil and the good" (Mt. 5:45b) and then reminded them (and us) of our responsibility to love all people just as He does (Mt. 5:38-48).
There’s no doubt that Anna would have loved to hold Jesus in her arms and pronounce a blessing upon Him. You don’t spend 84 years in the Temple in "fastings and prayers night and day" without longing to experience God’s richest blessings firsthand.
But, such was not to be that day for Anna.
Instead, she saw what was going on. . .realized Who the Baby was. . .rejoiced in Simeon’s blessed benediction. . . "gave thanks likewise unto the Lord". . .and then spent the rest of her life telling everyone that she, like Simeon, had "seen the Lord’s Salvation" (v.30) and how they needed to place their trust in Him. May the Holy Spirit help us today to rest in God’s grace and not allow envy or jealousy to rob us of His joy.
"And she, coming in that instance, gave thanks likewise unto the Lord and spoke of Him to all them that looked for redemption in Jerusalem."
Luke 2:38
She didn’t get to hold Him, but she did behold Him—and that was all she needed to become the first female evangelist.
Some think Anna was over 100-years-old—quite possibly 104, if you count the "time of her virginity" (v.36d) as being around 13-years-of-age and add that to her seven years of marriage (v.36c) and 84 years of widowhood (v.37).
Regardless, it’s clear she was a Godly woman. . .a prophetess, in fact (v.36a). . . "the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher" (v.36b), who was the eighth son of Jacob by Zilpah, one of Lean’s maidservants (Gen. 30:13). Thus, it’s clear she was from a Godly heritage. And, the fact that Jacob, from his deathbed, had said of Asher, "Bread from Asher shall be rich and he shall yield royal dainties" (Gen. 49:20), makes us believe that seeing the Christ-child (the "Living Bread") with her own eyes was Anna’s "Royal Dainty." Hallelujah!!
Unlike Simeon, she didn’t just happen to be at the Temple that day when Mary and Joseph brought Jesus in to be dedicated and circumcised. Instead, she "departed not from the Temple, but served God with fastings and prayers night and day" (v.37). Simply put, she was a regular "fixture of faith" around the place and those who came to worship at the Temple knew full-well who she was and what she was about.
Why, then, did the Lord let Simeon be the one to hold Baby Jesus and not Anna? True, he also was a "just and devout person, waiting for the consolation of Israel" (v.25), just like Anna. But, why did he get the "up-close-and-personal" encounter with the Christ-child and Anna did not?
The answer is "Only God knows."
Our Lord God is a sovereign God Who "rains on the just and the unjust" (Mt. 5:45c). Or, as Jesus said, "He makes His sun to rise on the evil and the good" (Mt. 5:45b) and then reminded them (and us) of our responsibility to love all people just as He does (Mt. 5:38-48).
There’s no doubt that Anna would have loved to hold Jesus in her arms and pronounce a blessing upon Him. You don’t spend 84 years in the Temple in "fastings and prayers night and day" without longing to experience God’s richest blessings firsthand.
But, such was not to be that day for Anna.
Instead, she saw what was going on. . .realized Who the Baby was. . .rejoiced in Simeon’s blessed benediction. . . "gave thanks likewise unto the Lord". . .and then spent the rest of her life telling everyone that she, like Simeon, had "seen the Lord’s Salvation" (v.30) and how they needed to place their trust in Him. May the Holy Spirit help us today to rest in God’s grace and not allow envy or jealousy to rob us of His joy.
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