36 There was also a prophet, Anna, the daughter of Penuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was very old; she had lived with her husband seven years after her marriage, 37 and then was a widow until she was eighty-four. She never left the temple but worshiped night and day, fasting and praying. 38 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. 39 When Joseph and Mary had done everything required by the Law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee to their own town of Nazareth. 40 And the child grew and became strong; he was filled with wisdom, and the grace of God was on him. ~ Luke 2:36-40
In v.36, we read, "There was also a prophetess, Anna." The name "Anna" means grace. She had been graced by God to be a prophetess who is somebody who speaks God's truth. She was a teacher of the Old Testament to other women.
Anna was the daughter of Penuel, another Old Testament name, of the tribe of Asher who was one of the ten tribes of the northern kingdom. The kingdom was split after Solomon's reign. Ten tribes went north, two tribes stayed south and the south was Judah and Benjamin. All the other ten tribes went to the north. In 722 B.C. the northern kingdom was taken into captivity by the Assyrians. The ten tribes went north and in 722 B.C. Assyria came under Sargon II and destroyed them and carried them away captive. Their capital city was Damascus. The northern kingdom was taken captive and never returned.
Anna, of the tribe of Asher, comes eight centuries later. In 722 B.C. the ten northern tribes were taken into captivity, but prior to that there had been a steady migration of people into the southern kingdom. The Northern Kingdom was steeped in idolatry. There wasn't one good king. This is part of the reason the northern kingdom went into captivity when they did, they did not honor God or His word.
Anna was old and she never left the temple, she lived there. Around the temple grounds there were some apartments. They were normally dwelling places for priests, around the outer court. When the priests came to do their two weeks of service at the temple, they needed a place to stay. And they had quite a number of these apartments around the temple. It just may well have been that because she was a widow so many years and because she was continually at the temple, they just decided that they would just provide a place for her. She was serving night and day with fastings and prayers.
In v.38, we read, "Coming up to them at that very moment." The very moment that Simeon was uttering this prophecy. I'm sure Simeon knew Anna because he was a regular temple goer. And anybody who had been there that long would have been well known and would have known everyone who frequented the Temple. Anna had been there literally for decades.
You can only imagine after all these many years of one focus in life, God and His glory, praying and fasting for the salvation of Israel. She was one of those looking for the redemption of Jerusalem. There wasn't going to be any redemption in Jerusalem until the Redeemer came. She had been praying and fasting all those years for the Messiah to come and bring the promised redemption and fulfill the Abrahamic and the Davidic Covenants.
According to v.38, after Anna comes up, she gave thanks to God and spoke about the child to all who were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem." Like Simeon, God had answered prayer. The Messiah had come and Anna knew who He was. God's timing is always amazing. Anna was probably sensitized to the coming of the Lord due to the fact that she spent so much time in prayer and fasting and in His word.
In v.39, we read, "When Joseph and Mary had done everything required by the Law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee to their own town of Nazareth." Sensitivity to God is not an automatic thing. We must be regular in His word and in prayer. When we are, we will be modulated to hear Him when He speaks or to follow Him when He leads. It's like that AM transistor radio I had when I was a little boy. I had to really work with the tuning button on it to get a clearer message out of it. I have found it works the same way with God. And, the moduling button is prayer and reading the word of God.
In v.40, we read, "And the child grew and became strong; he was filled with wisdom, and the grace of God was on him." The word "grace" means the favor of God was on Him. The greatest testimony that will ever be given to the identity of Jesus Christ comes not from Joseph and Mary, comes not from Simeon and Anna, comes not from Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. The greatest testimony ever given to the identity of Jesus Christ comes from the Father whose favor was on Him. Same is true of you and me, and the nice part is when the Father looks at us, having believed on his Son, He sees us through the lens of His Son.
