Waiting For God
Anna – Waiting for the Redeemer of Israel
Aim: To show that God’s blesses the patient praying of the godly.
Text: Luke 2:36-38.
Introduction: Last Sunday morning we considered Simeon, the first of two individuals who feature in the nativity, but are often overlooked. This morning we continue in Luke 2 and encounter the second individual who was “waiting for God” that first Christmas, Anna. This is truly a remarkable woman, and really one of the unsung heroes of the nativity story. We always remember the shepherds and the wise men, but both Simeon and Anna saw the Christ child BEFORE the magi, and yet how often are they passed by in the telling of this tale. Well, we want to set that right this morning, and I want you to come with me to Jerusalem, to the court of the temple, and meet Anna who was waiting for the redeemer of Israel.
I. Her Seniority – vss 36-37a
A. Notice the details we are given about this extraordinary woman.
1. Her name means, “grace”, and she was the daughter of Phanuel, whose name means “vision of God.”
2. The Bible describes her as a prophetess, no small distinction, placing her alongside a chosen few such as Miriam, the sister of Moses, and Deborah.
a. This was woman with whom God spoke.
b. Earlier in this chapter we saw the kind of people God does business with, the sort of people He speaks to, Simeon was of that number, and now Anna also.
c. It will become clear why as we go on.
3. Then we are told she was of the tribe of Asher.
a. This is an important little detail.
b. Why? Because there is an insidious doctrine which has existed since the 1930’s known as British Israelism.
c. It’s premise is is the belief that the Anglo-Saxon, Celtic, Scandinavian, Germanic and Dutch peoples of the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, and the United States are the direct lineal descendants of the Lost Tribes of Israel, and that the British Royal Family are directly descended from the line of King David.
d. It really is a very racist doctrine, and among the so-called “lost tribes” is of the tribe of Asher, whom it is said never returned to Palestine after the Assyrian captivity.
e. Well, evidently some did, for here is a lady, who is the of the tribe of Asher, standing in the court of the temple at the time of Christ’s birth.
f. There are no “lost tribes”. God knows exactly who is who, and where they are, and at the end of time He lists the tribes in relation to the 144 000 Jewish evangelists who will be active during the Great Tribulation.
4. Now, in relation to Anna herself we should know something else about Asher, and particularly the women of Asher.
a. The woman of this tribe were noted for their beauty and talents, consequently they were deemed a suitable pool for royalty and the high priests in their search for a bride.
b. There are certain nationalities, even now, whose beauty is recognised among the peoples of the world, and that is where the women Asher were in Bible times.
B. Now the Bible tells us that Anna was a woman of “great age”.
1. How old do you think she was?
2. Well she had been married for seven years and widowed for eighty-four, so right there we know she has been alive more than 91 years, and allowing for her being married at the youngest possible time (after puberty) she must have been at least 105 years old!
3. And where do find her? In the house of God: waiting for Him.
II. Her Solitude – vs 37a
A. You know there is not a drop of ink wasted on the Word of God.
1. In introducing her Luke says, “… there was one Anna”
2. Given her background, that designation is all the more significant.
3. Her tale is one of sorrow, married for just seven years before her husband dies, leaving her as a young widow.
4. One would imagine a beauty from the tribe of Asher would soon find another husband, but not this beauty, she remained single until her dying day, she took a path that many young woman of her age would be, perhaps, justifiably loathe to follow.
5. She determined to live alone, to live as one.
B. For eighty-four years Anna kept herself to herself.
1. Actually, better than that, she gave herself to God.
2.She chose to live a life of single-minded devotion to the Lord.
3.That is not for everybody, but it is for some people.
4. God doesn’t want everyone married, nor does He want everyone single, but for some people singleness is their chosen path.
5. A single person can often serve God in ways married people cannot.
a. See 1Corinthians 7:32-35
b. The single man has greater freedom to serve the Lord than does the married man - vss 32-33.
(i) We see this in the life of John Wesley, the founder of Methodism. He would have been better off single. He travelled the length and breadth of these isles on horseback preaching the Gospel. But in the end his wife left him.
d. The same is true for a woman, - vs 34.
6. In verse 34 Paul says that the unmarried woman is “holy both in body and in spirit” - does this mean a married woman is somehow physically and spiritually unholy? Not at all.
a. “Marriage is honourable in all, and the bed undefiled.” (Heb 13:4).
b. In verse 34 Paul is not making a moral statement, but an ethical statement insofar as a single woman is holy (set apart) only on to the Lord whilst the married woman must consider the needs of her husband also.
7. Why did Paul give this counsel in favour of singleness?
1. Contextually, it was a time of great persecution – single people had greater freedom to move, than marrieds.
a. But beyond that…
2. He was concerned about their spiritual development: “And this I speak for your own profit . . .”
3. He had no intention of frustrating their marriage plans or expectations. “Not that I may cast a snare upon you, . .”
a. “snare = lasso, he did not want to constrain them
4. Rather he wanted them to have a beautiful, fulfilling life “But for that which is comely, . .”
4. He did not want the mundane cares of marriage to encumber them “And that ye may attend upon the Lord without distraction.”
a. He was asking that they be like Mary, sitting at the feet of Jesus, rather than Martha, engaged in the kitchen.
b. Or an Anna, who for 84 years served the Lord in his Temple.
III. Her Service – vss 37b-38
A. How did she serve the Lord?
B. By prayer.
1. Do you ever think of prayer as “service” to God?
2. Most times we see prayer as self serving, of praying for what we want, but Biblical prayer harmonises with the will of God, it prayers for what God wants… “Thy will be done.”
3. Both Simeon and Anna understood that, they understood that God had promised a Saviour in part for the consolation of Israel, in part for the conversion of the Gentiles, and they looked for Him, they looked for God to do what His Word said He would.
4. They prayed looking through the telescope of God’s Word, they prayed with an eye on the prophecies.
5. How do we pray?
6. This godly old woman had been a lifelong prayer warrior, and notice she not only prayed, but she also fasted.
a. Did you know the word fast or fasting appears at least 60 times in the Bible.
(i) There are at least 15 specific instances where named individuals fasted in the Bible.
(ii) Fasts in the Bible have been as short as one day (Judges 20:26), or one night (Daniel 6:18) to as long as 40 days. Moses (Exodus 34:28), Elijah (1 Kings 19:8) and Jesus (Matthew 4:2) fasted 40 days.
b. Why would a woman give her life to fastings and prayer?
(i) Notice first of all the fastings come before the prayer – Anna’s fasting was preparatory to prayer.
(ii) Sometimes people get the idea that by fasting they can put a little pressure on God.
• Nowhere in Scripture does it say, if you fast, you can move God’s schedule, or to persuade Him and convince Him to change His will to match yours.
• Fasting does not involve getting/persuading God to do something against His will.
• It’s not a hunger strike!
(iii) Rather fasting is always a matter of preparing oneself to come to God.
• It enables us to lay other things aside in order to concentrate on Him.
• How often does God get our full attention?
• Fasting purposely sets aside time for God and prepares us to concentrate on Him with our spirit.
• When you and I CHOOSE to fast, knowing what our objective is, what we are saying is, ”What is more important than my necessary food, is my relationship with my Father! I want to hear Him, I want to know Him, I want to know what He is saying to me.”
(iv) Fasting is God’s chosen means of focus – He wants us to dwell on Him and His will and purpose for our lives.
c. Anna understood that, and so for 84 years, day and night, she made prayer her business, and God rewarded her for it.
(i) She served by prayer
C. By praise
1. Vs 38, “And she coming in that instant gave thanks likewise unto the Lord…”
2. What instant? The instant Simeon was blessing the birth of Christ.
3. She entered into that moment with heartfelt thanks, this is what she had been praying for, and this is what she had waited for God to do for over 84 long years.
4. How long are you prepared to wait for the Lord?
5. She was at last filled with praise and thanksgiving for God’s provision of the Saviour.
D. By profession
1. Notice she, “spake of him to all them that looked for redemption in Jerusalem.”
2. She bore witness to all who would hear that the Saviour had come.
Conclusion: And is that not what our Christmas ought to be about also? Yes, it is a time for family, and yes there should be time to relax and unwind, but also it is a time to tell others. To speak of the Saviour, to invite folks to services, to, “speak of Him to all”.
The great bubble of materialism has finally burst. The god of mammon has fallen. We, like Simeon and Anna, are living in uncertain times, but even in such times there is one certain, unchangeable fact, that God loves us and sent his Son into the world to save us. How those around us need to know and hear that message. Will you be an Anna unto them this Christmas?
