JOSEPH #48 | JOSEPH IN EGYPT #30 | LAST WORDS OF JACOB #19
Pastor Christopher Choo
Lesson 3644
JOSEPH #48
JOSEPH IN EGYPT #30
LAST WORDS OF JACOB #19
9. ASHER #4
ANNA THE PROPHETESS FROM THE TRIBE OF ASHER
This extraordinary woman bridges the Old and the New Testament as a representative of her tribe - Asher.
The Messiah had finally come, and Anna was one of the very first to know who He was. She could not keep that news to herself. She thus became one of the very first and most enduring evangelists of Christ.
Anna’s descent from the tribe of Asher suggests that her heritage owed much to God’s grace. Her ancestors had either migrated south before the Assyrian conquest of Israel, or they were among the small and scattered group of exiles who returned from the Babylonian captivity.
Either way, she was part of the believing remnant from the northern kingdom, and she was therefore a living emblem of God’s faithfulness to His people.
The scene of her appearance is vividly described in the gospel of Luke.
"Now there was one, Anna, a prophetess, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was of a great age, and had lived with a husband seven years from her virginity; and this woman was a widow of about eighty-four years, who did not depart from the temple, but served God with fastings and prayers night and day. And coming in that instant she gave thanks to the Lord, and spoke of Him to all those who looked for redemption in Jerusalem." (Luke 2:36-38 ).
Simeon had just picked up the infant Jesus and pronounced a prophetic blessing on Him. “In that instant,” Luke says, Anna happened by and immediately understood what was going on and who Christ was. Perhaps she overheard Simeon’s blessing.
She probably already knew Simeon personally. Anna herself was clearly a fixture in the temple, and Simeon was described as “just and devout” (v. 25 NKJV).
Both were very old. It seems unlikely that their paths had never crossed. Probably knowing Simeon’s reputation as a righteous man whose one expectation in life was to see “the Consolation of Israel” with his own eyes before dying, Anna stopped and took notice when she heard the joyous blessing he pronounced on Jesus.
Like many of the extraordinary women throughout Scripture, Anna’s hopes and dreams were full of Messianic expectation. She knew the Old Testament promises, and she understood that salvation from sin and the future blessing of Israel depended on the coming of the Messiah.
Her longing to see Him was suddenly and surprisingly fulfilled one day as she went about her normal routine in the temple.
Anna probably either lived on charity or supported herself out of the remnants of her family’s inheritance. Either way, she must have led a very frugal, chaste, and sober life. Luke adds that she “served God with fastings and prayers night and day” (Luke 2:37 NKJV)—which rounds out the picture of this elderly, dignified, quiet, devoted woman’s life and ministry.
She was blessed by God to be one of a handful of key witnesses who knew and understood the significance of Jesus’ birth. And she made no attempt to keep it a secret.
Thus she became one of the first and most enduring witnesses to Christ.
No doubt wherever Luke’s gospel is proclaimed, her testimony is still bringing others to the Savior. Thus she deserves a prominent place in any list of extraordinary women.
And that is the most endearing part of this wonderful woman’s legacy.
Some may carelessly ask why she was not rich as she came from the Tribe of Asher which held blessings of material prosperity.
But she was rich in spiritual acumen - in the accumulation of godly wisdom and discernment - for which she would justly be remembered for.
Indeed she belonged to a faithful remnant, unlike the elitist Pharisees and Sadducees who could not recognize and hence rejected their Messiah when He ministered in their midst for the better part of three years.
The honour of being the first woman evangelist of the Bible goes to this marginalised woman - an aged widow who left us a rich heritage as a true prophetess of God and faithful witness of our Redeemer.
