BOOK STUDY: Twelve Extraordinary Women / Anna The Faithful Witness

Twelve Extraordinary Women

by John MacArthur

Chapter 7--  Anna: The Faithful Witness

Luke 2:38

She gave thanks to the Lord, and spoke of Him to all those who looked for redemption in Jerusalem.

Virtually all faithful believers in Israel were already expectantly awaiting the Messiah and looking diligently for Him at the exact time Jesus was born.  The irony is that so very few recognized Him, because He met none of their expectations...

Anna is the final witness of Israelites (Mary and Joseph, shepherds, and Simeon were  the others).  They were all humble unremarkable people.  All we know of Anna is recorded in three verses in the Bible--Luke 2: 36-38.  It appears from the text that she may have heard Simeon blessing Jesus and understood what was happening.  Nevertheless, she did understand and did not keep it a secret.

Description of Anna from the three verses:

• A prophetess--Not a fortune teller or an "office" in ministry,  but one who spoke the Word of God

• Of the Tribe of Asher--Her tribe was known for its rebellion in the Northern Kingdom.  The fact that she speaks the Word of God exhibits the grace of God in her life that kept her as a faithful remnant.

• A widow--Widows in this time period typically led a life of extreme poverty.  Her devotion to prayer and fasting attest to her complete dependence on the Lord which was a regular part of her life.

• She spoke of Him to all--She was able to identify the true worshipers (those looking for redemption) and sought them out to tell them the Good News.

Anna is not mentioned anywhere else in the Bible.  These three verses are her legacy for all eternity.  

In Sunday school in church we are reading Francis Chan's book Crazy Love.  I highly recommend it. Last week's lesson included thoughts about our life here on earth and in view of 10,000 years (much less, eternity), and what a speck it is on a timeline.   Although at least 84 years old, Anna's life "in the Bible" is such a speck, yet her godly example speaks to us today.

Do you / I speak the Word of God to others regularly? or just our own opinions or thoughts?  

Do you view yourself as a remnant in this culture in which we live?  Thank God for His grace, if so.  I can attest to being a remnant in my family as my parents were not Christians growing up (my dad finally accepted Christ at 81 years of age).  As far as I can tell, from our extended relatives there are very few Christians. Add that to the fact that I am adopted and I regularly thank God for saving me and keeping me faithful to pass that legacy on to our children (and extend His grace to other family members also).   We, like  Queen Esther,  each have a specific place and purpose in this time and age.

Do I / you regularly pray as though dependent on God for our very breath of life? or do we only pray that way when in a crisis?  or are we so comfortable with the status quo? 

Do you / I speak of the Lord in our everyday life? or just with other people we know are believers?  Getting out of our comfortable-ness and reaching out to others will keep you on your knees asking to be salt and light in a dark world.  The dark is a scary place sometimes but the Lord is our light in the very darkest places, even when other lights go out (as Galadriel might say).

I am part of a ministry to younger women called Titus 2 Moms where older women teach the younger (of course, they teach us, too).  It is good to see in the Bible, older women than I am that teach me as well.