A Faithful Servant

A faithful servant.  Have you stopped to consider Anna, the prophetess, in Scripture?  She is the one that is in the temple when Mary and Joseph brought the baby, Jesus, to be dedicated (Luke 2).  We aren’t given much details about Anna, but we know her father was named Phanuel, and they were of the tribe of Asher (Luke 2:36).  We know she was married for a short time, seven years, and that her husband died, leaving her a widow (v.36).  There is some debate on the next verse.  Some read it to mean that she was 84 years old, but others read it to mean she was a widow for 84 years.  Either way, she was at least 84 years old and had spent the majority of her life as a widow.  Yet, as a widow, she did not leave the temple and served God night and day with fasting and prayer (v.37).  Think about that.  Even if we take the minimum age of 84 years and the likelihood of being married at 13 years old and married for 7 years, this would mean from the age of about 20 years old to 84 years old, she faithfully served the Lord.  She quite possibly devoted 64 years completely to serving God night and day with fasting and prayer.  That is some way to summarize 64 years of life, “she did not leave the temple, serving God night and day with fasting and prayers”.  I think sometimes we want more.  We want more excitement.  We want more results.  Anna was a faithful servant.  Her reward?  Earthly speaking, she was allowed to witness the presence of Jesus Christ coming in the temple that day to be dedicated to the Lord.  She began to thank God and speak about Jesus to all who were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem.