Anna, The Prophetess
Psalm 77:1-9
For the director of music. For Jeduthun. Of Asaph. A psalm.
1 I cried out to God for help;
I cried out to God to hear me.
2 When I was in distress, I sought the Lord;
at night I stretched out untiring hands,
and I would not be comforted.
3 I remembered you, God, and I groaned;
I meditated, and my spirit grew faint.
4 You kept my eyes from closing;
I was too troubled to speak.
5 I thought about the former days,
the years of long ago;
6 I remembered my songs in the night.
My heart meditated and my spirit asked:
7 “Will the Lord reject forever?
Will he never show his favor again?
8 Has his unfailing love vanished forever?
Has his promise failed for all time?
9 Has God forgotten to be merciful?
Has he in anger withheld his compassion? ”
Reflections: Today we see the psalmist returning to the lament style psalm. Though he is crying out to the Lord, he does not feel comforted. His faith needs to move beyond feelings to core conviction. To not be astray by not feeling connected to the Lord, he remembered the days of old. He remembered God’s faithfulness to him through good times and bad times. He sang songs of old and prayed for God to hear His prayer.
What do you do when it seems God is distant? The saints of old persevered through times when they did not see God acting in the way they wanted Him to. There are different stages of faith development and one of them comes when we continue to see God even when we do not see immediate results or an instantly changed situation. As we trust in persevere our faith will grow even deeper as we remember God’s faithfulness in the past.
Numbers 32:28-33:9
28 Then Moses gave orders about them to Eleazar the priest and Joshua son of Nun and to the family heads of the Israelite tribes. 29 He said to them, “If the Gadites and Reubenites, every man armed for battle, cross over the Jordan with you before the Lord, then when the land is subdued before you, you must give them the land of Gilead as their possession. 30 But if they do not cross over with you armed, they must accept their possession with you in Canaan. ” 31 The Gadites and Reubenites answered, “Your servants will do what the Lord has said. 32 We will cross over before the Lord into Canaan armed, but the property we inherit will be on this side of the Jordan. ”33 Then Moses gave to the Gadites, the Reubenites and the half-tribe of Manasseh son of Joseph the kingdom of Sihon king of the Amorites and the kingdom of Og king of Bashan —the whole land with its cities and the territory around them.34 The Gadites built up Dibon, Ataroth, Aroer, 35 Atroth Shophan, Jazer, Jogbehah, 36 Beth Nimrah and Beth Haran as fortified cities, and built pens for their flocks. 37 And the Reubenites rebuilt Heshbon, Elealeh and Kiriathaim, 38 as well as Nebo and Baal Meon (these names were changed) and Sibmah. They gave names to the cities they rebuilt.39 The descendants of Makir son of Manasseh went to Gilead, captured it and drove out the Amorites who were there. 40 So Moses gave Gilead to the Makirites, the descendants of Manasseh, and they settled there. 41 Jair, a descendant of Manasseh, captured their settlements and called them Havvoth Jair. 42 And Nobah captured Kenath and its surrounding settlements and called it Nobah after himself.
Reflections: The Gadites and Reubenites heard Moses’ rebuke and acted in faith and Moses granted them their inheritance on the other side of the Jordan. It reminds us that we all will receive different blessings as we trust in the Lord. We are called to different ministries but one thing is required, faith. We are called to be faithful in what God has called us to whatever that is. As we commit to something our “yes” should be “yes” and our “no” should be “no”.
Luke 2:33-40
33 The child’s father and mother marveled at what was said about him. 34 Then Simeon blessed them and said to Mary, his mother: “This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against, 35 so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your own soul too.”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.
Reflections: Today we meet the widow, the prophetess Anna. This reminds us that prophets were both men and women. She obviously was a very devout woman worshipping night and day and fasting and praying. In her spiritual discipline she developed an expectant heart that God would make good on His promises. And sure enough she was blessed to see the Messiah born as a baby. And it says she spoke about the child to all were looking forward to the redemption of Israel.
The people were looking for the redemption of Israel but God brought redemption to all mankind and Anna was one of the first to behold the Promise come in the flesh. We see again many people of many ages who were the first to behold Jesus and then be proclaimers of the Good News. May we be like Anna and have the same devotion.
You have put gladness in my heart more than when their grain and wine abound. Psalm 4:7
We brought nothing into the world, so that we can take nothing out of it. 1 Timothy 6:7
How do we measure abundance?—?in our worldly possessions or in the richness of our souls? O great Provider, help us to lay aside the blanket of belongings for the blanket of blessing that envelops us in your love. Amen.
For the director of music. For Jeduthun. Of Asaph. A psalm.
1 I cried out to God for help;
I cried out to God to hear me.
2 When I was in distress, I sought the Lord;
at night I stretched out untiring hands,
and I would not be comforted.
3 I remembered you, God, and I groaned;
I meditated, and my spirit grew faint.
4 You kept my eyes from closing;
I was too troubled to speak.
5 I thought about the former days,
the years of long ago;
6 I remembered my songs in the night.
My heart meditated and my spirit asked:
7 “Will the Lord reject forever?
Will he never show his favor again?
8 Has his unfailing love vanished forever?
Has his promise failed for all time?
9 Has God forgotten to be merciful?
Has he in anger withheld his compassion? ”
Reflections: Today we see the psalmist returning to the lament style psalm. Though he is crying out to the Lord, he does not feel comforted. His faith needs to move beyond feelings to core conviction. To not be astray by not feeling connected to the Lord, he remembered the days of old. He remembered God’s faithfulness to him through good times and bad times. He sang songs of old and prayed for God to hear His prayer.
What do you do when it seems God is distant? The saints of old persevered through times when they did not see God acting in the way they wanted Him to. There are different stages of faith development and one of them comes when we continue to see God even when we do not see immediate results or an instantly changed situation. As we trust in persevere our faith will grow even deeper as we remember God’s faithfulness in the past.
Numbers 32:28-33:9
28 Then Moses gave orders about them to Eleazar the priest and Joshua son of Nun and to the family heads of the Israelite tribes. 29 He said to them, “If the Gadites and Reubenites, every man armed for battle, cross over the Jordan with you before the Lord, then when the land is subdued before you, you must give them the land of Gilead as their possession. 30 But if they do not cross over with you armed, they must accept their possession with you in Canaan. ” 31 The Gadites and Reubenites answered, “Your servants will do what the Lord has said. 32 We will cross over before the Lord into Canaan armed, but the property we inherit will be on this side of the Jordan. ”33 Then Moses gave to the Gadites, the Reubenites and the half-tribe of Manasseh son of Joseph the kingdom of Sihon king of the Amorites and the kingdom of Og king of Bashan —the whole land with its cities and the territory around them.34 The Gadites built up Dibon, Ataroth, Aroer, 35 Atroth Shophan, Jazer, Jogbehah, 36 Beth Nimrah and Beth Haran as fortified cities, and built pens for their flocks. 37 And the Reubenites rebuilt Heshbon, Elealeh and Kiriathaim, 38 as well as Nebo and Baal Meon (these names were changed) and Sibmah. They gave names to the cities they rebuilt.39 The descendants of Makir son of Manasseh went to Gilead, captured it and drove out the Amorites who were there. 40 So Moses gave Gilead to the Makirites, the descendants of Manasseh, and they settled there. 41 Jair, a descendant of Manasseh, captured their settlements and called them Havvoth Jair. 42 And Nobah captured Kenath and its surrounding settlements and called it Nobah after himself.
Reflections: The Gadites and Reubenites heard Moses’ rebuke and acted in faith and Moses granted them their inheritance on the other side of the Jordan. It reminds us that we all will receive different blessings as we trust in the Lord. We are called to different ministries but one thing is required, faith. We are called to be faithful in what God has called us to whatever that is. As we commit to something our “yes” should be “yes” and our “no” should be “no”.
Luke 2:33-40
33 The child’s father and mother marveled at what was said about him. 34 Then Simeon blessed them and said to Mary, his mother: “This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against, 35 so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your own soul too.”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.
Reflections: Today we meet the widow, the prophetess Anna. This reminds us that prophets were both men and women. She obviously was a very devout woman worshipping night and day and fasting and praying. In her spiritual discipline she developed an expectant heart that God would make good on His promises. And sure enough she was blessed to see the Messiah born as a baby. And it says she spoke about the child to all were looking forward to the redemption of Israel.
The people were looking for the redemption of Israel but God brought redemption to all mankind and Anna was one of the first to behold the Promise come in the flesh. We see again many people of many ages who were the first to behold Jesus and then be proclaimers of the Good News. May we be like Anna and have the same devotion.
You have put gladness in my heart more than when their grain and wine abound. Psalm 4:7
We brought nothing into the world, so that we can take nothing out of it. 1 Timothy 6:7
How do we measure abundance?—?in our worldly possessions or in the richness of our souls? O great Provider, help us to lay aside the blanket of belongings for the blanket of blessing that envelops us in your love. Amen.
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