When the time came for the purification rites required by the Law of Moses, Joseph and Mary took him to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord Luke 2: 22
Jesus had been born in Bethlehem as prophesied and eight days later Mary and Joseph went the five miles to the temple in Jerusalem to offer a sacrifice in keeping with the Law of Moses.
In the temple they met a pair of elderly, devout people who had been waiting patiently for the Messiah. Simeon was a devout man waiting for ‘the consolation of Israel’ - the Messiah and he had been promised that he would see him before he died. He rejoiced that this day had come and very accurately prophesied to Mary that ‘This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against, so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your own soul too.’ I wonder if Mary remembered that as she watched the horror of her own beloved son being beaten and crucified.
Mary and Joseph marvelled at what was said but more was to come. The very elderly Anna, a lady whose life was devoted to prayer and fasting also came up ‘at that moment’ and told anyone who would listen that this child was the Messiah (the redemption of Jerusalem).
I love the patient faithfulness of these two elderly people, devoted to the Lord. They had not given up as the years passed by. They had not settled down to a passive, inactive, elderly lifestyle. They were as fervent in their faith as ever. The Bible is full of the very elderly being significantly used by God; Abraham, Moses, Gideon’s parents, Zechariah and Elizabeth. So often the elderly laid the foundation for the next generation to build on.
Simeon and Anna are a source of inspiration for us. They had been waiting for years to see the fulfilment of their dreams, not just for themselves but for their nation. They hadn’t given up nor had they doubted and they were not disappointed. Their hope was placed firmly in God.
Perhaps today you have been waiting for years to see the fulfilment of your dreams – the salvation of a loved one, a healing, a miracle or for revival and a great outpouring of God’s love and miracle working power in your church, community or nation.
At the start of a new year, may we, like Simeon and Anna, not give up but with fresh faith believe again that God is working on our behalf, that he has heard and is answering our prayers.
‘And let us not be weary in well doing; for in due season we shall reap if we faint not’
Galatians 6: 9 KJV
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