Day 18 - Luke 2:37

A Fasted Journey for Spiritual Renewal

Day 18

“And then as a widow until she was eighty-four. She did not depart from the temple, worshiping with fasting and prayer night and day.” Luke 2:37

Back around Christmas time I listened to a great short series about Simeon. Simeon, like the widow mentioned in today’s verse, is only mentioned here in this passage of Luke. Of Simeon Luke tells us that he was “righteous and devout.” Devout can also be translated here as “reverent.” This passage tells us that Simeon was waiting for “the consolation of Israel,” that is Jesus Christ, and that the Holy Spirit had already revealed to Simeon that he would not see death until he had seen Christ. What a magnificent position to be in. You will see the Savior before you die.

Can you imagine the anticipation? Can you imagine what was going through Simeon’s head on a daily basis prior to the events of Luke 2? What happens here is that Mary and Joesph take Jesus to the temple to consecrate Jesus to the Lord and to offer a sacrifice. As they are there, they meet Simeon, and shortly after that, the widow mentioned in verse 37.

The day has come for Simeon. This is it. He finally gets to meet Christ. We don’t know how long he has waited for this day, yet I wonder how many years it could have been. I suppose it could have only been days, but that seems doubtful to me. Nonetheless, Simeon get to hold the Christ child. What an amazing blessing. The passage tells us that Simeon “took him up in his arms and blessed God and said, “Lord, now you are letting your servant depart in peace, according to your word; for my eyes have seen your salvation that you have prepared in the presence of all peoples, a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and for glory to your people Israel.” This must have been a truly amazing time for Simeon as he had a better idea than most of what this meant and what was to come.

The passage continues by saying that Joseph and Mary “marveled at what was said about him. And Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother, “Behold, this child is appointed for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign that is opposed (and a sword will pierce through your own soul also), so that thoughts from many hearts may be revealed.” Truer words could not have been said. Even today we see the thoughts of many hearts revealed towards the Lord.

Now, is where Anna, the widow from today’s verse is mentioned. Based on the text we can ascertain that she too was righteous and reverent. We don’t know much about Anna, just what we learn in these few verses. We learn that she was married for seven years. At that point her husband died and she dedicated her life to serving God; spending much time in the temple. We learn that she was 84 and that often times in this culture woman got married at a very young age, even as young as twelve. So it is likely that she has been widowed and celibate for many years in which time she dedicated her life to God, God’s word and prayer.

The passage also calls her a prophetess. This likely means someone that proclaims God’s word, which she would be well suited for after all these years of dedication to it. The gift of prophecy as we typically think of it faded from Israel before Christ’s birth, and had been non-existent for about 400 years; according to Matthew Poole’s Commentary on this passage. Today’s verse is either indicative of Anna spending the vast majority of her time at the temple, or as plainly read, that she had her living quarters there. This very well may have been the case because of her rare status at this time in Jewish history as a prophetess.

Luke also clearly points out that fasting was part of Anna’s worship, and that she did so frequently. Again, I am struck by yet another Biblical example of this seemingly important facet of worship. To reiterate something mentioned in previous posts, we aren’t commanded to fast. Not in the New Testament anyways, and it was only for the Day of Atonement, which we no longer recognize, in the Old. It is becoming increasingly interesting to me to see these examples and even when I think of how Christ said, “when you fast." He didn’t command it, but he assumed Believers would.

Anna enters the scene as Simeon is holding the baby Jesus. This makes this scene even more remarkable. Here you have Simeon who has waited for an undetermined amount of time for this very moment! The pinnacle moment of his life to be sure, and then the worshipful and devoted Anna comes up and sees this. Immediately she knew too. She knew this was the Christ whom they have been awaiting. This section ends by saying, “she began to give thanks to God and to speak of him (Jesus) to all who were waiting for the redemption of Jerusalem.”

Poole’s Commentary adds this, which I found interesting since I don’t always read this one, but did today; and it mentions Ahab whom was discussed yesterday:

“There is no place where God hath had a name, but, however it be corrupted and debauched, hath a number that keep close to God. God in Ahab’s time had seven thousand in Israel; and in this most corrupt time there was a Simeon and an Anna, and also others, who had a true notion and expectation of the Messiah; and these the Holy Ghost taketh more notice of than of all the Jewish doctors, all the scribes and Pharisees, whose names are enrolled, while what these persons said and did shall remain for a memorial of them wherever the gospel shall be preached to the end of the world.”

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Here’s that three part series I mentioned at the outset. A little longer post today. Sorry about that. Trying to keep these shorter.

I am not a medical professional. This journal is about my spiritual path and about that which the Lord has placed on me. This is not medical advice, nor was this fast done for any medical purpose. If you have a medical interest, seek medical advice. If you have particular health concerns, seek medical advice and/or conduct your own research. Any fasting advice, effects, realizations or anything else related to my fast come from my personal reflection and experience. If you are considering fasting, consulting with a healthcare provider may be appropriate for you.