The Messiah Anna Longed For

Did Anna See the Star

Numbers 24:17a

“I see Him, but not now;
I behold Him, but not near;
A Star shall come out of Jacob;
A Scepter shall rise out of Israel.

This prophecy, uttered by a prophet for hire who hoped to curse Israel, pointed to a distant time when the star and the scepter would arise from the descendants of the fledgling nation. Both titles refer to the Messiah as He would guide his people and judge them.

The image of the star makes us think of the wise men who came later. But who knows how many people saw the star on the night of Christ’s birth and simply discounted it? Maybe Anna saw it and remembered these words. Or maybe she saw a glimpse of that star when she looked into the eyes of the infant Jesus.

God gave her insight, somehow, as to who she gazed at when he was an eight-day-old infant. Most babies at that time look similar to each other. But through God’s guidance, Anna knew that this one was very, very different.

The poet in me wants to believe it is because she saw a miraculous star reflected in the baby’s eyes.

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