The Messiah Anna Longed For

The Word Anna Saw

Read Psalm 119:41-48 (verse 41 excerpted) Let your faithful love come to me, Lord, Your salvation, as You promised.

This Psalm focuses on the word of God. Psalm 119 is also the longest chapter in the Bible. This portion, where each verse begins with the Hebrew letter Vav, reads like Anna could have said it. The future promised salvation and redemption meant the world to her.

Also, this Psalm speaks of the love of the Word of God. Anna spoke about her love of Yahweh and His Word to everyone who would listen. She even spoke and prophesied when they could have cared less. Just by her ongoing presence in the temple, she said to all who walked by that she loved God.

But Psalm 119 is about more than loving God and the Bible, it is about trying to live it.

God loves those who honor his Word. So Anna tried to honor it with her life of service, prayer and truth.

God loves those who meditate on his Word. So she learned whatever the priests and the Levites would share with her. Living there, especially as she grew old, they couldn’t feel like they betrayed tradition by teaching a woman. And she would have been an eager student.

God loves those who looked towards the promise of the Christ and who hoped in a better, holier future.

When the infant Jesus entered the temple on his eighth day of life, Anna took him into her arms. In his presence, she saw a glimpse of what God promised. She saw the day when Israel would be redeemed and Christ would reign as its king.

In other words, she saw what the word promised.

She saw the faithful love, the undying Word in human form.

She saw God’s salvation and rejoiced so much that she told everyone that would listen that the redemption and hope of Jerusalem had come!

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