The Messiah Anna Longed For

Isaiah 2:2-4 Now it will come about that
In the last days
The mountain of the house of the Lord
Will be established as the chief of the mountains,
And will be raised above the hills;
And all the nations will stream to it.
And many peoples will come and say,
“Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord,
To the house of the God of Jacob;
That He may teach us concerning His ways
And that we may walk in His paths.”
For the law will go forth from Zion
And the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.
And He will judge between the nations,
And will render decisions for many peoples;
And they will hammer their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks.
Nation will not lift up sword against nation,
And never again will they learn war. (NASB)

Anna looked forward to the redemption of Jerusalem more than anything in the world. It was what she thought about. It is what she saw when she looked at the child Jesus. It was what she talked about to whomever would listen.

These verses in Isaiah speak about the true redemption of Israel. That final and real redemption, the fullest redemption of the Hebrew people in every sense of the word, will happen after Christ’s return and during the thousand-year reign. At that time, people will choose to travel to Jerusalem and learn the ways of the Lord. They will eagerly and willingly head for the Lord’s house and the Lord’s city of Zion. It will be what they want most and love best.

Think of your perfect vacation. Think of where you could truly be yourself. Think of where you can relax and bask in the sun. Wrap all those feelings up and place that emotion on the journey to Zion. That’s how everyone will feel about this special trip at the time. The Scripture above says the ‘nations will stream towards it.’ Imagine any place being that popular and that well-liked that everyone in the world will want to be there?

In her heart of hearts, Anna already lived in Zion. She saw the redemption of Jerusalem and the children of Jacob as a dream come true. As a prophetess, she knew it would happen. She saw it as God sees it—a reality. The fact that time got in the way meant nothing. Zion was as real to those who loved God then as it should be to us now.

Come, let us set our eyes upon the mountain of the Lord!