The Messiah Simeon Waited For

Luke 2:26 It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he saw the Lord’s Messiah.

A normal lifespan or even serious infirmity poses no barrier to God’s promises. We have no idea how old Simeon was, but by his own words, he waited longer than anyone, even he, expected.

Simeon was not the first person in Scripture to live past the norm in order to fulfill the words and plan of God.

Methuselah: The oldest man ever according to the Bible. While the origins of his name are not 100% clear, many scholars say his name means something similar to ‘when he is dead, it shall be sent.’ It referred to the Great Flood. Interestingly enough, his son Lamech (Noah’s father) died the same year.  God promised judgment would come and Methuselah had to stick around until it was time.

Abraham and Sarah: They were told that they would begin a great nation. At God’s first promise, they were well into middle age. And still, he made them wait while reaffirming and clarifying the promise. Scripture says that when Isaac was conceived that “[Abraham] was as good as dead…” (Hebrews 11:12) That didn’t matter to God.

Jeremiah: God promised to protect the young prophet. He was told “Do not be afraid of anyone, for I will be with you to deliver you.” In spite of being left in a cistern to die, put in a situation where he might starve to death, and imprisoned several times, Jeremiah did not die during the years he prophesied. God delivered him each and every time.

Mary: When the angel came to her and she agreed to be the mother of the Messiah, God promised that she would both conceive and give birth to a son. Somehow, she had to know that God would protect her through the months of her pregnancy. By the law, some would have wanted to stone her. But God promised.

The promises of God are beyond anything we can imagine. No circumstance, no person, no disaster, no inability can stop them from coming to pass!