Exodus 13:11
“And it shall be, when the Lord brings you into the land of the Canaanites, as He swore to you and your fathers, and gives it to you, 12 that you shall set apart to the Lord all that open the womb, that is, every firstborn that comes from an animal which you have; the males shall be the Lord’s.”
(Simeon holding baby Jesus.)
When Jesus was about one month old, Mary and Joseph took Him to the temple in Jerusalem to be dedicated, as required by the law of Moses in the opening scripture. While they were there, they “Happened” to run into two very special people. 😉
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An Old Friend.
The first was a man named, “Simeon,” who had faithfully served God all his life. The Holy Spirit had lead him to be at the temple on this particular day because God was about to keep a promise He had made to His very old friend. What was the promise? That he would get to see the Lord’s Messiah before he died! He had patiently waited many, many years for this moment, believing that God would be faithful to His word. And now, here He was…..in the flesh!
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When he held the child in his arms, he prophesied the following over Jesus in Luke 2:34: “Then Simeon blessed them, and said to Mary His mother, “Behold, this Child is destined for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign which will be spoken against (yes, a sword will pierce through your own soul also), that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.”
How true those words would prove to be when all Israel was presented with their long-awaited Messiah Whom they, as a nation, would ultimately reject. It would end in the fall of their nation and dispersion of the Jewish people for 2,000 years.
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Anna, The Prophetess.
Luke 2:36-38
“And there was one Anna, a prophetess, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of ASHER: she was of a GREAT AGE, and had lived with a husband seven years from her virginity; and this woman was a widow of about eighty-four years, who did not depart from the temple, but served God with fastings and prayers night and day. And she coming in that instant gave thanks likewise unto the Lord, and spake of him to all them that looked for redemption in Jerusalem.”
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The same time Simeon was there in the Temple, a prophetess named, “Anna,” was there as well. She is one “Who had been day and night in the temple, fasting, praying,” pointing people to Jesus.”
Did you catch that? The INSTANT Simeon left, SHE APPEARED!
Secrets In The Hebrew Language.
There are some really amazing things we can learn about Jesus and our loving heavenly Father in this beautiful story. The Bible is a multi-layered storehouse of hidden treasure. There are meanings in the all the names of people, places, things and even numbers in Hebrew. Such is the case in our story.
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Jewish people will not speak aloud the word, “YHVH,” the unpronounceable Tetragrammaton, but instead substitute the word, “Adonai: Lord,” or call Him, “haShem: the Name.” I have added vowels in the word above so that you and I can pronounce it because we are not under slavish fear of blaspheming His Name.
More Secrets In The Hebrew.
There are meanings in the names in her story. Her name is a short form of the name “Chananaiah,” which means, “God’s grace.” She was the daughter of “Phanuel.” Phanu means “Face,” and “El,” is an abbreviated form of God’s Name, short for “Elohim/Creator.” “Hannaiah haPhanuel,” means Anna was “Grace from the face of God!”
There is even more truth buried in the gematria, or “Meaning of numbers,” in this passage.
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Anna had been passing them out for all those years: Feeding people the Bread of Heaven: Royal Dainties: JESUS! Jacob may not have had the full revelation, but this blessing over his son was a prophetic reference to their distant relative, Anna. Care to guess what tribe she came from? Yep, Asher!
Asher means “healthy and happy.” That she was! At the advanced age of 84, she was still both happy and healthy because she had been preaching about Jesus for years and years.
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Now, because of Jesus, you and I don’t HAVE TO go around telling everyone about Jesus: WE GET TO GO AROUND DISHING OUT “ROYAL DAINTIES,” just like Anna, because of a VERY special baby!
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The Star.
Approximately two years after Jesus was born, wise men from the East showed up in Jerusalem. They had seen a sign in the heavens: A “star” that led them to the general vicinity. Since they didn’t know exactly where He was, they stopped at Herod’s palace for directions. What exactly was this star? You may follow the link below to part 6 where we’ll be discussing that very topic!
Emmaus Road Ministries 