Week 4 December 2025, Devotion Part 2

And there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon; and this man was righteous and devout, looking for the consolation of Israel…And there was a prophetess, Anna the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher.  Luke 2:25;36

“And at the end of eight days, when he was circumcised, he was called Jesus, the name given by the angel before he was conceived in the womb” (Luke 2:21). An angel also told Joseph in a dream that Mary’s son was to be named Jesus, “for he will save his people from their sins” (Matthew 1:21). Instead of divorcing her as intended, he took her to be his wife. The name Simeon from the Hebrew word shama, means “He has heard” or “Listening.” Jacob was tricked into marrying Leah, but one week later Rachel became his bride also. She was his great love, while Leah was just the fertile sister. She named her first-born Reuben, meaning “Look, a son!”, hoping it would earn her Jacob’s love. Next came Simeon, “He has heard,” signifying that God was aware of her suffering as the unloved spouse. Something had shifted when Leah named her eighth son Asher, meaning “happy” or “blessed.” No, her husband had not come to love her, but she declared, “Happy am I, for the daughters will call me blessed” (Genesis 30;13; 29:23-25). Asher became the founder of one of Israel’s twelve tribes. Anna’s father descended from it and his name Phanuel meant “Face of God.”

^“And there was a prophetess, Anna…She was advanced in years, having lived with her husband seven years from when she was a virgin, and then as a widow until she was eighty-four. She did not depart from the temple, worshiping with fasting and prayer night and day. And coming up at that very hour she began to give thanks to God and to speak of him to all who were waiting for the redemption of Jerusalem.”  Part 2 of 2

Comment: In my small Swiss village, even we kids crossed paths with the old-timers Gottlieb, Gottfried, and Traugott. Their names sounded quaint in the “modern” ears of the 30s, but the religious climate was such that God’s Love, Peace, and Trust in Him, as implied, resonated with the evangelical public.  To my surprise, biblical boys’ names rank high with today’s Swiss parents. Yet church attendance among Catholics is 9.4%, and even lower among Protestants.  I joined Hollywood Pres within months of my arrival in 1956, and by the 70s was a regular teacher in various adult Bible classes.  Word reached me one day that an anonymous person questioned whether men should sit under my teaching as a female.  Quite miffed at first, I didn’t pout or crawl under a rock. Instead, I began a prayerful study of biblical women with God-ordained ministries.  Deborah, Hannah, and the prophetess Huldah emerged as my OT heroines. The only woman standing out to me in the NT turned out to be Anna, and she remains my top pick to this day.  Something touched me deeply about her singlemindedness of “waiting on God” so long, then receiving her unique ministry of sharing with those coming to see her the “redemption of Jerusalem.”  Advanced in age also, and still trusting the Holy Spirit for more impactful kairos moments, I pray that Simeon and Anna’s joy would infect us all and give us discernment in what to WAIT FOR as we WAIT ON God.  Luke 2