And there was a prophetess, Anna the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was advanced in years, having lived with a husband seven years after her marriage, and then as a widow to the age of eighty-four. And she never left the temple, serving night and day with fastings and prayers.
And at that very moment she came up and began giving thanks to
God, and continued to speak of Him to all those who were looking for the redemption of Jerusalem. Luke 2:36-38 NASB

Anna. A seemingly obscure person. She was quite old. She had lived in the temple since becoming a widow. She was widowed at an early age. She only lived with a husband seven years. She was probably between 20 and 24 when she became a widow. She certainly wasn’t beyond remarriage. Yet she never remarried.

In that culture, when a woman became a widow, she could go live with a son and his family. Anna however was only married for seven years so any child she might have borne would still be a child when her husband died. Scripture, however, makes no mention of children. Was she childless? She couldn’t have gone to the temple and remained with children? Could she? Probably not. It is most likely safe to assume she had no children.

Childless. It was a shameful thing for a woman not to bear children. Was this a possible reason she did not remarry?

And where was the kinsman redeemer? Where was the relative that should have stepped up to produce an heir to carry on her husband’s family name? Ruth had Boaz. Was there no one? Or was Anna unwanted?

When reading scripture, we are reading about people who really lived. They are not fictitious. When we ask these questions of Anna, we find the possibility of great emotional pain and cultural shame. Yet Anna doesn’t choose to become bitter, angry or reclusive. Anna goes to the Temple. She fasted and prayed for years. A lifetime of years.

Anna never left. Anna believed. She believed she would see Messiah before she passed into Eternity…and she did.. Anna chose to take the role God had for her…then she saw and she held Messiah…Yeshua.