Anna - Her Life And Times

Anna - Her Life And Times

THE TEMPLE COURTS

The old woman Anna had probably spent upwards of sixty years in the temple. In fact, she never left it, “but worshiped night and day, fasting and praying” (Luke 2:37). The evidence of her devotion is not just in the fact that she spent all those years in prayer, but that she recognized the Christ. (He was, after all, only about six weeks old.) Yet even though Anna had relinquished a normal lifestyle, spent hours of every day in prayer, and gone without food as a sign of devotion, she was still not allowed access to the actual temple. Despite being relegated to the outer court for women, however, she never let that restriction squeeze her heart or strangle her love for God.

Solomon had built the first temple, an elaborate, white limestone structure, inlaid with gold. Zerubbabel built the second temple when the Jews returned from their captivity in Babylon. Herod the Great built the third temple, where Anna worshiped. He was a tireless builder, and the temple in Jerusalem was only one of his projects.

Herod’s temple had four successive courts, each more exclusive than the one before it. The outer court was known as the Court of the Gentiles. This was the only place where non-Jews were allowed. This court was also the place where Jesus later cleared the temple of those buying and selling. The inner court was divided into two sections: the Women’s Court, where Anna worshiped, and the Court of Israel. Both Jewish women and men could enter the Women’s Court, but only Jewish men were allowed into the Court of Israel. The Court of the Priests surrounded the actual temple building itself and was accessible only to those of the Levitical priesthood.

The customs of her time may have restricted the physical location of Anna’s worship, but no earthly regulation could bind her actual worship or devotion. Be an Anna! Don’t let anything limit your devotion to God! No earthly rules or restrictions. No past mistakes or sins. No life situations that you can’t overcome. Let nothing get in the way of worshiping your God and recognizing your Savior.