Widows & Orphans

WIDOWS AND ORPHANS

You know, God has for a long time given special concern for widows and orphans. He first spoke of it in Exodus, and it even goes on into the New Testament! He has specific instructions for their treatment, and as Christians we are called to treat them with loving concern, and that first time the bible brings up widows and orphans, there is warning for doing the opposite! Shall we start with that one?
"Ye shall not afflict any widow, or fatherless child. If thou afflict them in any wise, and they cry at all unto Me, I will surely hear their cry; and My wrath shall wax hot, and I will kill you with the sword; and your wives shall be widows, and your children fatherless." (Exod. 22:22 - 24) Pretty straightforward, I would say! We are to look out for them, for they have no adult man to take care of them, as when they were married, for the widow, and no father figure, for the orphan(s).

Even involving tithing in Deuteronomy, the widows and orphans He involved: "At the end of three years thou shalt bring forth all the tithe of thine increase the same year, and shalt lay it up within thy gates: And the Levite, (because he hath no part nor inheritance with thee,) and the stranger, and the fatherless, and the widow, which are within thy gates, shall come, and shall eat and be satisfied; that the LORD thy God may bless thee in all the work of thine hand which thou doest." (Deut. 14:28 - 29) So here the second tithe was for the Levite and the poor; not just the strangers, but also the widows and orphans! What wisdom there is in this, that God's love be shown by His people to the stranger, that they might have regard for His people as showing His love in their generosity to those without substance!

"And thou shalt keep the feast of weeks unto the LORD thy God with a tribute of a freewill offering of thine hand, which thou shalt give unto the LORD thy God, according as the LORD thy God hath blessed thee: And thou shalt rejoice before the LORD thy God, thou, and thy son, and thy daughter, and thy manservant, and thy maidservant, and the Levite that is within thy gates, and the stranger, and the fatherless, and the widow, that are among you, in the place which the LORD thy God hath chosen to place His name there. And thou shalt rejoice in thy feast, thou, and thy son, and thy daughter, and thy manservant, and thy maidservant, and the Levite, the stranger, and the fatherless, and the widow, that are within thy gates." (Deut. 16:10 - 11, 14) Here during the feast of weeks, the Lord's instruction again includes orphans and widows. I don't know about you, but I certainly see a special love God has for these lone women and children without a father!

In those days, widows and orphans could not make use of social programs the way they do these days, particularly those blessed to be living in the U.S.; they had to fend for themselves, for the most part, and God made provisional instructions for them to earn their keep in the fields! "When thou cuttest down thine harvest in thy field, and hast forgot a sheaf in the field, thou shalt not go again to fetch it: it shall be for the stranger, for the fatherless, and for the widow: that the LORD thy God may bless thee in all the work of thine hands. When thou beatest thine olive tree, thou shalt not go over the boughs again: it shall be for the stranger, for the fatherless, and for the widow. When thou gatherest the grapes of thy vineyard, thou shalt not glean it afterward: it shall be for the stranger, for the fatherless, and for the widow." (Deut. 24:19 - 21)

Moses charged God's people to agree with him on a curse on people who did not treat widows and orphans properly: "Cursed be he that perverteth the judgment of the stranger, fatherless, and widow. And all the people shall say, 'Amen.'" (Deut. 27:19) Deut. 27 had quite a few curses for people who performed certain wicked acts, and this curse was among them.

In the book of Ruth, in chapter 2, is the story of a Moabitish woman, Ruth, the daughter-in-law of a Bethlehemite widow, Naomi, and of an upright godly man, Boaz. It ends up something of a romantic story of this man marrying the woman who accept the Israelite God as her God, but I bring you to chapter 2 of the book because Boaz, upon learning of Ruth, treats her exactly as God had commanded in Deuteronomy, and instructed especial leniency toward her to those who tended his fields, that they leave her plenty!

1 Kings 17:8 - 24 also has the story of Elijah interacting with a widow.  While the Lord had commanded the widow to sustain Elijah, yet in her misery she had little to exist on, and her son died. And goodness the prohet provided the widow in return for what she did for him, as he caused her barrel to yield much more meal than she observed it to hold, and her cruse of oil performed in the same manner. As for her dead son, Elijah also restored him to her in the same chapter, because of his cry to the Lord on her behalf.
A number of godly men were known to do good toward widows and orphans. When Job was in his plight, in his defense from his friends concerning his godly integrity, he recalled having always taken care of widows, orphans, and the poor; "If I have withheld the poor from their desire, or have caused the eyes of the widow to fail; or have eaten my morsel myself alone, and the fatherless hath not eaten thereof;" (Job 31:16 - 17)

King David also noted God's favor to widows and orphans; "The LORD preserveth the strangers; he relieveth the fatherless and widow: but the way of the wicked he turneth upside down." (Psa. 146:9) And what a contrast to how He feels about the wicked! Solomon, too, spoke of God's favor on the widow; "The LORD will destroy the house of the proud: but he will establish the border of the widow." (Prov. 15:25)

Isaiah exhorted the people of Judah to treat the widow and fatherless well; "Learn to do well; seek judgment, relieve the oppressed, judge the fatherless, plead for the widow." (Isa. 1:17) As they should fail to do so, however, Isaiah spoke to them on this: "Thy princes are rebellious, and companions of thieves: every one loveth gifts, and followeth after rewards: they judge not the fatherless, neither doth the cause of the widow come unto them. 'Therefore' saith the Lord, the LORD of hosts, the mighty One of Israel, 'Ah, I will ease Me of Mine adversaries, and avenge Me of Mine enemies: And I will turn My hand upon thee, and purely purge away thy dross, and take away all thy tin:'" (Isa. 1:23 - 25)

Jeremiah, too, spoke to Judah in his temple sermon to treat widows and orphans well. "If ye oppress not the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, and shed not innocent blood in this place, neither walk after other gods to your hurt: Then will I cause you to dwell in this place, in the land that I gave to your fathers, for ever and ever." (Jer. 7:6 - 7) He also spoke in their behalf at the king of Judah's house! "Thus saith the LORD; 'Execute ye judgment and righteousness, and deliver the spoiled out of the hand of the oppressor: and do no wrong, do no violence to the stranger, the fatherless, nor the widow, neither shed innocent blood in this place.'" (Jer. 22:3)

Ezekiel, too, numbered the maltreatment of widows and the fatherless among Jerusalem's sins; "In thee have they set light by father and mother: in the midst of thee have they dealt by oppression with the stranger: in thee have they vexed the fatherless and the widow." (Ezek. 22:7) As we continue, it is so clear that God means for us to extend love so much to these people without an adult male figure in their lives!

Zechariah explained to God's people in their captivity under Darius that one of the reasons for their captivity was their refusal to heed this among His commandments. "And oppress not the widow, nor the fatherless, the stranger, nor the poor; and let none of you imagine evil against his brother in your heart. But they refused to hearken, and pulled away the shoulder, and stopped their ears, that they should not hear." (Zech. 7:10 - 11)

Judah and Jerusalem heard from Malachi also concerning widows and orphans; "'And I will come near to you to judgment; and I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers, and against the adulterers, and against false swearers, and against those that oppress the hireling in his wages, the widow, and the fatherless, and that turn aside the stranger from his right, and fear not Me', saith the LORD of hosts." (Mal. 3:5)

Think this is all for the people of the Old Testament only? Think again! Jesus had compassion for a widow in the gospel! "Now when He came nigh to the gate of the city, behold, there was a dead man carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow: and much people of the city was with her. And when the Lord saw her, He had compassion on her, and said unto her, 'Weep not.' And He came and touched the bier: and they that bare him stood still. And He said, 'Young man, I say unto thee, Arise.' And he that was dead sat up, and began to speak. And He delivered him to his mother." (Luke 7:12 - 15)

Additionally, Paul wrote to Timothy to have a care concerning widows; "Honour widows that are widows indeed. But if any widow have children or nephews, let them learn first to shew piety at home, and to requite their parents: for that is good and acceptable before God. Now she that is a widow indeed, and desolate, trusteth in God, and continueth in supplications and prayers night and day." (1 Tim. 5:3 - 5) The younger generation of her family had responsibility for caring for a widow of their lineage, but if she has none, then the responsibility falls on the church!

So when we know of a widow or of orphans, and if we learn of their condition, and they are of need in any way, let us exercise good judgment and obedience to God, and have compassion on them in whatever need we see they have. After all, they, too are our neighbors, and we are to love our neighbors as ourselves!