The Lord: Defender of Widows

God loves everyone, but I think he has a special place in his heart for widows and widowers.

Before there were Social Security checks or pension plans, a woman was left socially and financially vulnerable if her husband died. That's why the Lord said, "Do not take advantage of a widow or an orphan. If you do and they cry out to me, I will certainly hear their cry" (Exodus 22:22, 23). The psalmist observed, "The Lord . . . sustains the fatherless and the widow" (Psalm 146:9).

Under Old Testament law, the owner of a vineyard or a grove of olive trees was only to pick the grapes or harvest the olives once, and whatever fruit remained was left for the widows and others in need (Deuteronomy 24:19-21).

Despite their lack of status in the ancient world, widows often appear in the Bible as heroic examples of faith.

In the pagan city of Zarephath, God provided for Elijah by replenishing a faithful widow's jar of flour and jug of oil every day (1 Kings 17). In the days of the prophet Elisha, God miraculously provided jars of oil so another widow could pay her debts and keep her two sons out of bondage to her creditor (2 Kings 4).

When Jesus was a baby, an elderly widow named Anna, known as an unceasing prayer warrior, spoke about him "to all who were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem" (Luke 2:36-38). Jesus rebuked the cruel religious leaders who left widows homeless by "devouring their houses" through foreclosure. These selfish men contrasted sharply with the generous widow who put her last two copper coins into the temple treasury. The Lord noticed and commended her sacrifice. According to Jesus, she gave more than all the others.

Another time, Jesus stopped a funeral procession outside the village of Nain. A widow, perhaps still heart-broken from her husband's death, headed toward the cemetery to bury her only son. "When the Lord saw her, his heart went out to her and he said, 'Don't cry.'" Jesus amazed everyone by turning the funeral procession into a triumphal procession. After raising the dead man back to life, "Jesus gave him back to his mother" (Luke 7:11-15).

Many Bible students suppose Jesus' own mother was widowed at an early age. After Jesus' early childhood, Joseph receives little attention in Scripture. Mary stood near Jesus' cross, but there's no mention of Joseph. Before he died, Jesus asked his friend John to care for Mary. It's possible Joseph had died years before, leaving Mary a widow and leaving Jesus (the eldest child in the family) as the chief provider. Another son in Mary's family was James, who later wrote, "Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world" (James 1:27).

The Bible makes several lessons clear.

The care of widows should be a family priority, for "if a widow has children or grandchildren, these should learn first of all to put their religion into practice by caring for their own family and so repaying their parents and grandparents, for this is pleasing to God" (1 Timothy 5:4).

The care of widows should be a church priority, for "the church can help those widows who are really in need" (1 Timothy 5:16). The first-century church considered this important enough that they developed their own version of Meals on Wheels, taking food to the widows on a daily basis (Acts 6:1).

Widows should devote themselves to serving the Lord. Christian widows and widowers have the right to grieve, but not to "grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope" (1 Thessalonians 4:13). A Christian's life must be defined by service, not by complaining and self-centeredness. Widows can put their hope in God and continue night and day in prayer (1 Timothy 5:5). They can devote themselves to good deeds, hospitality, and helping others who are in trouble (1 Timothy 5:10).

Are there widows or widowers in your family, church, or neighborhood who need an encouraging word from you? By serving them you also honor the Lord, for "a father to the fatherless, a defender of widows, is God in his holy dwelling" (Psalm 68:5).