Paul the
apostle was certain to add “widows” who were “widows
indeed” to the list of people Timothy his “son in the
faith” was to care for in the church of Ephesus. As pastor and
overseer of the church located there, Timothy was to know who the
“widows indeed” were, and be sure that if they had family
members who could care for them, they did so. In chapter five and
verse nine of his letter to Timothy, Paul gave an age limit of the
“widows” for whom the church was to care where we read:
Let not a
widow be taken into the number under threescore years old,
having
been the wife of one man,
The verse begins, “Let
not a widow be taken into the number under threescore years old,...”
As Paul
began to be more specific concerning the widows for whom the church
was to care, he wrote the Greek phrase is “katalegō
me chera katalegō”
or “Let
not” which
means “don't allow, permit or give license to” “a
widow” or
“married women who lost their husbands through death” “be
taken into the number”
which literally means “to lie down” and refers to “to set down
in a list, register or enroll”. The idea is that they should not be
enrolled for a special ministry of prayer and supplication with the
aid of the church “under threescore”
which means “under sixty” “years
old”.
The verse
continues, “... having been the wife of one man,” The
second characteristic of a “widow” for whom Timothy should
seek was “having been” or “who became, was, and appeared
historically” “the wife” or “spouse” “of one
man” which refers to “one husband”. The widow for whom the
church cared and gave a position for prayers and supplications was
to be the wife of only one man, and this requirement was essential
for the church located in Ephesus.
As we think
through these words of Paul, we may wonder why it was necessary for
Timothy to have these certain requirements of widows. We might ask,
“wasn't losing her husband enough for the church to care for her?”
We are not certain why these directives were included by Paul, but
evidently the Holy Spirit of God knew as He inspired Paul to write
them. The tendency for a woman who was under sixty years old was to
find another man and marry again, and though this was a possibility,
Paul at least gave guidelines to Timothy to know how to determine if
a woman was dedicated to the things of the church or the things of
her own life. When we come to these passages we may have more
questions than answers, and when that occurs, perhaps it is best for
us to allow the Heavenly Father to reveal them to us in His own good
time. Until then, and by the grace of our Lord Jesus, we will concur
with Paul and look to minister to widows who are sixty and above and
were married to only one man.
Next
time Paul lists more qualities that should be found in a widow for
whom the church was to care, so read ahead, and we shall join
together then.
Until
tomorrow…there is more…
Look for the
daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to
Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”,
and the new devotional “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” in
all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com
; http://www.barnesandnobles.com
; download to e-books, and find it locally at
http://www.mrzlc.com/bookstore.
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