A note from our Pastor:

”Now she that is a widow indeed, and desolate, trusteth in God, and continueth in supplications and prayers night and day.”

1 Timothy 5:5

Good Morning Dearly Beloved,

In our study verse this week, the Apostle Paul builds on the subject of the widows indeed. This was an important teaching for the community of believers. The Apostle desired them to be diligent in caring for the widows but also recognized if the charity was taken advantage of the community of believers could not sustain the effort. For this reason, the Apostle wants Timothy and others to understand the instruction with great clarity.

In prior studies, we have already established that a widow indeed is a woman who has lost her husband and does not have children or grandchildren to care for her needs. An understanding of first-century culture is important. Women in this culture were not allowed to own property nor to hold a job. Therefore, they were dependent on their fathers, husbands, or sons to care for them. Without those men in their lives, they were left destitute.

It is this status that leads us to our study verse this week. The Apostle tells Timothy that a widow indeed should be one that in their desolation trusts in God and continues in supplications and prayers. In other words, these women when left without someone to provide for them turned to God and trusted in the saying “give us this day or daily bread.”

While this teaching may not hold much significance to the modern believer in the Western world it was very important in the early church. In the eastern regions where the church began polygamy was a common practice. Many of these women who ended up desolate were at one time in a polygamous relationship and when the man of many women passed they were left without care. Their choice was to become an additional wife to a man and rely on him or trust in God with the care of the community of believers.

Through this teaching, for the church to care for widows indeed, God was providing a way for these widows to serve others, to not return to an oppressive and sinful situation of polygamy, and to not remain in a destitute state. The power and importance of this instruction from the Apostle to Timothy cannot be overstated.

Our Prayers are with you daily,

Brother Jeremiah