A note from our Pastor:

”Let not a widow be taken into the number under threescore years old, having been the wife of one man. // Well reported of for good works; if she have brought up children, if she have lodged strangers, if she have washed the saints’ feet, if she have relieved the afflicted, if she have diligently followed every good work.”

1 Timothy 5:9-10

Good Morning Dearly Beloved,

For our study text this week it is necessary to take two verses together. In this particular instance, the interpretation of the first verse is lost when not combined with the second. In this passage, the Apostle Paul provides Timothy with an instruction that has seemingly been lost in the church as it has changed over time. To study these verses, we will first establish the concept and then explore the details.

The instruction the Apostle gave Timothy in these two verses, and likely elsewhere, was to establish a group of widows within the church that performed work to support the other members, especially the younger widows in the congregation. In order to join this group the widows had to be at least 60 years old and had to have demonstrated their discipleship through the way they conducted their life. These widows were to be cared for by the church, but they were also expected to perform good works.

The Apostle first says for a widow to be accepted into this group she must be at least 60 years old and have been the wife of one man. The age requirement was most likely to avoid widows joining this group and then desiring to enter into a relationship and leaving the group again. The Apostle recognized the desires of younger widows to again be married and have a family. He wanted this group to be focused on taking care of the congregation. The statement regarding being the wife of one man is somewhat lost in translation. This did not intend that a woman could not have remarried after her husband passed or that she couldn’t have two husbands (which did not happen), but simply that she had to have demonstrated faithfulness to her spouse during their marriage.

The second verse, verse 10, provides more guidelines for Timothy and others to use to evaluate acceptance into the group of widows. Widows who had demonstrated these characteristics and others had proven to the congregation their desire to live by God’s commandment. The congregation was looking to see if the widow had exemplified in her life a love for God and a love for her neighbor. If those characteristics were clear during her life then she was a fit to join the group and to care for the congregation.

Overall, our study verses this week tell us that in the early church, at least at Ephesus, there was a group of elderly widows who performed work for the congregation by the authority of the church. This was a formal group and the widows had to meet the requirements to be a part. No doubt their role in this group gave purpose and passion to their later years.

Our Prayers are with you daily,

Brother Jeremiah