“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” (Ex 22:22-24).
Right from the beginning of Hebrew history, God instructed His people to be careful how they treated the widows, orphans, strangers and the poor of the land. Our God is a merciful Father who will not tolerate abuse of destitute souls. God will defend them and will hear their cries (prayers) to Him. If he “hears” their cry, we know they will have their request (1 John 5:14-15).
We first see an example of abuse of a widow when Tamar, the daughter-in-law of Judah, was sent home to be a “widow in her father’s house” (Gen 38:1-30). She and her aged parents would have suffered much at the hands of a man who neglected to give her his youngest son for a husband. The Mosaic Law was explicit about what should be done for widows. The Israelites were told to leave whatever fruit was not gleaned after the first harvest, nor to go over the trees or the vineyards a second time, but to leave whatever remained for the stranger, widow and the fatherless (Deut. 24:20-22). Even after the people had gathered the first fruits for themselves, they still had to give a tithe from that bounty to the Levite, the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow (Deut. 26:12-13).
God’s word is replete with examples of those who obeyed God’s command to feed and care for the widows but also with examples of those who did not. Psalms 72 is a wonderful testimony that Solomon, the son of David, followed God’s law to provide for widows and to give just judgment. The stated reason God gives for why He blessed Solomon’s reign as He did was his care for the widow, orphan and stranger in the land. On the contrary, we see in the book of Isaiah why the leaders were condemned.
“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.” (Isa. 1:23).
The New Testament talks about honoring those that are widows indeed (1 Tim 5:3-15). Then it gives the way to tell who fits that pattern. If a widow has children or nephews, they should show piety at home and repay their parents for their own care. However, if a woman is a widow indeed, and desolate, she has to trust in God, and pray night and day. Some widows live in pleasure and are dead (spiritually dead) while they live. If a widow is to be enrolled (put on support), she can only have been the wife of one man, and be above the age of 60, well reported for good works as was the widow who fed Elijah (1 Kings 17:10-15). She must have brought up children, lodged strangers, washed the saints’ feet, relieved the afflicted, and diligently followed every good work. The widow of Zarephath certainly fits that description in every way.
Do we want to have pure and undefiled religion before God (James 1:27)? Then we need to “hear” the cry of the widow, the fatherless, and the stranger like our Heavenly Father hears them.
–Beth Johnson