Caring For the Widow

Posted on November 10, 2024

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Ruth 3:1-5, 4:13-17

Psalm 146

1 Kings 17:8-16

Mark 12:38-44

All throughout scripture and history we can read about how God provides. Even today as we hear about missionaries around the world and when we hear about the persecuted, we can see how God provides. Through the destruction in forces of nature, whether is be through earthquakes, tsunamis, hurricanes, tornados, wild fires, droughts, famines, and even pandemics; we can see how God continues to provide in these situations. God cares about you, your wellbeing, your future, and your present. God continues to provide for all of our needs.

The scriptures for this week all have a similar focus in common in that they all relate to God’s provision and care for widows. Elijah is one of the most famous profits in the Old Testament. While Elijah struggled much because of his zealousness for the Lord, God continued to provide for him even through the most oddly of circumstances. In our readings for today we find out that God is providing for more than just Elijah but he is also providing for a widow. God tells Elijah to go to a place called Zarephath. There God had plans to care for Elijah, before that God sent ravens to bring Elijah food. Now God is providing a poor Widow. It appears that the God had been providing for Elijah for possibly several years in the wilderness until the water he was drinking from dried all up because there was no rain. For this reason, Elijah had to move to find his next caregiver.

Elijah found a widowed woman just as God had told him that he would and he asks her to give him a drink and to give him some bread. This woman had been gathering sticks to start a fire so that she can make bread for herself and her son. However, this was intended to be that last meal for her and her son. They only had a handful of flour left and since there had been no rain fore quite some time, there was no more food growing. So, it was not like she could just go and buy more flour after she was out. There was no flour to be bought. This was supposed to be all that there would be left and after this meal there would be no more meals so all that there was left was for them to eat their final meal and then await their death from starvation. However, God had a plan to care for both Elijah and the widow and her son. That hand full of flour and little bit of oil did not run out till the day the rains finally came. None of this made sense nor was it logically possible. But God multiplied what she had in the same way that Jesus multiplied a few fish and bread to feed thousands. God provided for this widow so that she and her son may live.

For women in that time, it was very difficult for them to survive if they did not have a husband. The husband was the provider and the husband was he assurance that all would be ok. When the husband died his wife often would be left with no means to care for herself. Unless she had children to help care for her, she had nothing. This particular widow in our story today would have had a much younger son. If he were older then it would be his responsibility to take care of her. In this case she is responsible for him which would put her at a much younger age being even more difficult for her to manage for the years to come. However, God hears the burdens of this widow and cares for her.

Another two widows we read about this morning is Naomi and Ruth. Naomi lost her husband and her sons and ruth has also lost her husband. Ruth is at least young enough that she could remarry and she still had family back in Moab that could help care for her. Things were much more difficult for Naomi. No sons or husband. Her best chance at survival was to return to Israel. Even then her future did not look too good. The interesting thing about Ruth though is that she had the option to go back home like her sister in-law Orpah chose. However, she decided to take the more difficult path and help her mother in-law survive. Two widows alone, only having each other. However, praise be to God that he provided for them through a Kinsman Redeemer in Boaz. Through Boaz, he and Ruth bore a son who ends up being the grandfather of David.

Now let’s look to 4^th widow mentioned in our scripture readings today. In Mark 12 starting at verse 38, Jesus is warning against the teachers of the law. The teachers of the law like the feeling of importance. They wear fancy clothing and enjoy the best seats where ever they go. But here is the part that really grabs my attention. “They devour widow’s houses…” They take advantage of these women and let them believe that life will be better for them if they give the church everything that they have. Then after this teaching a prime example of what he just explained comes forward. People are lining up to put money into the treasury. There are all of these people giving large sums of money without batting an eye or feeling any bit of anxiety of doing so. Then this old widow comes forward and puts in these two coins worth no more than a penny according to our understanding of money. Jesus stops to point out that she gave of much more value than anyone else because she had given all that she had to live on. This woman was literally devoured by the church for she was widowed and had no means of earning a living and had now just given everything that she had to live. This means that she no longer could afford to live. This woman gave the last of what she had to the church and then was most likely going back to where she was staying to just await her death.

Unfortunately, we do not have any information about what happens next to this widow. However, we do know that God provides and that he cares for widows as they hold a special place in his heart. This lesson shows that we also have our own responsibility to care for those who cannot help themselves and to those whom the lord cares about. Thankfully some things have changed in our world today in the circumstances for widows. Most widows today are able to and even encouraged to care for themselves fairly well for the remainder of their days. In this way the Lord provides for widows today. However, in the places where they struggle, God has called upon the church to care for those who cannot care for themselves. The Church is God’s hands and feet to provide for those who need provisions. The church is the most generous around the world and often is generous when they even have little. We must never forget our calling as the Church, for we represent our savior in the way we care for his people.