Todays BIBLE Study...ENJOY!!!
Wednesday, February 22 2006
Widows
The English word widow is derived from an old Anglo-Saxon word widuwe which itself originated from a Latin word, vidua, meaning deprived (the English word void, meaning emptied, originated from the same word as widow). Widow is used to translate the Hebrew word of the Holy Scriptures, pronounced al-maw-naw, which although is used to refer to a widow, literally means an empty house. All of the literal meanings of widow starkly convey the physical void that is left in the life of someone who loses a spouse. But, as is made very plain in the Word of God, no widow is ever left alone if she is someone who looks to God. The Lord cannot be lost by those who seek Him, and it is by the power of The Lord that all who have died will have the means to live again. It's just a matter of time (see the Fact Finder question below). "if any widow have children or nephews, let them learn first to show piety at home"
Right from the very beginning, The Lord was a defender of righteous widows; those who oppressed a widow risked making their own wives a widow i.e. "My wrath shall wax hot, and I will kill you with the sword; and your wives shall be widows":
"Thou shalt neither vex a stranger, nor oppress him: for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt. 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." (Exodus 22:21-24 KJV)
There were no hungry righteous widows in God's Israel; when harvest time came, their needs were supplied:
"When thou cuttest down thine harvest in thy field, and hast forgot a sheaf in the field, thou shalt not go again to fetch it: it shall be for the stranger, for the fatherless, and for the widow: that The Lord thy God may bless thee in all the work of thine hands. When thou beatest thine olive tree, thou shalt not go over the boughs again: it shall be for the stranger, for the fatherless, and for the widow. When thou gatherest the grapes of thy vineyard, thou shalt not glean it afterward: it shall be for the stranger, for the fatherless, and for the widow" (Deuteronomy 24:19-21 KJV)
There were also no destitute righteous widows in God's Israel:
"When thou hast made an end of tithing all the tithes of thine increase the third year, which is the year of tithing, and hast given it unto the Levite, the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, that they may eat within thy gates, and be filled; Then thou shalt say before The Lord thy God, I have brought away the hallowed things out of mine house, and also have given them unto the Levite, and unto the stranger, to the fatherless, and to the widow, according to all thy commandments which thou hast commanded me: I have not transgressed thy commandments, neither have I forgotten them" (Deuteronomy 26:12-13 KJV)
While on the run from those who sought to kill him, the prophet Elijah was supplied with food by a widow, who was miraculously supplied with food, because she supplied Elijah with food. It was a time of drought (1 Kings 17:7) in which the unrighteous went hungry, but righteous Elijah and the righteous widow had all that they needed, "the barrel of meal wasted not, neither did the cruse of oil fail, according to the word of The Lord."
"And the word of The Lord came unto him, saying, Arise, get thee to Zarephath, which belongeth to Zidon, and dwell there: behold, I have commanded a widow woman there to sustain thee. So he arose and went to Zarephath. And when he came to the gate of the city, behold, the widow woman was there gathering of sticks: and he called to her, and said, Fetch me, I pray thee, a little water in a vessel, that I may drink. And as she was going to fetch it, he called to her, and said, Bring me, I pray thee, a morsel of bread in thine hand." "And she said, As The Lord thy God liveth, I have not a cake, but an handful of meal in a barrel, and a little oil in a cruse: and, behold, I am gathering two sticks, that I may go in and dress it for me and my son, that we may eat it, and die."
"And Elijah said unto her, Fear not; go and do as thou hast said: but make me thereof a little cake first, and bring it unto me, and after make for thee and for thy son. For thus saith The Lord God of Israel, The barrel of meal shall not waste, neither shall the cruse of oil fail, until the day that The Lord sendeth rain upon the earth."
"And she went and did according to the saying of Elijah: and she, and he, and her house, did eat many days. And the barrel of meal wasted not, neither did the cruse of oil fail, according to the word of The Lord, which he spake by Elijah." (1 Kings 17:8-16 KJV)
And how do we know that the widow who took Elijah in, as described in the verses above, was a righteous widow, while all of the unrighteous people, including unrighteous widows, in the land went hungry during that time? Because Jesus Christ said so (the King James Version uses the Greek transliteration "Elias" in the New Testament for the Hebrew "Elijah" in the Old Testament).
"And he said, Verily, I say unto you, No prophet is accepted in his own country. But I tell you of a truth, many widows were in Israel in the days of Elias, when the heaven was shut up three years and six months, when great famine was throughout all the land; But unto none of them was Elias sent, save unto Sarepta, a city of Sidon, unto a woman that was a widow" (Luke 4:24-26 KJV)
The people who rejected the Christ also "devoured widows' houses":
"And He said unto them in His doctrine, Beware of the scribes, which love to go in long clothing, and love salutations in the marketplaces, And the chief seats in the synagogues, and the uppermost rooms at feasts: Which devour widows' houses, and for a pretence make long prayers: these shall receive greater damnation" (Mark 12:38-40 KJV)
The distinction between righteous and unrighteous widows was explained by the apostle Paul, who also made plain how the Fifth Commandment, "Honour thy father and thy mother", included all relatives, "if any widow have children or nephews, let them learn first to show piety at home," but on the other hand, "if any provide not for his own, and specially for those of his own house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel."
"Honour widows that are widows indeed. But if any widow have children or nephews [see Aunt Mary?], let them learn first to show piety at home, and to requite their parents: for that is good and acceptable before God. Now she that is a widow indeed, and desolate, trusteth in God, and continueth in supplications and prayers night and day. But she that liveth in pleasure is dead while she liveth. And these things give in charge, that they may be blameless. But if any provide not for his own, and specially for those of his own house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel." "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."
"But the younger widows refuse: for when they have begun to wax wanton against Christ, they will marry; Having damnation, because they have cast off their first faith. And withal they learn to be idle, wandering about from house to house; and not only idle, but tattlers also and busybodies, speaking things which they ought not." (1 Timothy 5:3-13 KJV)
Fact Finder: What happens to the dead? When do the dead stop being dead?
See What Happens When You Die? and When Will You Be Judged?
This Day In History, February 22
896: Arnulf was crowned emperor by Pope Formosus, who later declared Lambert deposed.
1370: Robert II succeeded his uncle, David II, as King of Scotland, beginning the Stuart dynasty.
1512: Italian explorer Amerigo Vespucci, died at age 61. "America" was derived from his first name.
1630: Indians introduced popcorn to British colonists in America.
1732: George Washington, the first U.S. President, was born.
1797: The last invasion of Britain occurred when 1,500 French troops landed at Fishguard, in Wales.
1819: The United States acquired Florida from Spain.
1825: Russia and Britain established the Alaska/Canada boundary. The United States purchased Alaska in 1867.
1862: Jefferson Davis was inaugurated as president of the Confederate States of America.
1879: Frank Woolworth opened his first "Five Cent Store."
1911: The Parliament of Canada voted to keep Canada as a member state within the union of the British Empire.
1913: Francisco Madero, revolutionary president of Mexico, was assassinated by the military, along with vice-president Pino Suarez.
1935: All airplane flights over the White House were banned because they were disturbing President Roosevelt's sleep.
1979: The Caribbean island of Saint Lucia gained full independence from Britain after 165 years. It became the 40th member state of the British Commonwealth.
1980: Israel introduced its new currency, the shekel. It replaced the Israeli pound.
1984: The U.S. and Britain sent warships to the Persian Gulf following an Iranian offensive against Iraq.
http://www.keyway.ca/htm2006/20060222.htm