We live in such a confusing time and it seems as if there
is no intelligence in senseless murderous acts.
We are burdened with the
knowledge that there is a religious group that intentionally wishes to inflict
harm on people who do not share in their own beliefs. While it is unfortunate
that innocent people are murdered and many are left in distress, we recognize
that we should not respond out of fear or intimidation. Technically, the free
world is at war with a group of people who believe that their way of life is to
be forced on everyone else. There are causalities due to this war. We bury our
dead, but there are other losses too. The living causalities are orphans and
widows. What do we do? How do we respond to their need?
The Bible tells us to take care of widows, orphans, and
strangers. Widows are “older females”
only; men are not considered widows even if a man’s wife dies. Orphans are “young children that lose
their father”. Another word for orphan is fatherless.
Because women and children held such a low position in ancient cultures, these
two groups needed the community to care for them. Another group of people that
needed community care were known as strangers.
These people are also known as “travelers or sojourners in a foreign land”. In
the Bible we see many people who traveled and were welcomed into someone’s
house. This should have been a cultural norm, but the culture became corrupt
regarding travelers. This is easy to understand if we remember the sins of
Sodom. Their inhospitality to people traveling was noted by Yahweh, as well as
their backward judgments and harsh treatment of the poor.
As we look at these groups and our obligations to each, we
have to recognize that Israel lost its pure ancestry after they entered the
Promised Land. This is not what we are told in our modern church groups, but we
can certainly trace the mixing of the people from the Bible. Shortly after
Joshua’s death, the Israelites started mixing in marriages with the people that
were left in the Promised Land. This tells us that there are no uncontaminated
descendants of the twelve tribes even though after the captivity people tried
to restore Jacob’s lineage. With that in mind, we will look at the mixing of
the Israeli’s and then consider the widows and orphans.
Judg 3:5-8 And the Israelites dwelt among the Canaanites,
Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites; 6 And they married
their daughters and gave their own daughters to their sons, and served their
gods. [Ex 34:12-16.] 7 And the Israelites did evil in the sight of the Lord and
forgot the Lord their God and served the Baals and the Ashtaroth. [Judg 2:13.] 8
So the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel, and He sold them into the
hand of Chushan-rishathaim king of Mesopotamia; and the Israelites served Chushan-rishathaim
eight years. AMP
We may have been told that there are some pure Israelites
from Jacob’s line, and also some lost tribes, but neither of those ideas appear
to be true according to the Bible. All the tribes were mixed and all the tribes
were scattered numerous times. The evil part however was not the mixing among
the other nations but the serving of other gods. The Israelites should have
stayed true to Yahweh who delivered them out of Egypt.
Judg 12:8-9 And after him Ibzan of Bethlehem judged Israel.
9 And he had thirty sons and thirty daughters whom he gave [to husbands]
outside his tribe, and thirty daughters [daughters-in-law] whom he brought in
from outside his tribe for his sons. And he judged Israel seven years. AMP
Again the leaders of Israel, in this case one of Israel’s
judges, did not mind mixing his children among the other nations. The word tribe here is incorrect as the word
actually means “from outside” Israel or “from abroad”. How many wives do you
suppose this judge had? If he had 60 children, he must have had at least 6
wives. If both polygamy and mixing with other nations was culturally acceptable
at this point in time we have to adjust our mindset accordingly, recognizing
that the kindergarten version of Israel’s history we have been fed is not quite
right.
Remember the story of the Benjamites who wanted to rape a
Levite who was passing through their land? Instead, the Levite threw his wife
out to the Benjamites who raped her all night long and left her for dead on the
porch of the home the Levite was staying for the night. Obviously, the Benjamites
were not practicing hospitality to strangers. The Levite chopped up her body
and sent pieces out to the other tribes to gather them against the Benjamites.
Once they fought the Benjamites there weren’t enough women to sustain the
tribe. Here is the solution.
Judg 21:12-25 And they found among the inhabitants of
Jabesh-gilead 400 young virgins, who had known no man by lying with him; and
they brought them to the camp at Shiloh, which is in the land of Canaan. 13 And
the whole congregation sent word to the Benjamites who were at the rock of
Rimmon and invited them to be friendly with them. 14 And Benjamin returned at
that time, and they gave them the women whom they had saved alive of the women
of Jabesh-gilead; and yet there were not enough for them. 15 And the people had
compassion on Benjamin, because the Lord had made a breach in the tribes of
Israel. 16 Then the elders of the congregation said, What shall we do for wives
for those who are left, since the women of Benjamin are destroyed? 17 And they
said, There must be an inheritance for the survivors of Benjamin, so that a
tribe shall not be wiped out of Israel. 18 But we cannot give them wives of our
daughters, for the Israelites have sworn, Cursed be he who gives a wife to
Benjamin. 19 So they said, Behold, there is the yearly feast of the Lord at
Shiloh, which is north of Bethel, on the east of the highway that goes up from
Bethel to Shechem and south of Lebonah. 20 So they commanded the Benjamites, Go
and lie in wait in the vineyards, 21 And watch; if the daughters of Shiloh come
out to dance in the dances, then come out of the vineyards and catch every man
his wife from the daughters of Shiloh and go to the land of Benjamin. 22 And
when their fathers or their brothers come to us to complain, we will say to
them, Grant them graciously unto us, because we did not reserve a wife for each
of them in battle, neither did you give wives to them, for that would have made
you guilty [of breaking your oath]. 23 And the Benjamites did so and took
wives, according to their number, from the dancers whom they carried off; then
they went and returned to their inheritance and repaired the towns and dwelt in
them. 24 And the Israelites left there then, every man to his tribe and family,
and they went out from there every man to his inheritance. 25 In those days
there was no king in Israel; every man did what was right in his own eyes. AMP
By this time in history the tribe of Benjamin became well
mixed. King Saul came from the tribe of Benjamin, as well as the Apostle Paul. It
is important to recognize that the Israelites didn’t all simply live in one
place. As we see from the Book of Ruth the people moved around and when they
were in other places they married the people of that land. That is normal as we
do the same things today.
Ruth 1:1-4 IN THE days when the judges ruled, there was a
famine in the land. And a certain man of Bethlehem of Judah went to sojourn in
the country of Moab, he, his wife, and his two sons. 2 The man's name was
Elimelech and his wife's name was Naomi and his two sons were named Mahlon
[invalid] and Chilion [pining]; they were Ephrathites from Bethlehem of Judah.
They went to the country of Moab and continued there. 3 But Elimelech, who
Naomi's husband, died, and she was left with her two sons. 4 And they took
wives of the women of Moab; the name of the one was Orpah and the name of the
other Ruth. They dwelt there about ten years; AMP
The Northern Kingdom people had been mixed and resettled
throughout Assyria. Some came back into the land mixed, and they resettled in
the northern territories and Samaria. But when the people of the Southern
Kingdom came back into the land after Cyrus conquered Babylon, Ezra attempted
to weed out all the foreign wives.
Ezra 9:1-2 AFTERWARD, THE officials came to me and said,
The Israelites and the priests and Levites have not separated themselves from
the peoples of the lands, but have committed the abominations of the
Canaanites, Hittites, Perizzites, Jebusites, Ammonites, Moabites, Egyptians,
and Amorites. 2 For they have taken as wives some of their daughters for
themselves and for their sons, so that the holy offspring have mixed themselves
with the peoples of the lands. Indeed, the officials and chief men have been
foremost in this wicked act and direct violation [of God's will]. [Deut 7:3,4.]
AMP
Ezra 10:3 Therefore let us make a covenant with our God to
put away all the foreign wives and their children, according to the counsel of
my lord and of those who tremble at the command of our God; and let it be done
according to the Law. AMP
It seems that all of a sudden the Israelites were concerned
about being mixed with the other nations. The leaders and Levites had foreign
wives. Since the captivity lasted seventy years it again is normal to have simply
lived and married where they were. About six hundred thousand people went into
captivity, but only one hundred and fifty thousand went back to Judah. That
means there were a lot of people left behind who stayed and mixed in with the
Babylonians and Assyrians. But at this time period, one could become a Jew by
conversion, not only by birth. Therefore, we have to understand that in this
context. Yet even so, Ezra and Nehemiah were attempting to re-establish the
nation and build the temple and they truly wanted to do everything as they had
been told. The problem by this time is that there had already been so much
mixing, moving around, and bringing in people from other nations, that starting
from the time of the second temple establishing a “pure” line is already an
impossibility.
The curious thing about telling the Israelite men to put
away their foreign wives is that Ezra made divorcees out of all of them. And
one’s lineage is traced from the mother’s line not the father’s line, so what
can they do regarding all the previous mixed marriages? Additionally, Moses
himself had married a Midianite woman and their son Gershom was a Levite. Gershom’s
son Jonathan was also a Levite as we saw a few weeks ago. Yet the Midianites
were descendants of Abraham. Abraham had eight sons, Ishmael and his family
populated the Assyrian region, and Abraham’s other six sons by the Canaanite
women Keturah populated the Arabian Peninsula and Ethiopia. If the Israelites
were marrying people other than Jacob’s heirs, they may very well have been
marrying people of Abraham’s ancestry. We could go back even further to Shem’s
descendants as well if we wanted to make a case for further mixing.
We see the problem of people who attempt to keep a purist
idea of a clean pedigree; and this then poses another problem. When people end
up poor, or widows, or orphans, from regions in the Middle East we may very
well be dealing with people who are descendants of Abraham, Isaac, or Jacob. We
are encouraged by James to care for widows and orphans so we need to explore
what our obligations are regardless of heredity.
James 1:27 External religious worship [religion as it is
expressed in outward acts] that is pure and unblemished in the sight of God the
Father is this: to visit and help and care for the orphans and widows in their
affliction and need, and to keep oneself unspotted and uncontaminated from the
world. AMP
The word religion
here is ceremonial worship. Think
that through, ceremonial worship isn’t singing songs, lighting candles, going
to church, or even tending to the stations in the temple. Ceremonial worship
that is pure, unstained, and uncontaminated is to relieve orphans and widows in
their tribulations and distress. Many times religion tells us we have to follow
certain rituals, but true religion is tending to orphans and widows.
This is not a small matter as the Bible repeatedly tells us
to care for widows and orphans as well as the poor and the stranger because, as
Moses wrote, the Israelites were strangers in Egypt.
Ex 22:21-24 You shall not wrong a stranger or oppress him;
for you were strangers in the land of Egypt.
22 You shall not afflict any widow or fatherless child. 23 If you afflict them in any way and they
cry at all to Me, I will surely hear their cry;
24 And My wrath shall burn; I will kill you with the sword, and your
wives shall be widows and your children fatherless. AMP
Deut 10:17-19 For the Lord your God is God of gods and Lord
of lords, the great, the mighty, the terrible God, Who is not partial and takes
no bribe. 18 He executes justice for the fatherless and the widow, and loves
the stranger or temporary resident and gives him food and clothing. 19
Therefore love the stranger and sojourner, for you were strangers and
sojourners in the land of Egypt. AMP
These are some important ideas as Yahweh is compassionate
towards the orphans, widows, and strangers. A sojourner could come to know
Yahweh passing through the land of Israel, and that traveler’s heart would be
warmed by the kindness and hospitality of the Israeli’s. There was even a
provision in the tithe for the sojourner, the orphan and widow, along with the
Levite.
Deut 14:28-29 At the end of every three years you shall
bring forth all the tithe of your increase the same year and lay it up within
your towns. 29 And the Levite [because he has no part or inheritance with you]
and the stranger or temporary resident, and the fatherless and the widow who
are in your towns shall come and eat and be satisfied, so that the Lord your
God may bless you in all the work of your hands that you do. AMP
Deut 26:12-15 When you have finished paying all the tithe
of your produce the third year, which is the year of tithing, and have given it
to the Levite, the stranger and the sojourner, the fatherless, and to the
widow, that they may eat within your towns and be filled, 13 Then you shall say
before the Lord your God, I have brought the hallowed things (the tithe) out of
my house and moreover have given them to the Levite, to the stranger and the
sojourner, to the fatherless, and to the widow, according to all Your
commandments which You have commanded me; I have not transgressed any of Your
commandments, neither have I forgotten them. 14 I have not eaten of the tithe
in my mourning [making the tithe unclean], nor have I handled any of it when I
was unclean, nor given any of it to the dead. I have hearkened to the voice of
the Lord my God; I have done according to all that You have commanded me. 15
Look down from Your holy habitation, from heaven, and bless Your people Israel
and the land which You have given us as You swore to our fathers, a land
flowing with milk and honey. AMP
By the time of the Judges, we see that Levites had to work
in other places to survive. Therefore we have to recognize that this part of
the law was not working properly once Joshua died. In practice today a portion
of our tithes and offerings to our churches should go to the stranger, widow,
and orphan. But so often in our churches the people who give do not have
control over where their offerings go once the church receives the money. Yahweh
pronounces a curse on those who try to pervert justice regarding the orphan,
widow, and stranger.
Deut 27:19 Cursed is he who perverts the justice due to the
sojourner or the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow. All the people shall
say, Amen. AMP
Yahweh is a father to the fatherless and a judge and
protector of widows.
Ps 68:4-6 Sing to God, sing praises to His name, cast up a
highway for Him Who rides through the deserts — His name is the Lord — be in
high spirits and glory before Him! 5 A father of the fatherless and a judge and
protector of the widows is God in His holy habitation. 6 God places the
solitary in families and gives the desolate a home in which to dwell; He leads
the prisoners out to prosperity; but the rebellious dwell in a parched land AMP
Ps 146:9 The Lord protects and preserves the strangers and
temporary residents, He upholds the fatherless and the widow and sets them
upright, but the way of the wicked He makes crooked (turns upside down and
brings to ruin). AMP
David, in Psalm 94, targets the bad behavior of the wicked
towards the orphan and widow.
Ps 94:3-8 Lord, how long shall the wicked, how long shall
the wicked triumph and exult? 4 They pour out arrogant words, speaking hard
things; all the evildoers boast loftily. [Jude; 15.] 5 They crush Your people,
O Lord, and afflict Your heritage. 6 They slay the widow and the transient
stranger and murder the unprotected orphan. 7 Yet they say, The Lord does not
see, neither does the God of Jacob notice it. 8 Consider and understand, you
stupid ones among the people! And you [self-confident] fools, when will you
become wise? AMP
During the time of the captivity in Babylon, Ezekiel writes
regarding the princes of Israel and their wrong treatment of the orphans and
widows.
Ezek 22:6-7 Behold, the princes of Israel in you, every one
according to his power, have been intending to shed blood. 7 In you have they
treated father and mother lightly; in the midst of you they have dealt unjustly
and by oppression in relation to the stranger; in you they have wronged the
fatherless and the widow. AMP
Clearly, Moses wrote that the widow, orphan, and sojourner
should be cared for; but David and Ezekiel write that the widows and orphans
were being oppressed. It seems that by the time of David, the community aspect
of helping the widows and orphans had been lost. And this breakdown continued
through to the captivity. Again, 2 Ezra gives us more instruction.
2 Esd 2:20-24 Do right to the widow, judge for the
fatherless, give to the poor, defend the orphan, clothe the naked,21 Heal the
broken and the weak, laugh not a lame man to scorn, defend the maimed, and let
the blind man come into the sight of my clearness.22 Keep the old and young
within thy walls.23 Wheresoever thou findest the dead, take them and bury them,
and I will give thee the first place in my resurrection.24 Abide still, O my
people, and take thy rest, for thy quietness still come. KJV
Even with the reminders of how to treat the orphan, widows,
and strangers, by the time of the first century, the Scribes and Pharisees were
treating widows poorly.
Matt 23:13-14 But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees,
pretenders (hypocrites)! For you shut the kingdom of heaven in men's faces; for
you neither enter yourselves, nor do you allow those who are about to go in to
do so. 14 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, pretenders (hypocrites)! For you
swallow up widows' houses and for a pretense to cover it up make long prayers;
therefore you will receive the greater condemnation and the heavier sentence. AMP
The Scribes and Pharisees were forcibly appropriating
widow’s houses. Who seizes a widow’s house, and for what purpose? We are not
talking about government officials, we are speaking about religious leaders
taking widows’ houses. We usually just read these words without understanding
what was happening. Quite literally, the religious leaders were taking the
homes of widows. This shows us that widows were not cared for, but instead were
victimized by the religious leaders.
Mark 12:38-40 And in [the course of] His teaching, He said,
Beware of the scribes, who like to go around in long robes and [to get]
greetings in the marketplaces [public forums], 39 And [have] the front seats in
the synagogues and the chief couches (places of honor) at feasts, 40 Who devour
widows' houses and to cover it up make long prayers. They will receive the
heavier [sentence of] condemnation. AMP
Let’s note this again.
Luke 20:46-47 Beware of the scribes, who like to walk about
in long robes and love to be saluted [with honor] in places where people
congregate and love the front and best seats in the synagogues and places of
distinction at feasts, 47 Who make away with and devour widows' houses, and [to
cover it up] with pretense make long prayers. They will receive the greater
condemnation (the heavier sentence, the severer punishment). AMP
Luke 20:47 Yet they shamelessly cheat widows out of their
property and then pretend to be pious by making long prayers in public. Because
of this, they will be severely punished." Holy Bible, New Living
Translation ®, copyright © 1996, 2004 by Tyndale Charitable Trust. Used by
permission of Tyndale House Publishers. All rights reserved.
There is a clue here in Mark and Luke as to why the Scribes
and Pharisees were confiscating widow’s houses. They loved riches. Other places
in the Bible use the term effeminate
for those who “love fancy clothes and jewels”, and these religious leaders were
enjoying material things. The religious leaders, who were pious and effeminate
were taking the property of widows, and Jesus called them out. These people
will receive greater condemnation for their shameful behavior.
Remember how Moses wrote that the tithe was to sustain the
Levites as well as the sojourner, the orphan and the widows? Then we noted that
by the time of the Judges there was a breakdown in support for those who the
tithe was to go to. But by the time of the second temple, Ezra was attempting
to keep the laws. But four hundred years later, the religious leaders were rich
and stealing from widows. Apparently either the widows were not paying enough
of their tithe, or once a woman’s husband died the religious leaders took their
property as women were not regarded any more than dogs. Either way, the
religious leaders were rich and stealing from the widows.
Luke 21:1-4 LOOKING UP, [Jesus] saw the rich people putting
their gifts into the treasury. 2 And He saw also a poor widow putting in two
mites (copper coins). 3 And He said, Truly I say to you, this poor widow has
put in more than all of them; 4 For they all gave out of their abundance (their
surplus); but she has contributed out of her lack and her want, putting in all that
she had on which to live. AMP
It seems very wrong for the religious leaders to have such
abundance and to demand offerings from the widows. The rich were giving out of
their abundance, but the widow in Jesus’ story gave what she needed to live on.
With this being the attitude of the religious leaders we see how far from the
Torah they had strayed. What is more contemptible than a rich religious leader
living off of the necessity of a widow or orphan? Another ridiculous thing that
was going on is that the Greek speaking Jewish widows were not being cared for.
If we remember, Israeli people moved to various nations, Israeli people went
into captivity, Israeli people were mixed among all the nations, so just
because some Israeli people had lived in a place where Greek was the language,
their widows should not have been neglected.
Acts 6:1-8 NOW ABOUT this time, when the number of the
disciples was greatly increasing, complaint was made by the Hellenists (the
Greek-speaking Jews) against the [native] Hebrews because their widows were
being overlooked and neglected in the daily ministration (distribution of
relief). 2 So the Twelve [apostles] convened the multitude of the disciples and
said, It is not seemly or desirable or right that we should have to give up or
neglect [preaching] the Word of God in order to attend to serving at tables and
superintending the distribution of food. 3 Therefore select out from among
yourselves, brethren, seven men of good and attested character and repute, full
of the [Holy] Spirit and wisdom, whom we may assign to look after this business
and duty. 4 But we will continue to devote ourselves steadfastly to prayer and
the ministry of the Word. 5 And the suggestion pleased the whole assembly, and
they selected Stephen, a man full of faith (a strong and welcome belief that
Jesus is the Messiah) and full of and controlled by the Holy Spirit, and
Philip, and Prochorus, and Nicanor, and Timon, and Parmenas, and Nicolaus, a proselyte
(convert) from Antioch. 6 These they presented to the apostles, who after prayer
laid their hands on them. 7 And the message of God kept on spreading, and the
number of disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem; and [besides] a large
number of the priests were obedient to the faith [in Jesus as the Messiah,
through Whom is obtained eternal salvation in the kingdom of God]. 8 Now
Stephen, full of grace (divine blessing and favor) and power (strength and
ability) worked great wonders and signs (miracles) among the people. AMP
The Apostles chose seven men to serve widows in Jerusalem.
This is the way the first century church handled the needs that the widows had.
This is pure religion. Because the Israeli’s mingled with other nations no one
knows who is who, and as we see the Greek speaking Jewish widows were not
helped by the native Jews from Jerusalem. That is unfortunate, as Exodus 22:22
clearly says not to mistreat widows, orphans, and strangers or else the
Israelites would suffer the same fate. In 70 AD the temple was destroyed and
those who remembered Jesus’ words fled the city. Again, another historical time
of Jews intermingling with the surrounding nations. Who are the widows, orphans,
and strangers? Could they have been of the ancestry of one of the sons of
Jacob? Could they be Abraham’s heirs?
There wasn’t supposed to be any discrimination as to who to
help because the stranger/traveler/sojourner was included among the widows and
orphans. Here is the catch to helping foreigners who move into the land, they
are not to usurp the religion or government of the land they travel to. We see
in Judges how the nations that were left in the Promised Land continued to
practice their own religion. Eventually their influence persuaded the
Israelites to follow their religion, however the reason Jacob’s sons were
chosen was to teach the nations about Yahweh. Instead, the Israelites followed
after other practices as we have studied, such as child sacrifice, male and
female prostitution in the temple, worshipping of the stars, the cherubim, and
other gods. When a stranger comes into the land, the people were to care for
them, and teach them about Yahweh. They were to be hospitable, because remember
one could convert to Judaism.
Today we face a situation where a nation that is
predominantly occupied by Christians is being asked to care for widows,
orphans, and strangers. It is no wonder that people are passionate on all sides
of the issue, as many of the strangers are of a particular religion that
promotes world domination. The key here is not to allow the strangers and
sojourners to usurp the nations’ predominate religion or government, but in our
day and time rather, to teach the traveler about Jesus. Caring for the widows
and orphans while sharing the cross of Christ is not an attempt to impose
Christian beliefs on others but it is the actual reason Christians do care for
the widows, orphans, and strangers. This also does not mean that able bodied
men should live on government subsidies, only the female widow and the young
child are recognized in that category. The stranger is allowed hospitality, but
able bodied individuals were never subsidized their whole lives. If the
traveler stayed in the land, he was obliged to become a productive member of
society and in turn care for widows, orphans, and strangers. Keeping in mind
once again, widows being older females and orphans being a child without a
father, we can make sense of what we are asked to do. If we care for the widows
and orphans we will be practicing pure undefiled ceremonial worship.
