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A. Definition.
A widow is a woman who has lost her husband by death or has legitimately
divorced her husband. A widow is also a
woman who has divorced her husband for no good Biblical reason. She is the female survivor of a marriage.
B. The principles of the protection of the
helpless apply to widows and children, Ex 22:22. 1. Ps 68:5-6 says
that God protects widows and children.
2. According to Ps 146:9 and Ps 94:6-12, God
punishes those who attack or abuse the helpless.
3. Divine judgment is pronounced on those who
bully and abuse the helpless, Mal 3:5.
C. The Law of the Levirate Marriage.
1. It was considered a tragedy in Israel for a
man to die without an heir.
2. It was desirable to perpetuate the name of
everyone in Israel so as to avoid the inheritance being transferred to another
family.
3. Therefore, the law of the dead man's brother
was instituted.
4. It was the custom that when a man died
without a male heir, the nearest relative, generally his brother, should marry
his widow and continue the family of the dead man so that every family in
Israel would be perpetuated.
5. The first born son of the marriage between
the dead man's brother and his widow would be the heir and perpetuate the line.
6. Therefore, the family name was perpetuated
through this law, stated in Deut 25:5-10. 7. A pre-Mosaic law illustrates in Gen 38:6ff.
8. This same law was used by the Sadducees to
attempt to discredit Christ, Mt 22:23-33.
D. Widows are used in the condemnation of the
Pharisees, Mt 23:14; Mk 12:40; Lk 20:47.
E. Neglect of widows resulted in the origin of
deacons, Acts 6:1-6.
F. Paul advises widows to remain unmarried, 1
Cor 7:8-9.
G. Paul indicates that widows qualified for
support in the local church, and warned against
widows
becoming troublemakers by their gossip, 1 Tim 5:3-16.
________________________________________________________________________
R. B.
Thieme, Jr. Bible Ministries 5139 West Alabama, Houston, Texas 77056 (713) 621-3740
(c) 1989,
by R. B. Thieme, Jr. All rights
reserved.
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