Sisters In Arms.

[Today's post holds synchronicity with a previous post, "Big-Brother-In-Arms".]

There are four faces of the poor: the widow, the orphan, the financially impoverished, and the stranger (alien or immigrant) who lives in the community. These are people that God cares for deeply. In this past Sunday's sermons, Pastor Sam gave a warning concerning how we treat them, particularly widows.

With respect to the definition of what constitutes widowhood, our understanding is that "widows" are not merely those women whose husbands have died a physical death. God also holds preferential option for women who, for whatever reason, are making their way through life without the presence and support of a husband. We see this in Scripture in the life of Hagar, who as a slave was forced to be a surrogate for Abraham and Sarah. Abraham, when instructed by God to have Hagar and Ishmael leave the household, sent them away (Genesis 21:9-14; Galatians 4:21-31) with a few days' worth of food and water. When Abraham's limited provisions were gone, God stepped in with His unlimited provisions. And, even though she had spent years antagonizing Sarah, Hagar nonetheless had the privilege of hearing from God.

But what of the woman whose widowhood is not generated from a slave-master relationship? The curse of Eve, noted in Genesis 3:16, gives us a sense as to why women are particularly vulnerable to sexual sin. Built into a woman's nature is the importance of establishing relationships and rankings. Most women, if offered relationship and rank by a man, will accept the offer-- even if the offer is made outside of the covenant of marriage, thus leaving her in a widowed state. The desire for companionship and significance is so strong that women will give in to sexual pressure and justify disobeying God in order to gain the relationship and the rank. It is only the Spirit of Christ, the Holy Spirit, who can bring deliverance, moral strength, and godly character to women who face such pressure.

The crisis of widowhood extends even further. There are some men who, though married, have left their wives with no spiritual covering. How is it that these men, though they live, "widow" their wives? We deduce the answer through First Peter 3:7: 1) they do not treat their wives with consideration as the weaker partners; and 2) they do not show their wives honor as fellow heirs of the grace of life.

Husbands, in the same way, treat your wives with consideration as the weaker partners and show them honor as fellow heirs of the grace of life. In this way nothing will hinder your prayers. (First Peter 3:7)

No amount of fasting, praying, watching, asceticism, prophetic partnering, nor offerings will help the man who has ignored the two tenets of First Peter 3:7. Interestingly, this also ties in to James's encouragement to the diaspora of Messianic Jews: "Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective." (James 5:16, italics mine)

God has demonstrated preferential option to women in every form of widowhood. He gathers and holds them in His arms. Do we desire to be found "on the LORD's side" (Exodus 32:25-29)? If so, then let our conduct towards widows be an expression of God's righteousness.