The Pastoral Epistles: 1 Timothy 5 (2)

Pray Psalm 146.9.
The LORD watches over the strangers;
He relieves the fatherless and widow;
But the way of the wicked He turns upside down.

Read and meditate on 1 Timothy 5.3-8.

Reflect.
1. Who is a true widow?

2. Who has the first responsibility in caring for widows?

Meditate.
The care of widows was an important responsibility among the early churches of the Lord. As we see in Acts 6.1-6, the apostles arranged for the care of widows in a wise and generous manner. This attention to widows did not go unnoticed, sparking a renewed surge of conversions to the Lord.

Paul was aware of that situation in Acts 6. He was present in Jerusalem when it occurred, and it must have made a strong impression on him. He instructed Timothy to make sure that the widows in the churches in Ephesus were properly cared for, beginning in their own families.

Not everyone who had lost her husband should be considered a true widow. As we shall see, Paul instructed younger widows to marry again. True widows were those who were “left alone” and who trusted in the Lord, continuing “in supplications and prayers night and day” (v. 5). Even widows had important work to do in the believing community (cf. Lk. 2.36-38), and they must not fail in that calling by lapsing into unfruitfulness or self-indulgence. If a widow had children and/or grandchildren locally, they should be the first to make sure her needs were met (v. 5). Failure in this matter would call into question the genuineness of their faith (v. 8). Widows who did not have family would be cared for by the church, as we shall see in verses 9ff.

Paul understood the priority of the institutions God established for the care of the needy and the wellbeing of the social order: family first, then church, then the civil magistrate (Rom. 13.1-4). Voluntary agencies – hospitals, charitable institutions, and so forth – would ultimately emerge within the Christian movement as adjuncts and supplements to home and church, but these would be a few centuries in developing.

The care of the believing poor falls to the family and churches. Churches – much less governments – must not usurp the role of the family, but help it to fulfill its God-appointed calling by every legitimate means. 

Reflect.
1. Why is it important that churches not usurp the responsibility of families in caring for their poor?

2. Why must widows not allow themselves to become mere pleasure-seekers? Why should they be encouraged in the work of prayer?

3. How can churches help families to be stronger together?

Observe the discretion of Paul, how often he urges us to attend to human considerations. For he does not here lay down any great and lofty motive but one that is easy to be understood: “to requite their parents.” Why? For bringing them up and educating them. John Chrysostom (344-407) Homilies on 1 Timothy 13

You have called us to show Your love to the people in our lives – families, neighbors, friends, co-workers, and others. Help me today, Lord, as I…

Pray Psalm 146.5-9.
The Lord helps others by His grace at work through His people. To whom will you be a channel of grace today? Let the Lord bring people to mind as you pray these verses. 

Sing Psalm 146.5-9.
Psalm 146.7-10 (Hallelujah! What a Savior!: Man of Sorrows)
Jesus sets the pris’ner free, 
heals blind eyes that they may see,
lifts those burdened painfully –
God forever reigns in Zion!

He the righteous loves the best; 
wand’rers in His grace are blessed;
needy ones in Him find rest –
God forever reigns in Zion!

T. M. Moore

Whatever our calling in life, we are sent to bring the joy of Christ to the people around us. Our book, Joy to Your World!, can show you how to fill your Personal Mission Field with more of the Presence, promise, and power of Christ and His Kingdom. Order your copy, as a supplement to our study of 1 Timothy, by clicking here.

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Except as indicated, Scripture taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. All psalms for singing adapted from The Ailbe Psalter. All quotations from Church Fathers from Ancient Christian Commentary Series, General Editor Thomas C. Oden (Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 2006).All psalms for singing are from The Ailbe Psalter (available by clicking here).