Last week, as we started looking at 1 Timothy 5, we saw Paul begin some significant instructions concerning family responsibilities, especially concerning widows. Over the next few paragraphs, Paul will give a lot of instruction to Timothy on this subject.
He begins by looking at a widow who is really in need. Take a look at these verses in 1 Timothy 5:5-6:
In Jewish society, when a woman lost her husband, becoming a widow, her family took on the responsibility to help meet her needs. If she had no children, then extended family stepped in. But if there were no other family members to help, she would fall into the category that Paul describes as a “widow in need.”
However, she must display some certain spiritual qualities.
She must be a widow who puts her hope in God
This seems obviously appropriate for a widow, since she no longer has a husband who plays a significant part of fulfilling her needs. She must now depend upon God fully. This is language that is reminiscent of the Psalms, which state numerous time that the poor (which includes many widows) must put their trust and hope in God.
A widow must continue night and day to pray
It’s interesting to note that in the Jewish concept of time, the day begins at sundown. Night comes first, filled with sleep, and then the day comes after. This view of time is hinted at here when Paul uses the phrase “night and day,” and is found elsewhere, such as 1 Thessalonians 2:9 and Genesis 1. This carries the implication that a widow is to give the first and best portions of her day in prayer, and in fact is to “continue” in prayer (1 Thessalonians 5:17).
A widow must ask God for help
While connected closely with the continual nature of her hope and her prayer, this next phrase ups the ante a little. A widow must depend upon God to provide her needs simply because she has no one else to do so. So her hope must be in God, she must continue in prayer, and she must ask God for help.
What Paul has done in these few verses, and will continue over the next couple of paragraphs is describe the ideal for a Christian widow, just as he describes the ideal for a Christian woman in chapter 2.
However, he does include a warning. In contrast to the widow who hopes, prays, and asks, she must not “live for pleasure.” The phrase Paul uses here refers to a general self-indulgence. Some have concluded that Paul means sexual indulgence, but that is not necessarily the case. If so, it would have fit the description of younger widows better in verses 11-15, which he doesn’t do. So that probably isn’t the specific intention, even though it’s completely appropriate to refrain from this as well as any indulgences.
A woman such as this is dead, Paul states. He’s referring to spiritual death, even though the widow is still living physically. This is the exact opposite of John 11:25, where Jesus states, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies…”
The choices a widow makes are as important as the choices any of us make. We are called to be people of hope, people of prayer, and a people who continually rely upon God for all of our needs and desires, and even for life itself.
Let’s take an example from Paul’s instruction to Timothy here, and live in such a way!
Do you know any widows who fit the description Paul gives here? How have they impacted your life? You can leave your thoughts in the comments section below.