AFFLICTIONS OF
FATHERLESSNESS AND WIDOWHOOD
Widows And The
Fatherless Are Vulnerable
Exodus 22:22-24 reads,
22:22"You
shall not take advantage of any widow or fatherless child. 22:23If you take advantage of them at all,
and they cry at all to me, I will surely hear their cry; 22:24and my wrath will grow hot, and I will
kill you with the sword; and your wives shall be widows, and your children
fatherless.
The implication of Yahweh's words is that widows and fatherless children are in a situation whereby a person can take advantage of them, on account of their not having a husband and a father. This additionally implies that husbands and fathers perform a role whereby they protect their wives and children, ensuring that others do not take advantage of them or abuse them. It is therefore for husbands and fathers to provide for and protect their wives and children, thereby ensuring that these of their households are not taken advantage of.
Yahweh Executes
Justice For The Fatherless And Widows
Deuteronomy 10:12-22 reads,
10:12Now,
Israel, what does Yahweh your God require of you, but to fear Yahweh your God,
to walk in all his ways, and to love him, and to serve Yahweh your God with all
your heart and with all your soul, 10:13to
keep the commandments of Yahweh, and his statutes, which I command you this day
for your good? 10:14Behold, to
Yahweh your God belongs heaven and the heaven of heavens, the earth, with all
that is therein. 10:15Only Yahweh
had a delight in your fathers to love them, and he chose their seed after them,
even you above all peoples, as at this day. 10:16Circumcise
therefore the foreskin of your heart, and be no more stiff-necked. 10:17For Yahweh your God, he is God of gods, and
Lord of lords, the great God, the mighty, and the awesome, who doesn’t regard
persons, nor takes reward. 10:18He
does execute justice for the fatherless and widow, and loves the sojourner, in
giving him food and clothing. 10:19Love
you therefore the sojourner; for you were sojourners in the
It should be noted that the disadvantaged, the fatherless, widows and sojourners, have a special place in Yahweh's heart. Yahweh provides for them, giving them their needs, as their disadvantaged state makes it extremely difficult for them to have sufficient provision for these needs.
A Husband Should
Provide His Wife And Children With Their Needs
Taking note of the implication from Yahweh's word in Exodus 22, it should be noted that it is indeed a husband's role to provide his wife and children with their needs - food and clothing. And those who are fatherless and widows do not have one to provide for their needs, and therefore are vulnerable to being exploited by others, on account of their desperate and needy state.
Widows And The
Fatherless Are Generally Among The Economically Disadvantaged Of Society
Deuteronomy 14:27-29 reads,
14:27The
Levite who is within your gates, you shall not forsake him; for he has no
portion nor inheritance with you. 14:28At
the end of every three years you shall bring forth all the tithe of your
increase in the same year, and shall lay it up within your gates: 14:29and the Levite, because he has no
portion nor inheritance with you, and the sojourner, and the fatherless,
and the widow, who are within your gates, shall come, and shall eat and be
satisfied; that Yahweh your God may bless you in all the work of your hand
which you do.
It should be noted that the reason the Levite, the sojourner, the fatherless and the widow are grouped together is because they are the economically disadvantaged in society. Both the Levite and the sojourner have no portion or inheritance in the land, and therefore do not have the resources by which they can be economically empowered. The fatherless and the widow do not have a father and husband, and therefore do not have a means by which they can be economically empowered or provided for. It therefore appears to be the case that the Levite, the sojourner, the fatherless and the widow suffer economic and physical want on account of their not having the resources by which to acquire these needs.
Show Concern For
The Disadvantaged
Deuteronomy 16:10-15 reads,
16:10You
shall keep the feast of weeks to Yahweh your God with a tribute of a
freewill-offering of your hand, which you shall give, according as Yahweh your
God blesses you: 16:11and you shall
rejoice before Yahweh your God, you, and your son, and your daughter, and your
man-servant, and your maid-servant, and the Levite who is within your gates,
and the sojourner, and the fatherless, and the widow, who are in the midst of
you, in the place which Yahweh your God shall choose, to cause his name to
dwell there. 16:12You shall remember
that you were a bondservant in
It should be noted that Yahweh requires his people to show concern for those who are disadvantaged by sharing their good things with them, seeing that the disadvantaged do not have these good things.
Provide For The
Disadvantaged Within Your Geographic Area
It should also be noted that Yahweh has guided those who are blessed among his people to look after and provide for those who are disadvantaged among them. He does not say that they should necessarily go out of their territory to look for the needy in other territories, but to attend to the needy within their territories. For Yahweh speaks of those needy "in the midst of" them, the needy "within your gates". We should therefore manifest Yahweh's love by sharing Yahweh's blessings to us with those who are needy amongst us.
Show Compassion On
The Economically Disadvantaged
Deuteronomy 24:17-22 reads,
24:17You
shall not wrest the justice due to the sojourner, or to the fatherless, nor
take the widow’s clothing to pledge; 24:18but
you shall remember that you were a bondservant in
It should be noted that Yahweh requires his people not to worsen the economic plight of those who are economically disadvantaged, even when they have a contractual right to do so, such as in taking a pledge for credit extended. Yahweh requires his people to show compassion on the economically disadvantaged and not to exploit them, either directly or contingently, such as securing a contingent right over their clothes over unpaid debts.
Do Not Take As
Pledge The Basic Needs Of The Economically Disadvantaged
It should also be noted that Yahweh prohibits his people from taking as pledge from the economically disadvantaged their basic needs - food and clothing. Due to the ease of perishing of food it would appear not to be favoured as a pledge. But the other basic need, clothing, can indeed be taken as pledge, as some items of clothing indeed have great value. As the taking of clothing might render the economically disadvantaged naked, Yahweh forbids his people from taking courses of action that might indeed render naked or hungry the economically disadvantaged. Instead Yahweh requires his people to provide for these economically disadvantaged by sharing their food and clothing with them.
Yahweh Blesses
Those Who Provide For The Needy
Deuteronomy 26:12-15 reads,
26:12When
you have made an end of tithing all the tithe of your increase in the third
year, which is the year of tithing, then you shall give it to the Levite, to
the sojourner, to the fatherless, and to the widow, that they may eat within
your gates, and be filled. 26:13You
shall say before Yahweh your God, I have put away the holy things out of my
house, and also have given them to the Levite, and to the sojourner, to the
fatherless, and to the widow, according to all your commandment which you have
commanded me: I have not transgressed any of your commandments, neither have I
forgotten them: 26:14I have not
eaten of it in my mourning, neither have I put away of it, being unclean, nor
given of it for the dead: I have listened to the voice of Yahweh my God; I have
done according to all that you have commanded me. 26:15Look
down from your holy habitation, from heaven, and bless your people Israel, and
the ground which you have given us, as you swore to our fathers, a land flowing
with milk and honey.
Yahweh repeatedly reiterates his command to his people to provide for those who are economically disadvantaged, providing them with their needs - food and clothing. For so being considerate and loving, he indeed blesses them by giving them plenty.
It should therefore be clear that those who desire plenty of blessings from Yahweh should indeed manifest Yahweh's love toward the economically disadvantaged within their midst, providing these with their various needs and also not exploiting their economically disadvantaged state.
Cursed Are Those
Who Oppress The Needy
Deuteronomy 27:19 reads,
27:19Cursed
be he who wrests the justice due to the sojourner, fatherless, and widow.
All the people shall say, Amen.
To stress to his people the importance of not only demonstrating love to the economically disadvantaged, Yahweh pronounces a curse upon any of them who exploits them or unjustly treats them. It is therefore imperative that Yahweh's people manifest his love for the economically disadvantaged by providing for their needs and avoiding courses of action that might interfere with or thwart these needs reaching these economically disadvantaged.
The Unjust Make
Merchandise Of The Needy
Job 6:27 reads,
6:27Yes,
you would even cast lots for the fatherless,
And make merchandise of your friend.
Those without love in their hearts not only make merchandise of their friends, but also cast lots for the fatherless, presumably to take these fatherless into slavery and exploitation!
Those Who Fail To
Show Compassion On The Needy Are Cursed
Job 22:9-11 reads,
22:9You
have sent widows away empty,
And the arms of the fatherless have been broken.
22:10Therefore
snares are round about you.
Sudden fear troubles you,
22:11Or
darkness, so that you can not see,
And floods of waters cover you.
Eliphaz the Temanite understood that those who send widows away empty, without giving them their needs when they need help, and those who exploit and injure the fatherless, thereby depriving them of their means of sustenance, indeed incur a curse from Yahweh. His words in this context are in harmony with Yahweh's words in Deuteronomy 27:19, whereby a curse befalls those who abuse the economically disadvantaged.
How The Wicked
Mercilessly Exploit The Needy
Job 24:1-12 reads,
24:1"Why
aren’t times laid up by the Almighty?
Why don’t those who know him see his days?
24:2There
are people who remove the landmarks.
They violently take away flocks, and feed them.
24:3They
drive away the donkey of the fatherless,
And they take the widow’s ox for a pledge.
24:4They
turn the needy out of the way.
The poor of the earth all hide themselves.
24:5Behold,
as wild donkeys in the desert,
They go forth to their work, seeking diligently for food;
The wilderness yields them bread for their
children.
24:6They cut their provender in the
field.
They glean the vineyard of the wicked.
24:7They lie all night naked without
clothing,
And have no covering in the cold.
24:8They are wet with the showers of
the mountains,
And embrace the rock for lack of a shelter.
24:9There are those who pluck the
fatherless from the breast,
And take a pledge of the poor,
24:10So that they go around naked
without clothing.
Being hungry, they carry the sheaves.
24:11They
make oil within the walls of these men.
They tread wine presses, and suffer thirst.
24:12From
out of the populous city, men groan.
The soul of the wounded cries out,
Yet God doesn’t regard the folly.
Job clearly describes how the wicked mercilessly exploit and abuse the needy - the fatherless and widows, those who do not have a father or husband to protect them and provide for them.
It appears that it is indeed a blessing for a child to have a father who both provides protection and provision. It is indeed a blessing for a woman to have a husband who both provides protection and provision. The lack of having a father or husband who provides these opens one up for physical and economic abuse and exploitation!
The Portion Of A
Wicked Man With Yahweh
Job 27:13-23 reads,
27:13"This
is the portion of a wicked man with God,
The heritage of oppressors, which they receive from the Almighty.
27:14If
his children are multiplied, it is for the sword.
His offspring shall not be satisfied with bread.
27:15Those
who remain of him shall be buried in death.
His widows shall make no lamentation.
27:16Though
he heap up silver as the dust,
And prepare clothing as the clay;
27:17He
may prepare it, but the just shall put it on,
And the innocent shall divide the silver.
27:18He
builds his house as the moth,
As a booth which the watchman makes.
27:19He
lies down rich, but he shall not do so again.
He opens his eyes, and he is not.
27:20Terrors
overtake him like waters;
A tempest steals him away in the night.
27:21The
east wind carries him away, and he departs;
It sweeps him out of his place.
27:22For
it hurls at him, and does not spare,
As he flees away from his hand.
27:23Men
shall clap their hands at him,
And shall hiss him out of his place.
The Widows Of A
Wicked Man Make No Lamentation Over Him
It should be noted that in Job's day there was a wicked man who died and left behind his widows, clearly showing that some men in Job's day had more than one wife. Nevertheless, despite leaving behind widows, they did not lament over him, on account of his wickedness.
The Widows Of
Wicked Priests Make No Lamentation Over Them
Psalm 78:51-64 reads,
78:51And
struck all the firstborn in Egypt,
The chief of their strength in the tents of Ham.
78:52But
he led forth his own people like sheep,
And guided them in the wilderness like a flock.
78:53He
led them safely, so that they weren't afraid,
But the sea overwhelmed their enemies.
78:54He
brought them to the border of his sanctuary,
To this mountain, which his right hand had taken.
78:55He
also drove out the nations before them,
Allotted them for an inheritance by line,
And made the tribes of Israel to dwell in their tents.
78:56Yet
they tempted and rebelled against the Most High God,
And didn't keep his testimonies;
78:57But
turned back, and dealt treacherously like their fathers.
They were turned aside like a deceitful bow.
78:58For
they provoked him to anger with their high places,
And moved him to jealousy with their engraved images.
78:59When
God heard this, he was angry,
And greatly abhorred Israel;
78:60So
that he forsook the tent of Shiloh,
The tent which he placed among men;
78:61And
delivered his strength into captivity,
His glory into the adversary's hand.
78:62He
also gave his people over to the sword,
And was angry with his inheritance.
78:63Fire
devoured their young men;
Their virgins had no wedding song.
78:64Their
priests fell by the sword,
And their widows couldn't weep.
Psalm 78:64 echoes Job 27:15, whereby part of the portion of a wicked man is that his widow or widows make no lamentation over him when he dies. For the widows of the wicked priests of Israel did not weep over their late husbands, for that was Yahweh's portion to the wicked priests.
Psalm 94 reads,
94:1Yahweh,
you God to whom vengeance belongs,
You God to whom vengeance belongs, shine forth.
94:2Rise
up, you judge of the earth.
Pay back the proud what they deserve.
94:3Yahweh,
how long will the wicked,
How long will the wicked triumph?
94:4They
pour out arrogant words.
All the evil-doers boast.
94:5They
break your people in pieces, Yahweh,
And afflict your heritage.
94:6They
kill the widow and the alien,
And murder the fatherless.
94:7They
say, "Yah will not see,
Neither will Jacob’s God consider."
94:8Consider,
you senseless among the people;
You fools, when will you be wise?
94:9He
who implanted the ear, won’t he hear?
He who formed the eye, won’t he see?
94:10He
who disciplines the nations, won’t he punish?
He who teaches man knows.
94:11Yahweh
knows the thoughts of man,
That they are futile.
94:12Blessed
is the man whom you discipline, Yah,
And teach out of your law;
94:13That
you may give him rest from the days of adversity,
Until the pit is dug for the wicked.
94:14For
Yahweh won’t reject his people,
Neither will he forsake his inheritance.
94:15For
judgment will return to righteousness.
All the upright in heart shall follow it.
94:16Who
will rise up for me against the wicked?
Who will stand up for me against the evil-doers?
94:17Unless
Yahweh had been my help,
My soul would have soon lived in silence.
94:18When
I said, "My foot is slipping!"
Your lovingkindness, Yahweh, held me up.
94:19In
the multitude of my thoughts within me,
Your comforts delight my soul.
94:20Shall
the throne of wickedness have fellowship with you,
Which brings about mischief by statute?
94:21They
gather themselves together against the soul of the righteous,
And condemn the innocent blood.
94:22But
Yahweh has been my high tower,
My God, the rock of my refuge.
94:23He
has brought on them their own iniquity,
And will cut them off in their own wickedness.
Yahweh, our God, will cut them off.
Why Some Become Widows
And Fatherless And Suffer Affliction
Psalm 109:1-20 reads,
109:1God
of my praise, don’t remain silent,
109:2For they have opened the mouth
of the wicked and the mouth of deceit against me.
They have spoken to me with a lying tongue.
109:3They
have also surrounded me with words of hatred,
And fought against me without a cause.
109:4In
return for my love, they are my adversaries;
But I am in prayer.
109:5They
have rewarded me evil for good,
And hatred for my love.
109:6Set
a wicked man over him.
Let an adversary stand at his right hand.
109:7When
he is judged, let him come forth guilty.
Let his prayer be turned into sin.
109:8Let
his days be few.
Let another take his office.
109:9Let
his children be fatherless,
And his wife a widow.
109:10Let
his children be wandering beggars.
Let them be sought from their ruins.
109:11Let
the creditor seize all that he has.
Let strangers plunder the fruit of his labor.
109:12Let
there be none to extend kindness to him,
Neither let there be any to have pity on his fatherless children.
109:13Let
his posterity be cut off.
In the generation following let their name be blotted out.
109:14Let
the iniquity of his fathers be remembered by Yahweh.
Don’t let the sin of his mother be blotted out.
109:15Let
them be before Yahweh continually,
That he may cut off the memory of them from the earth;
109:16Because
he didn’t remember to show kindness,
But persecuted the poor and needy man,
The broken in heart, to kill them.
109:17Yes,
he loved cursing, and it came to him.
He didn’t delight in blessing, and it was far from him.
109:18He
clothed himself also with cursing as with his garment.
It came into his inward parts like water,
Like oil into his bones.
109:19Let
it be to him as the clothing with which he covers himself,
For the belt that is always around him.
109:20This
is the reward of my adversaries from Yahweh,
Of those who speak evil against my soul.
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