Honor widows who are widows indeed. But if any widow has children or grandchildren, let them learn first to show piety toward their own family and to repay their parents, for this is acceptable in the sight of God. Now she who is a widow indeed and desolate, has her hope set on God, and continues in petitions and prayers night and day. But she who gives herself to pleasure is dead while she lives.
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Don’t rebuke an older man, but exhort him as a father; the younger men as brothers; the elder women as mothers; the younger as sisters, in all purity. Honor widows who are widows indeed. But if any widow has children or grandchildren, let them learn first to show piety toward their own family and to repay their parents, for this is acceptable in the sight of God. Now she who is a widow indeed and desolate, has her hope set on God, and continues in petitions and prayers night and day. But she who gives herself to pleasure is dead while she lives. Also command these things, that they may be without reproach. But if anyone doesn’t provide for his own, and especially his own household, he has denied the faith, and is worse than an unbeliever. Let no one be enrolled as a widow under sixty years old, having been the wife of one man, being approved by good works, if she has brought up children, if she has been hospitable to strangers, if she has washed the saints’ feet, if she has relieved the afflicted, and if she has diligently followed every good work.
Parallel Translations
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Honor widows who are widows indeed.
But if any widow has children or grandchildren, let them learn first to show piety toward their own family and to repay their parents, for this is acceptable in the sight of God.
Now she who is a widow indeed and desolate, has her hope set on God, and continues in petitions and prayers night and day.
But she who gives herself to pleasure is dead while she lives.
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Honoure widdowes which are true wyddowes.
Yf eny wyddowe have chyldren or neves let them learne fyrst to rule their awne houses godly and to recompence their elders. For that is good and acceptable before God.
She that is a very wyddowe and frendlesse putteth her trust in god and continueth in supplicacion and prayer nyght and daye.
But she that liveth in pleasure is deed even yet alive.
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Honour widowes, which are widowes in deede.
But if any widowe haue children or nephewes, let them learne first to shewe godlinesse towarde their owne house, and to recompense their kinred: for that is an honest thing and acceptable before God.
And shee that is a widowe in deede and left alone, trusteth in God, and continueth in supplications and praiers night and day.
But shee that liueth in pleasure, is dead, while shee liueth.
Cross-references (90)
- Ephesians 6:1-3 (v4) Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. “Honor your father and mother,” which is the first commandment with a promise:…
- James 5:5 (v6) You have lived in luxury on the earth, and taken your pleasure. You have nourished your hearts as in a day of slaughter.
- Luke 2:37 (vv3, 5) and she had been a widow for about eighty-four years), who didn’t depart from the temple, worshiping with fastings and petitions night and…
- Deuteronomy 27:19 (v3) ‘Cursed is he who withholds justice from the foreigner, fatherless, and widow.’ All the people shall say, ‘Amen.’
- 1 Timothy 5:3 (v5) Honor widows who are widows indeed.
Show all 89 cross-references
- Luke 15:24 (v6) for this, my son, was dead, and is alive again. He was lost, and is found.’ Then they began to celebrate.
- Revelation 3:1 (v6) “And to the angel of the assembly in Sardis write: “He who has the seven Spirits of God, and the seven stars says these things: “I know…
- Revelation 18:7 (v6) However much she glorified herself, and grew wanton, so much give her of torment and mourning. For she says in her heart, ‘I sit a queen,…
- Matthew 15:4-6 (v4) For God commanded, ‘Honor your father and your mother,’ and, ‘He who speaks evil of father or mother, let him be put to death.’ But you…
- John 19:26-27 (v4) Therefore when Jesus saw his mother, and the disciple whom he loved standing there, he said to his mother, “Woman, behold, your son!” Then…
- Genesis 47:12 (v4) Joseph provided his father, his brothers, and all of his father’s household with bread, according to the sizes of their families.
- Deuteronomy 10:18 (v3) He executes justice for the fatherless and widow and loves the foreigner in giving him food and clothing.
- Deuteronomy 14:29 (v3) The Levite, because he has no portion nor inheritance with you, as well as the foreigner living among you, the fatherless, and the widow…
- Luke 15:32 (v6) But it was appropriate to celebrate and be glad, for this, your brother, was dead, and is alive again. He was lost, and is found.’ ”
- Acts 6:1 (v3) Now in those days, when the number of the disciples was multiplying, a complaint arose from the Hellenists against the Hebrews, because…
- 1 Corinthians 7:32 (v5) But I desire to have you to be free from cares. He who is unmarried is concerned for the things of the Lord, how he may please the Lord;
- Genesis 45:10-11 (v4) You shall dwell in the land of Goshen, and you will be near to me, you, your children, your children’s children, your flocks, your herds,…
- Mark 7:11-13 (v4) But you say, ‘If a man tells his father or his mother, “Whatever profit you might have received from me is Corban,” ’ ” that is to say,…
- Luke 18:1 (v5) He also spoke a parable to them that they must always pray, and not give up,
- Ephesians 2:1 (v6) You were made alive when you were dead in transgressions and sins,
- 1 Timothy 2:3 (v4) For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior,
- 1 Timothy 5:16 (v5) If any man or woman who believes has widows, let them relieve them, and don’t let the assembly be burdened, that it might relieve those who…
- 1 Peter 3:5 (v5) For this is how in the past, the holy women who hoped in God also adorned themselves, being in subjection to their own husbands.
- Exodus 20:12 (v3) “Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land which Yahweh your God gives you.
- Deuteronomy 16:11 (v3) You shall rejoice before Yahweh your God: you, your son, your daughter, your male servant, your female servant, the Levite who is within…
- Deuteronomy 16:14 (v3) You shall rejoice in your feast, you, your son, your daughter, your male servant, your female servant, the Levite, the foreigner, the…
- Ruth 2:2 (v4) Ruth the Moabitess said to Naomi, “Let me now go to the field, and glean among the ears of grain after him in whose sight I find favor.”…
- Ruth 2:18 (v4) She took it up, and went into the city. Then her mother-in-law saw what she had gleaned; and she brought out and gave to her that which she…
- 1 Samuel 22:3-4 (v4) David went from there to Mizpeh of Moab, and he said to the king of Moab, “Please let my father and my mother come out with you, until I…
- Psalms 68:5 (v3) A father of the fatherless, and a defender of the widows, is God in his holy habitation.
- Psalms 73:5-7 (v6) They are free from burdens of men, neither are they plagued like other men. Therefore pride is like a chain around their neck. Violence…
- Psalms 91:4 (v5) He will cover you with his feathers. Under his wings you will take refuge. His faithfulness is your shield and rampart.
- Psalms 146:9 (v3) Yahweh preserves the foreigners. He upholds the fatherless and widow, but he turns the way of the wicked upside down.
- Proverbs 31:28 (v4) Her children rise up and call her blessed. Her husband also praises her:
- Matthew 8:22 (v6) But Jesus said to him, “Follow me, and leave the dead to bury their own dead.”
- Matthew 15:6 (v3) he shall not honor his father or mother.’ You have made the commandment of God void because of your tradition.
- Luke 2:51 (v4) And he went down with them, and came to Nazareth. He was subject to them, and his mother kept all these sayings in her heart.
- Luke 15:13 (v6) Not many days after, the younger son gathered all of this together and traveled into a far country. There he wasted his property with…
- Ephesians 5:14 (v6) Therefore he says, “Awake, you who sleep, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.”
- 1 Thessalonians 2:6 (v3) nor seeking glory from men (neither from you nor from others), when we might have claimed authority as apostles of Christ.
- 1 Timothy 5:4-5 (v3) But if any widow has children or grandchildren, let them learn first to show piety toward their own family and to repay their parents, for…
- 1 Timothy 5:16-17 (v3) If any man or woman who believes has widows, let them relieve them, and don’t let the assembly be burdened, that it might relieve those who…
- 1 Peter 2:17 (v3) Honor all men. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the king.
- Genesis 47:28 (v4) Jacob lived in the land of Egypt seventeen years. So the days of Jacob, the years of his life, were one hundred forty-seven years.
- Deuteronomy 28:54 (v6) The man who is tender among you, and very delicate, his eye will be evil toward his brother, toward the wife whom he loves, and toward the…
- Deuteronomy 28:56 (v6) The tender and delicate woman among you, who would not venture to set the sole of her foot on the ground for delicateness and tenderness,…
- Judges 12:14 (v4) He had forty sons and thirty sons’ sons who rode on seventy donkey colts. He judged Israel eight years.
- Ruth 2:12 (v5) May Yahweh repay your work, and a full reward be given to you from Yahweh, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take…
- 1 Samuel 15:32 (v6) Then Samuel said, “Bring Agag the king of the Amalekites here to me!” Agag came to him cheerfully. Agag said, “Surely the bitterness of…
- 1 Samuel 25:6 (v6) Tell him, ‘Long life to you! Peace be to you! Peace be to your house! Peace be to all that you have!
- Job 18:19 (v4) He will have neither son nor grandson among his people, nor any remaining where he lived.
- Job 21:11-15 (v6) They send out their little ones like a flock. Their children dance. They sing to the tambourine and harp, and rejoice at the sound of the…
- Job 29:13 (v3) the blessing of him who was ready to perish came on me, and I caused the widow’s heart to sing for joy.
- Job 31:16 (v3) “If I have withheld the poor from their desire, or have caused the eyes of the widow to fail,
- Psalms 94:6 (v3) They kill the widow and the alien, and murder the fatherless.
- Proverbs 29:21 (v6) He who pampers his servant from youth will have him become a son in the end.
- Isaiah 14:22 (v4) “I will rise up against them,” says Yahweh of Armies, “and cut off from Babylon name and remnant, and son and son’s son,” says Yahweh.
- Isaiah 22:13 (v6) and behold, joy and gladness, killing cattle and killing sheep, eating meat and drinking wine: “Let’s eat and drink, for tomorrow we will…
- Isaiah 47:1 (v6) “Come down and sit in the dust, virgin daughter of Babylon. Sit on the ground without a throne, daughter of the Chaldeans. For you will no…
- Jeremiah 6:2 (v6) I will cut off the beautiful and delicate one, the daughter of Zion.
- Jeremiah 49:11 (v3) Leave your fatherless children. I will preserve them alive. Let your widows trust in me.”
- Lamentations 4:5 (v6) Those who ate delicacies are desolate in the streets. Those who were brought up in purple embrace dunghills.
- Amos 6:5-6 (v6) who strum on the strings of a harp; who invent for themselves instruments of music, like David; who drink wine in bowls, and anoint…
- Matthew 23:13 (v3) “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you devour widows’ houses, and as a pretense you make long prayers. Therefore you will…
- Luke 7:25 (v6) But what did you go out to see? A man clothed in soft clothing? Behold, those who are gorgeously dressed, and live delicately, are in…
- Luke 12:19 (v6) I will tell my soul, “Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years. Take your ease, eat, drink, and be merry.” ’
- Luke 18:7 (v5) Won’t God avenge his chosen ones who are crying out to him day and night, and yet he exercises patience with them?
- Acts 9:39 (v3) Peter got up and went with them. When he had come, they brought him into the upper room. All the widows stood by him weeping, and showing…
- 2 Corinthians 5:14-15 (v6) For the love of Christ constrains us; because we judge thus, that one died for all, therefore all died. He died for all, that those who…
- Ephesians 2:5 (v6) even when we were dead through our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved—
- Ephesians 6:18 (v5) with all prayer and requests, praying at all times in the Spirit, and being watchful to this end in all perseverance and requests for all…
- 1 Timothy 5:9-11 (v3) Let no one be enrolled as a widow under sixty years old, having been the wife of one man, being approved by good works, if she has brought…
- James 1:27 (v3) Pure religion and undefiled before our God and Father is this: to visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself…
- 1 Peter 3:7 (v3) You husbands, in the same way, live with your wives according to knowledge, giving honor to the woman, as to the weaker vessel, as also…
- Isaiah 3:26 (v5) Her gates shall lament and mourn. She shall be desolate and sit on the ground.
- Isaiah 12:2 (v5) Behold, God is my salvation. I will trust, and will not be afraid; for Yah, Yahweh, is my strength and song; and he has become my…
- Isaiah 49:21 (v5) Then you will say in your heart, ‘Who has conceived these for me, since I have been bereaved of my children and am alone, an exile, and…
- Isaiah 50:10 (v5) Who among you fears Yahweh and obeys the voice of his servant? He who walks in darkness and has no light, let him trust in Yahweh’s name,…
- Isaiah 54:1 (v5) “Sing, barren, you who didn’t give birth; break out into singing, and cry aloud, you who didn’t travail with child: for more are the…
- Lamentations 1:13 (v5) “From on high has he sent fire into my bones, and it prevails against them. He has spread a net for my feet. He has turned me back. He has…
- Luke 16:19 (v6) “Now there was a certain rich man, and he was clothed in purple and fine linen, living in luxury every day.
- Acts 26:7 (v5) which our twelve tribes, earnestly serving night and day, hope to attain. Concerning this hope I am accused by the Jews, King Agrippa!
- Romans 1:5 (v5) through whom we received grace and apostleship for obedience of faith among all the nations for his name’s sake;
- Romans 1:12 (v5) that is, that I with you may be encouraged in you, each of us by the other’s faith, both yours and mine.
- Romans 1:20-21 (v5) For the invisible things of him since the creation of the world are clearly seen, being perceived through the things that are made, even…
- 1 Corinthians 7:34 (v5) There is also a difference between a wife and a virgin. The unmarried woman cares about the things of the Lord, that she may be holy both…
- Colossians 2:13 (v6) You were dead through your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh. He made you alive together with him, having forgiven us all our…
- Luke 7:12 (v3) Now when he came near to the gate of the city, behold, one who was dead was carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow.…
- 1 Timothy 5:2 (v3) the elder women as mothers; the younger as sisters, in all purity.
89 distinct cross-references across this passage (90 total citations).
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this passage (23 sources)
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John Calvin 1540 · Public Domain On vv3–6 3 Honor widows that are really widows. By the…
3 Honor widows that are really widows. By the word honor he does not mean any expression of respect, but that special care of them which bishops took in the ancient Church; for widows were taken under the protection of the Church, that they might be supported out of the common funds. The meaning of this mode of expression is as if he had said, “For selecting widows that are to be taken under your care and that of the deacons, you ought to consider who they are that are really widows What was their condition we shall afterwards explain more fully. But we must here attend to the reason why Paul does not admit any but those who are absolutely widows, and, at the same time, widows without children; for, in that condition, they dedicated themselves to the Church, that they might withdraw from all the private concerns of a family, and might lay aside every hindrance. Justly, therefore, does Paul forbid to receive the mothers of families, who are already bound by a charge of a different kind. When he calls them “really widows”, he alludes to the Greek word χήρα, which is derived ἀπὸ τοῦ χηροῦσθαι, from a verb which signifies to be “deprived” or “destitute.”
John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On vv3–6 Have care of those widows which have need of…
Have care of those widows which have need of help.
The Apostle giveth these rules touching the care of widows.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv3–6 3 Honour widows that are widows indeed.
3 Honour widows that are widows indeed.
Ver. 3. Honour widows indeed] That is, such as are widows not by divorce, but by the death of their husbands, and loss of their children; such as was Naomi. Honour them, that is, take them into the college of widows, to be maintained at the Church’s charge. In this sense ministers are to have double honour, {see 1Ti 5:17} which is therefore so termed, because they testified thereby the virtues of those so sustained.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain On vv3–6 Honour widows; give a respect to such as have…
Honour widows; give a respect to such as have lost their husbands, with a regard to that honourable estate of marriage in which they have been formerly, and do not only pay them a due respect, but afford them a maintenance, Act 6:1.
That are widows indeed: who are widows indeed he openeth further, 1Ti 5:5; such as are not only pious, but desolate, as the Greek word for a widow implies, according to its derivation.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
William Burkitt 1703 · Public Domain On v3 Our apostle proceeds to give Timothy directions concerning widows,…
Our apostle proceeds to give Timothy directions concerning widows, particularly those who were to be maintained by the church’s charity, and to live upon it.
Note, 1. The persons who were to be relieved and supported by the church’s charity: widows indeed; that is, such widows as were desolate, being deprived both of husband and maintenance at once; and having neither children, nor grand-children, nor near relations, in a capacity to relieve them; and they were also such as were resolved to continue in widowhood: these he required should be honoured, that is, have respect shown them, maintenance allowed them, employment provided for them, to visit the sick and poor, and give notice of their wants to the church, and to spend their time in the exercise of devotion, trusting in God: Continue in supplication and prayer night and day.
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Note, 2. That such widows as had children and near relations, were to be taken care for, by them, and not by the church; Let them learn to shew piety at home, that is, relieve their own relations before they show kindness to strangers, or before the church be burdened with them; where the original word is very emphatical and significative. Let them exercise religion and godliness towards their own house; implying, that to extend our charity to our nearest relations is a duty in the first place, and to perform it with cheerfulness is an act of religion and godliness, and that it is in vain to pretend to religion, if we see a relation in want, and are able, but unwilling, to relieve them.
Note, 3. The character which St. Paul gave of some widows in his time: they lived in pleasure; with the censure which he passed upon them, namely, that they were dead whilst they lived; she that liveth in pleasure, that is, licentiously, sportingly, wantonly, profusely, to the dishonour of her husband’s memory, and her own personal disgrace, she is dead in sin, dead to Christ and his holy religion, whilst she lives in the world; and so is not to be looked upon by the church as a vital member of it, much less to be maintained by the church’s charity. This is what St. Paul thought needful to give Timothy in charge concerning widows, that so they might be found blameless, and without scandal to religion.
William Burkitt's Expository Notes on the New Testament (1700–1703) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Henry 1710 · Public Domain On v3 Directions are here given concerning the taking of widows…
Directions are here given concerning the taking of widows into the number of those who were employed by the church and had maintenance from the church: Honour widows that are widows indeed. Honour them, that is, maintain them, admit them into office. There was in those times an office in the church in which widows were employed, and that was to tend the sick and the aged, to look to them by the direction of the deacons. We read of the care taken of widows immediately upon the first forming of the Christian church (Act 6:1), where the Grecians thought their widows were neglected in the daily ministration and provision made for poor widows. The general rule is to honour widows that are widows indeed, to maintain them, to relieve them with respect and tenderness.
I. It is appointed that those widows only should be relieved by the charity of the church who were pious and devout, and not wanton widows that lived in pleasure, Ti1 5:5, Ti1 5:6. She is to be reckoned a widow indeed, and it to be maintained at the church's charge, who, being desolate, trusteth in God. Observe, It is the duty and comfort of those who are desolate to trust in God. Therefore God sometimes brings his people into such straits that they have nothing else to trust to, that they may with more confidence trust in him. Widowhood is a desolate estate; but let the widows trust in me (Jer 49:11), and rejoice that they have a God to trust to. Again, Those who trust in God must continue in prayer. If by faith we confide in God, by prayer we must give glory to God and commit ourselves to his guidance. Anna was a widow indeed, who departed not from the temple (Luk 2:37), but served God with fasting and prayer night and day. But she is not a widow indeed that lives in pleasure (Ti1 5:6), or who lives licentiously. A jovial widow is not a widow indeed, not fit to be taken under the care of the church. She that lives in pleasure is dead while she lives, is no living member of the church, but as a carcase in it, or a mortified member. We may apply it more generally; those who live in pleasure are dead while they live, spiritually dead, dead in trespasses and sins; they are in the world to no purpose, buried alive as to the great ends of living.
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II. Another rule he gives is that the church should not be charged with the maintenance of those widows who had relations of their own that were able to maintain them. This is mentioned several times (Ti1 5:4): If any widow have children or nephews, that is grandchildren or near relations, let them maintain them, and let not the church be burdened. So Ti1 5:16. This is called showing piety at home (Ti1 5:4), or showing piety towards their own families. Observe, The respect of children to their parents, with their care of them, is fitly called piety. This is requiting their parents. Children can never sufficiently requite their parents for the care they have taken of them, and the pains they have taken with them; but they must endeavour to do it. It is the indispensable duty of children, if their parents be in necessity, and they in ability to relieve them, to do it to the utmost of their power, for this is good and acceptable before God. The Pharisees taught that a gift to the altar was more acceptable to God than relieving a poor parent, Mat 15:5. But here we are told that this is better than all burnt-offerings and sacrifices; this is good and acceptable, etc. He speaks of this again (Ti1 5:8), If any provide not for his own, etc. If any men or women do not maintain their own poor relations who belong to them, they do in effect deny the faith; for the design of Christ was to confirm the law of Moses, and particularly the law of the fifth commandment, which is, Honour thy father and mother; so that those deny the faith who disobey that law, much more if they provide not for their wives and children, who are parts of themselves; if they spend that upon their lusts which should maintain their families, they have denied the faith and are worse than infidels. One reason why this care must be taken that those who are rich should maintain their poor relations, and not burden the church with them is (Ti1 5:16) that it may relieve those who are widows indeed. Observe, Charity misplaced is a great hindrance to true charity; there should be prudence in the choice of the objects of charity, that it may not be thrown away upon those who are not properly so, that there may be the more for those who are real objects of charity.
III. He gives directions concerning the characters of the widows that were to be taken into the number to receive the church's charity: not under sixty years old, nor any who have divorced their husbands or been divorced from them and have married again; she must have been the wife of one man, such as had been a housekeeper, had a good name for hospitality and charity, well reported of for good works. Observe, Particular care ought to be taken to relieve those, when they fall into decay, who, when they had wherewithal, were ready to every good work. Here are instances of such good works as are proper to be done by good wives: If she have brought up children: he does not say, If she have borne children (children are a heritage of the Lord), that depends on the will of God; but, if she had not children of her own, yet if she had brought up children. If she have lodged strangers, and washed the saints' feet; if she have been ready to give entertainment to good Christians and good ministers, when they were in their travels for the spreading of the gospel. Washing of the feet o their friends was a part of their entertainments. If she have relieved the afflicted when she had ability, let her be relieved now. Observe, Those who would find mercy when they are in distress must show mercy when they are in prosperity.
IV. He cautions them to take heed of admitting into the number those who are likely to be no credit to them (Ti1 5:11): The younger widows refuse: they will be weary of their employments in the church, and of living by rule, as they must do; so they will marry, and cast off their first faith. You read of a first love (Rev 2:4), and here of a first faith, that is, the engagements they gave to the church to behave well, and as became the trust reposed in them: it does not appear that by their first faith is meant their vow not to marry, for the scripture is very silent on that head; besides the apostle here advises the younger widows to marry (Ti1 5:14), which he would not if hereby they must have broken their vows. Dr. Whitby well observes, "If this faith referred to a promise made to the church not to marry, it could not be called their first faith." Withal they learn to be idle, and not only idle, but tattlers, etc., Ti1 5:13. Observe, It is seldom that those who are idle are idle only, they learn to be tattlers and busy-bodies, and to make mischief among neighbours, and sow discord among brethren. Those who had not attained to such a gravity of mind as was fit for the deaconesses (or the widows who were taken among the church's poor), let them marry, bear children, etc., Ti1 5:14. Observe, If housekeepers do not mind their business, but are tattlers, they give occasion to the adversaries of Christianity to reproach the Christian name, which, it seems, there were some instances of, Ti1 5:15. We learn hence, 1. In the primitive church there was care taken of poor widows, and provision made for them; and the churches of Christ in these days should follow so good an example, as far as they are able. 2. In the distribution of the church's charity, or alms, great care is to be taken that those share in the public bounty who most want it and best deserve it. A widow was not to be taken into the primitive church that had relations who were able to maintain her, or who was not well reported of for good works, but lived in pleasure: But the younger widows refuse, for, when they have begun to wax wanton against Christ, they will marry. 3. The credit of religion, and the reputation of Christian churches, are very much concerned in the character and behaviour of those that are taken into any employment in the church, though of a lower nature (such as the business of deaconesses), or that receive alms of the church; if they do not behave well, but are tatlers and busy-bodies, they will give occasion to the adversary to speak reproachfully. 4. Christianity obliges its professors to relieve their indigent friends, particularly poor widows, that the church may not be charged with them, that it may relieve those that are widows indeed: rich people should be ashamed to burden the church with their poor relations, when it is with difficulty that those are supplied who have no children or nephews, that is, grand-children, who are in a capacity to relieve them.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible (1708–1710) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv3–6 Honour widows that are widows indeed. Who those are,…
Honour widows that are widows indeed. Who those are, see in Ti1 1:5. The honour to be given them is not a putting of them into the office of a deaconess, in the church; which office, some think, is referred to in Act 6:1, and did obtain in some of the primitive churches; and it might be that some of these widows, the apostle here and hereafter speaks of, might be preferred to the rest, and be set over them, and have the care of such, who were more infirm; but then this could only be the case of some, whereas the honour here spoken of is what is to be given to all that are really widows; and therefore rather regards some external honour and respect to be shown them, by words and actions; and especially it designs an honourable provision for them, and maintenance of them; in which sense the word is used in Ti1 5:17. So, with the Jews, giving gifts to persons, and making presents to them, is called honour. When Manoah asked the angel's name, that he might do him honour, when his saying came to pass, Jdg 13:17 the sense, according to them, is (q),
"that I may inquire in what place I may find thee, when thy prophecy is fulfilled, and give thee "a gift"; for there is no honour but what signifies a gift, as it is said, Num 22:17, "honouring I will honour thee".''
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So giving gifts to the poor, or providing for their maintenance, is doing them honour; and that this is the sense here, appears by what follows in the context.
(q) Bemidbar Rabba, sect. 10. fol. 199. 4.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain On vv3–6 honour - That is, maintain out of the public…
honour - That is, maintain out of the public stock.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On vv3–6 Verse 3. Honour widows that are widows indeed.] One…
Verse 3. Honour widows that are widows indeed.] One meaning of the word τιμαω, to honour, is to support, sustain, c., Mat 15:4-5; and here it is most obviously to be taken in this sense. Provide for those widows especially which are widows indeed-persons truly destitute, being aged and helpless, and having neither children nor friends to take care of them, and who behave as becometh their destitute state. But see the note on 1Ti 5:10.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain On vv3, 5 1Ti 5:3-4. Honour — And endeavour honourably to support…
1Ti 5:3-4. Honour — And endeavour honourably to support from the public stock; widows — Whose destitute circumstances recommend them as the certain objects of charity. According to the Greek commentators, the widows of whom the apostle speaks in this passage were aged women appointed by the church to instruct the young of their own sex in the principles of the Christian faith, and who, for that service, were maintained out of the funds of the church. This opinion is rendered probable by the apostle’s order to Timothy, (1Ti 5:9,) to admit none into the number of widows without inquiring into their age, circumstances, character, and qualifications, even as in ordaining bishops and deacons; who are widows indeed — Really such; that is, who are desolate, and neither able to maintain themselves, nor have any near relations to provide for them, and who are wholly devoted to God. But if any widow have children — Able to provide for her; or nephews — Rather grand-children, as εκγονα signifies; let them learn — Their children or descendants; first to show piety at home — Before the church be burdened with them; and to requite their parents — For all their former care, trouble, and expense; for that is good — Καλον, decent, fair, and amiable, in the eyes of men; and acceptable before God — Who requires us, out of regard to his honour and favour, to attend carefully to the duties of those relations in which we stand to each other.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain On vv3–6 Honour widows - The particular attention and respect which…
Honour widows - The particular attention and respect which are enjoined here, seem to refer to the class of widows who were supported by the church, and who were entrusted with the performance of certain duties toward the other female members, see 1Ti 5:9. It is to be remembered that the contact of the sexes was much more circumscribed in Oriental countries than it is among us; that access to the female members of the church would be much less free than it is now, and that consequently there might have been a special propriety in entrusting the duty of watching over the younger among them to the more aged. This duty would be naturally entrusted to those who had not the care of families. It would also be natural to commit it, if they were qualified, to those who had not the means of support, and who, while they were maintained by the church, might be rendering a valuable service to it. It would seem, therefore, that there was a class of this description, who were entrusted with these duties, and in regard to whose qualifications it was proper that Timothy should be instructed. The change of customs in society has made this class less necessary, and probably the arrangement was never designed to be permanent, but still it may be a question whether such an arrangement would not now be wise and useful in the church. On this subject, see the notes on Rom 16:1.
That are widows indeed - Who are truly widows. We associate with the word “widow,” commonly, not only the idea of the loss of a husband, but many other things that are the usual accompaniments of widowhood - a poor and dependent condition; care and solicitude; sadness and sorrow. This idea is implied in the use of the word employed here - χήρα chēra - which means properly one who is “bereaved,” (from the adjective χήρος chēros, “bereaved”), and which, as Calvin says, conveys the idea of one in distressed circumstances. What Paul regarded as constituting true widowhood, he specifies in 1Ti 5:4-5, 1Ti 5:9-10. He connects with it the idea that she had no persons dependent on her; that she was desolate, and evinced true trust in God; that she was so aged that she would not marry again; and that by her life she had given evidence of possessing a heart of true benevolence; 1Ti 5:10.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain On vv3–6 Honour widows. To honour, here means to relieve and…
Honour widows. To honour, here means to relieve and maintain. (Witham)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain On vv3–6 Honour--by setting on the church roll, as fit objects…
Honour--by setting on the church roll, as fit objects of charitable sustenance (Ti1 5:9, Ti1 5:17-18; Act 6:1). So "honor" is used for support with necessaries (Mat 15:4, Mat 15:6; Act 28:10).
widows indeed-- (Ti1 5:16). Those really desolate; not like those (Ti1 5:4) having children or relations answerable for their support, nor like those (in Ti1 5:6) "who live in pleasure"; but such as, from their earthly desolation as to friends, are most likely to trust wholly in God, persevere in continual prayers, and carry out the religious duties assigned to Church widows (Ti1 5:5). Care for widows was transferred from the Jewish economy to the Christian (Deu 14:29; Deu 16:11; Deu 24:17, Deu 24:19).
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain On vv3–6 3. Honour—Rightly appreciate after due scrutiny.
3. Honour—Rightly appreciate after due scrutiny.
Widows indeed—Real and not spurious widows. To a real widow three things were requisite: first, actual death of husband; second, actual destitution, with no relatives to support her; and, third, worthiness as member of the Church.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On vv3–6 3. Honour widows] The honour implied is further referred…
3. Honour widows] The honour implied is further referred to in 1Ti_5:9; as the honour of 1Ti_5:17 is defined by 1Ti_5:18. So in Act_28:10 the Melitans ‘honoured us with many honours, and when we sailed they put on board such things as we needed.’ Cf. Lewin’s note there. ‘The honours probably included pecuniary aid. Honor was often used for money; whence honorarium a fee.’
that are widows indeed] So 1Ti_5:16; and in the true text 1Ti_6:19, ‘the life which is life indeed:’ a usage of the article with this adverb peculiar to this Epistle.
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3–16. Timothy’s duties in regard to widows
Counsel on alms and charities for widows. The natural and obvious view of this passage studied in itself is to present the Church charities of this period as having reached an intermediate stage between the common purse or daily ministration of Act_2:45; Act_6:1, and the order of widows publicly appointed and maintained with specified duties of education, superintendence and the like, which seems to have arisen later, perhaps from a strained interpretation of this passage itself, and which was abolished by the 11th Canon of the Council of Laodicea. ‘The women who are called by the Greeks “presbyters,” and by us “senior widows,” “once-wives,” and “churchmothers” ought not to have a position as an ordained body in the Church.’ Such a view is exactly parallel with that of the Church polity in these Epistles as ‘intermediate between the presbyterian episcopacy of the earlier apostolic period and the post-apostolic episcopacy.’
If this is correct, we shall not distinguish, with Bp Ellicott, ‘the desolate and destitute widow’ of 1Ti_5:3-8 from ‘the ecclesiastical or presbyteral widow’ of 1Ti_5:9-16. More distinct and definite direction is given in 1Ti_5:10 for the selection of the widows who are described in general terms in 1Ti_5:5. A generation of Christian life has passed now since the loving undiscriminating ‘ministration’ of the first days. The very numbers of ‘Christian widows’ with varying character and circumstances, as well as the reasonableness of the thing itself, require the test of the past conduct, 1Ti_5:10, and the present life, 1Ti_5:5. ‘Charity organisation’ is the pastor’s duty.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain On vv3–6 (3) Honour widows that are widows indeed.—The mention of…
(3) Honour widows that are widows indeed.—The mention of the relations of a pastor to the female members of the flock suggests another train of thought. Christianity had, during the thirty years of its history, developed a perfectly new existence for women who professed the faith of Jesus of Nazareth. In the Master’s new and strange (new and strange to the civilised world of that day) command—that the poor, the needy, and the sick should be succoured, that the helpless should be helped, and the comfortless comforted—a blessed calling was invented. so to speaks for Christian women. Their secluded and, in many respects, degraded life in the old world was, in great measure, owing to the fact that till Christ taught the universal duty of charity, women had no recognised public occupation in the world. The charge of the Founder of the new religion provided an endless variety of blessed, happiness-giving work for women of all ages and rank.
The novel prominence, however, of females in such great centres as Ephesus not only necessitated some organisation which should administer the alms, and generally watch over and direct the self-sacrificing labours of the female portion of the community, but also required special vigilance, on the part of the chief pastor and his assistant presbyters and deacons, to prevent the charities of the Church being misused. The widow—the desolate and destitute, the mourning widow indeed, she who is in every sense a widow and has no one to whom to look for aid—she always has a claim on the Church. Not merely is she to be honoured by a simple exhibition of respect, but she is to be assisted and supported out of the alms of the faithful.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On vv3–6 Honor (tima). The use of the verb timaw in…
Honor (tima). The use of the verb timaw in the comment on the fourth commandment in Mat_15:4-6, where the withholding of the honor due consists in saying, "It is corban, by whatsoever thou mightest be profited by me," and so withholding the honor due, shows clearly that in the notion of honoring is included that material support which their condition as widows required. So again in ver. 17 of this chapter, the double honor" due to elders who labor in the Word and doctrine is clearly shown by ver. 18 to include payment for their maintenance. This is also borne out by the frequent use of timh in the sense of "price" (Mat_27:6, Mat_27:9; Act_4:34 Act_7:16 Act_19:19; 1Co_6:20, etc.) The passage might, therefore, be paraphrased, "Pay due regard to the wants of those widows who are widows indeed." The "honor" here prescribed would be exactly the opposite to the "neglect" (pareqewrounto) complained of by the Grecian Jews. (Act_6:1) The same idea is in the Latin honorarium, for a fee. Widows indeed; i.e. really, as in vers. 5 and 16, desolate and alone. We learn from this passage that the care of widows by the whole Church, which began at Jerusalem in the very infancy of the Church, was continued in the Churches planted by St. Paul. We find the same institution though somewhat different in character, in subsequent ages of the Church. Widowhood, as well as virginity, became a religious profession, and widows were admitted with certain ceremonies, including the placing on their heads a veil consecrated by the bishop. Deaconesses were very frequently chosen from the ranks of the widows (Bingham, "Antiq.," bk. 7. 1 Timothy 4.).
Vers. 3-16.
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Church charities.
One of the most difficult problems to solve in any well-ordered human society is so to administer charity to the indigent as not to encourage indigence which might be avoided not to injure the character by endeavors to benefit the body. It is certain that the expectation of being provided for by others, without any efforts of his own, has a tendency to check those exertions by which a man may provide for himself. But it is no less certain that there is room in the world for the exercise of a wholesome charity, and that to dry up the streams of benevolence would be as great an injury to the givers as to the receivers. The result is that great care and much wisdom are requisite to regulate the administration of all charities on a large scale. The early Church, with an instinctive wisdom, directed its chief care to the support of widows. Here the main cause of the indigence, at least, was one which no human forethought could prevent the death of the bread-winner. But even in their case many prudent cautions were interposed. The widow must have age of not less than threescore years, as well as widowhood, to commend her. She must be desolate, without any relations or friends whose natural duty it would be to support her. She must have established a good Christian character in the days of her prosperity, and shown her love to Christ, and the people of Christ, by works of mercy and pity. In like manner all public charities should be administered so as to encourage industry and to check idleness; so as to countenance virtue and rebuke vice; so as to prevent the unworthy from appropriating the provision that was intended for the worthy and unfortunate. In a word, in the administration of charitable funds, charity and wisdom must work hand-in-hand.
Vers. 3-7.
Directions with regard to widows.
The gospel provides for the helpless.
I THE CLAIMS OF WIDOWS.
1. These were abundantly recognized in Old Testament times. The fatherless and the widow were commended, to the special care of the Israelites. The garments of widows were never to be taken in pledge. The man was cursed who perverted the judgment of the widow. The widow was never to be afflicted or made a prey (Deu_16:11 Deu_27:19; Jer_7:6; Isa_10:2)
2. The claims of widows were officially recognized in New Testament times. The order of deaconship arose out of the necessity of widows. (Act_6:1-7)
II THE DIFFERENT CLASSES OF WIDOWS IN THE CHURCH. "Honor widows that are widows indeed." There are three classes of widows referred to by the apostle.
1. There are widows who are not only deeply religious, but quite destitute. She who is a widow indeed is "desolate, has set her hope in God, and abides in supplications and prayers night and day.
(1) There are widows without husband, without children or grandchildren, and. without means of living. They have no friends to cheer the loneliness or relieve the necessities of their widowed life.
(2) They are deeply religious and trustful. "She has set her hope in God," who is the Husband of the widow; and is constant in prayers like Anna the prophetess, to that God who gives her a daily supply of comforts, and cheers her in her solitude.
2. There are widows who are not so destitute, for they have children and grandchildren to provide for their wants.
3. There are widows who are fond of gaiety and pleasure, and destitute of religion. "She that liveth in pleasure is dead while she liveth." They are dead spiritually, like those who "have a name to live, but are dead". (Rev_3:1) "If ye live after the flesh, ye shall die". (Rom_8:13) This class of widows resembled the daughters of Sodom. (Eze_16:49) There was in their case the union of soul and body, but no quickening principle of spiritual life. They savor the things that be of men rather than the things that be of God.
III THE DUTY OF THE CHURCH IN RELATION TO THESE DIFFERENT CLASSES OF WIDOWS.
1. The Church was not bound to support or assist widows with children or grandchildren, who were therefore to he taught "to show piety at home, and to requite their parents." The Church was not to be burdened with their support. Their relatives were not exempt under the gospel from the necessity of providing for them. The apostle adds that the discharge of this off-forgotten duty is "good and acceptable before God". (Eph_6:2, Eph_6:3; Mar_7:10, 11)
2. The Church owned no obligation of any sort to pleasure-loving widows, except to warn them of the sin, folly, and danger of their life.
3. The Church was to pay due regard to "widows indeed" who were destitute of all resources. "Honor widows that are widows indeed." The term implies more than deference or respect; such widows were entitled to receive relief from the Christian community. It was a loving duty to provide for such sad-hearted, friendless beings.
IV THE NECESSITY OF MAKING A RULE FOR THE CHURCH"S GUIDANCE. things command, that they may he without reproach." The injunction was necessary for the Church"s sake, that it might not neglect its proper duty to this destitute class, and for the sake of the various classes of widows and their relatives, who needed to be without reproach, as they were supposedly members of the Church. T.C.
Sympathy with widows.
widows." Let them have a special place in reverent care and common prayer, as they have a lot which is so isolated and so hard a battle so keen and terrible, and as they find that the slender means are so soon spent. The lonely hours are full of pictures of the past: as wives they were the first to be thought of and provided for the best was for them, the first place at the table and in the heart was theirs; so honor them, for they are sensitive to slight and indifference. Let the Church counteract the neglect of the world.
I THE SPIRIT OF CHILDREN. If they have children, or, as sometimes happens, nephews or sister"s children who lost their mother in life"s dawn of morning, let them show piety at home the piety of gratitude, the piety of help, the piety of reverence, the piety of requital. How large a word "piety" is! An ungrateful child, who never thinks on a parent"s past self-denial in its education, a parent"s watchfulness in times of weakness and sickness, a parent"s interest in its pleasures and counsels as to its companionships, and a parent"s long interest in all that relates to mind and heart, is an impious child. Quick, clever, it may be flattered by new friends, and favored by fortune with pleasant looks, and yet be selfish, indifferent, and forgetful.
II THE REQUITAL TO BE GIVEN. Remember, young friends, that you have to requite your parents, not with the patronage of commercial payment when you succeed, but with the requital of the tender inquiry, the watchful love, the jealous service, the gracious respect. W.M.S.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain On vv4, 6 1Ti_5:4; 1Ti_5:8; 1Ti_5:16
1Ti_5:4; 1Ti_5:8; 1Ti_5:16
But if any widow have children or nephews.
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--
Home responsibilities
We are reminded here--
I. That home responsibilities are to be accepted as the appointment of God. The sacredness of family relationship is constantly insisted upon both in the Old Testament and the New. All transgressions against it were severely punished under the Mosaic economy, and were condemned still more solemnly by our Lord. A word of exposition on the first clause in the fourth verse is desirable, If any widows have children or nephews, let them (i.e., not the widows, but the children or nephews)
learn first to show piety (filial love) at home. The word nephews is used by our translators in its old English sense, and is rendered in the Revised Version by its nearest modern equivalent, grand children, for in the writings of Chaucer, Sir Thomas More, and John Locke, nephews is used to denote grandchildren. And similarly, when it is said they are to requite their parents, more is included than fathers or mothers, for the apostles word is equivalent to the Scotch forbears, for which the English language has no exact synonym. The idea is that we owe a debt of gratitude to those from whom we have derived existence, and to whom we owe the support, care, and education we have received. We are bound to see that to the utmost of our ability their wants in old age are met.
II. That among our God-given responsibilities is the duty of labouring for the support of the weak. Among the blessings of our human relationships is this: that honest work is necessitated. We have seen instances in which a young fellow who has spent all his salary on cigars, dress, and amusements, has after his marriage buckled to work, and displayed an energy and ability for which none had given him credit before. Many a brave young wife and self-sacrificing mother has been ennobled through her home duties, having completely abandoned the foolish and trivial pursuits to which she was once addicted. And what numberless instances there are of men, whose diligence and self-abnegation are beyond praise, who have become what they are by first feeling the responsibility of caring and working for a widowed mother!
III. Paul emphatically declares that those who fail in these responsibilities have denied the faith and are worse than infidels. Stern as the words are, they are true! Even the heathen, certainly the better class of them, were wont to acknowledge filial duties, and would have condemned cynical disregard of parents and refusal to fulfil natural duties towards them. This is an offence against humanity, and therefore, in the deepest sense, an offence against Christ. But a Christian professes to have higher motives in duty than others. Let us never for get that the test of character is to be found in family relationships rather than in those which are ecclesiastical; and that it is in the home first and chiefest of all that Christs disciples are to adorn the doctrine of God their Saviour. (A. Rowland, LL. B.)
Piety at home.--
Life at home
A church within a church, a republic within a republic, a world within a world, is spelled by four letters--Hornet If things go right there, they go right everywhere; if things go wrong there, they go wrong everywhere. The door-sill of the dwelling-house is the foundation of Church and State. A man never gets higher than his own garret or lower than his own cellar. In other words, domestic life overarches and underguides all other life. George Washington commanded the forces of the United States, but Mary Washington commanded George. Chrysostoms mother made his pen for him. As individuals, we are fragments. God makes the races in parts, and then He gradually puts us together. What I lack, you make up; what you lack, I make up; our deficits and surpluses of character being the wheels in the great social mechanism. One person has the patience, another has the courage, another has the placidity, another has the enthusiasm; that which is lacking in one is made up by another, or made up by all. Buffaloes in herds; grouse in broods; quails in flocks; the human race in circles. Our usefulness, and the welfare of society, depend upon our staying in just the place that God has put us, or intended we should occupy. For more compactness, and that we may be more useful, we are gathered in still smaller circles in the home group. And there you have the same varieties again; brothers, sisters, husband, and wife; all different in temperaments and tastes. It is fortunate that it should be so. If the husband be all impulse, the wife must be all prudence. If one sister be sanguine in her temperament, the other must be lymphatic. Mary and Martha are necessities. Then there are those who will, after awhile, set up for themselves a home, and it is right that I should speak out upon these themes.
1. My first counsel to you is, have Jesus in your new home, if it is a new home; and let Him who was a guest at Bethany be in your new household; let the Divine blessing drop upon your every hope, and plan, and expectation. Those young people who begin with God end with heaven.
2. My second advice to you in your home is, to exercise to the very last possibility of your nature the law of forbearance. Prayers in the household will not make up for everything. Some of the best people in the world are the hardest to get along with. Sometimes it will be the duty of the husband and sometimes of the wife to yield; but both stand punctiliously on your rights, and you will have a Waterloo with no Blucher coming up at nightfall to decide the conflict. The best thing I ever heard of my grandfather, whom I never saw, was this: that once, having unrighteously rebuked one of his children, he himself--having lost his patience, and, perhaps, having been misinformed of the childs doings--found out his mistake, and in the evening of the same day gathered all his family together, and said: Now, I have one explanation to make, and one thing to say. Thomas, this morning I rebuked you very unfairly. I am very sorry for it. I rebuked you in the presence of the whole family, and now I ask your forgiveness in their presence. It must have taken some courage to do that.
3. I advise, also, that you make your chief pleasure circle around about that home. It is unfortunate when it is otherwise. If the husband spend the most of his nights away from home, of choice and not of necessity, he is not the head of the household; he is only the cashier. If the wife throw the cares of the household into the servants lap, and then spend five nights of the week at the opera or theatre, she may clothe her children with satins, and laces, and ribbons that would confound a French milliner, but they are orphans.
4. I advise you also to cultivate sympathy of occupation. Sir James McIntosh, one of the most eminent and elegant men that ever lived, while standing at the very height of his eminence, said to a great company of scholars: My wife made me. The wife ought to be the advising partner in every firm. She ought to be interested in all the losses and gains of shop and store. She ought to have a right--she has a right--to know everything. Your gains are one, your interests are one, your losses are one; lay hold of the work of life with both hands. Four hands to fight the battles. Four eyes to watch for the danger. Four shoulders on which to carry the trials. It is a very sad thing when the painter has a wife who does not like pictures. It is a very sad thing for a pianist when she has a husband who does not like music.
5. I have one more word of advice to give to those who would have a happy home, and that is: let love preside in it. (T. De Witt Talmage.)
Home, sweet home
How many are longing for grand spheres in which to serve God. They admire Luther at the Diet of Worms, and wish they had some such daring opportunity in which to exhibit Christian character. Now, the apostle comes to such persons, in my text, and says: I will show you a place where you can exhibit all that is grand, and beautiful, and glorious in the Christian character, and that place is the domestic circle. Let them learn first to show piety at home. Indeed, if a man does not serve God on a small scale, he never will serve Him on a large scale. I propose to speak to you of home as a test, of home as a refuge, of home as a political safeguard, of home as a school, of home as a type of heaven.
I. The home, in the first place, is the most powerful test of ones character. A mans disposition in public may be in gay costume, while in private it is in deshabille. The play actor does differently on the platform from the way he does behind the scenes; and public life is often a very different thing from private life. A man will receive you in his parlour with so much gracefulness that he seems to be the distillation of smiles, while in his heart there is a swamp of nettles. Private life is often public life turned wrong side out. The lips that drop with myrrh and cassia--the disposition that seems to be warm and bright as a sheaf of sunbeams, may only be a magnificent show-window to a wretched stock of goods. The harp that all day sang like an angel, may at night grate like a saw. There are those who are philanthropists in public life, who in home life are the Nero with respect to their slippers and their gown. The great Newton, after he had spent half of his life on one manuscript, came into his study one day and found that his dog had torn the manuscript to pieces. All he said was: Little Diamond, you know not how much trouble you have given your master. Audubon, the great ornithologist, with gun and pencil, went all through the forests of this country for the purpose of bringing down and sketching the birds of the land; then went home, put the valuable documents in a trunk, and, after an absence, found that the rats had completely devoured the manuscripts, so that again he took gun and pencil, and again went through the forests of the land, reproducing that which was destroyed; while there are many in private life who, at the loss of a pencil or an article of clothing, will act as though they had met with a severe and irreparable loss, and will blow sharp, and loud, and long as a north-east storm. Let us learn to show piety at home.
II. Again: I remark that home is a refuge. The home is the tent we pitch to rest in, our bayonets stacked, our war caps hung up, our heads resting on the knapsack until the morning bugle sounds, warning us to strike tent and prepare for marching and action. Oh, what a pleasant place it is to talk over the days victories, and surprises, and attacks, seated by the still camp-fires of the domestic circle. Life is a stormy sea. With shivered mast, and torn sail, and hulk aleak, we put into the harbour of home. Into this dry-dock we come for repair. Blessed harbour! The candle in the window is to the labouring man the lighthouse guiding him into port. May God pity the poor miserable wretch who has not any home.
III. Again: I remark that the home is a political safeguard. The safety of the State depends upon the character of the home. The Christian hearthstone is the only foundation for a Republic. In the family virtues are cultured which are a necessity for the State; and if there be not enough moral principle to make the family adhere, there cannot be enough political principle to make the State adhere. No home, no free institution. No home makes a nation of Goths and Vandals; makes the Nomads of Central Asia; makes the Numidians of Africa, changing from month to month, and from place to place, as the pasture happens to change.
IV. I go further, and speak of home as a school. Old ground must be upturned by a subsoil plough, and harrowed and re-harrowed, and then it will not yield as good a crop as new ground with less culture. Now, infancy and childhood are new ground, and all that is scattered over that ground will yield luxuriantly. Make your home the brightest place on earth if you would charm your children into the high path of rectitude and religion. Do not always have the blinds turned the wrong way. Let Gods light, that puts gold on the gentian and spots the pansy, stream into your windows. Do not expect your children to keep step to a dead march. A dark home makes bad boys and bad girls to be bad men and bad women. Above all, take into your homes thorough Christian principle. (T. De Witt Talmage.)
Home piety
I. Our first endeavour will be to show what piety is. This is all the more needful, as mistakes, numerous and fatal, exist on this vital subject, not only in the world, but also in the Church. It is the mind that was in Christ, leading us to walk as He also walked.
1. Piety has its principles. It is not like a tree without a root; or a stream without a spring. It is originated, sustained, and cherished by an experimental acquaintance with God in Christ; for this is life eternal, to know Thee, the true God, and Jesus Christ whom Thou has sent. Here, then, we have the principles of piety--knowledge, faith, love, submission, and holy fear. A cluster of good things; the soul and spirit of true religion; the gift of the Divine hand; the fruit of the Spirit; the purchase of Messiahs blood; and the earnest of everlasting life.
2. Piety has its enjoyments. Her ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace. She is a tree of life to them that lay hold upon her. The forgiveness of sins, access to God as a Father, the communion of Saints, the hope of everlasting life, the possession of a new nature, constitute a well-spring of blessedness to the humble, believing, obedient soul.
3. Piety has its duties. If ye love Me, said the Saviour, keep My commandments; not every one that saith unto Me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven, but he that doeth the will of My Father which is in heaven. With what frequency and earnestness has practical piety been enforced in the law and the prophets, as also by our Lord and His apostles!
II. We proceed to show where piety is to be made manifest. If the principles and rootlets of piety be out of sight, their existence and power may easily be made apparent. Vegetable life in this sweet jessamine, or in yonder blushing rose, is far beyond our ken; but the effects of life are plain enough to be seen--the rind, the bud, the leaf, the flower, tell us that life is there. As to animal life--the sparkling eye, the ruddy countenance, the cheerful voice, the active limb, show us that life is there; but it is as much a mystery as ever; as far out of sight as ever. Steam, as it lies in the bosom of the boiler, is invisible; but the stroke of the piston, the sweep of the u heel, and the speed of the train, as well as the condensing power of the atmosphere, tell us that it is there. So of piety: much of it is hidden from the public gaze--its depths are not seen. Christian life is hid with Christ in God. Yet if spiritual life exists, it will give proof of its existence and power. Hence at Antioch, when Barnabas had seen the grace of God, he was glad. And exhorted them all that with purpose of heart they would cleave unto the Lord. Fire must burn, a fountain must flow, a good tree cannot bring forth bad fruit--Therefore show piety.
1. In general, wherever the providence of God may place you. The shop, the ship, the market, the farm, the factory, the counting-house, will afford you opportunities for confessing your Lord.
2. In particular, let your piety appear at home. Show to those around you, that the fear and love of God control your desires, purposes, words, and deeds; whatever your relation to the family circle--in whatever department your duty lies, act your part with cheerfulness, fidelity, and to the extent of your ability. See, that your piety is such as never can be reasonably questioned.
(1) Shows its reality; let the root of the matter spring up and bring forth good fruit.
(2) Maintain its spirit, humble, gentle, kind, forgiving: Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus.
(3) Manifest its power, to restrain you from evil, to sustain and comfort and bless you, amid the ills of life; and to enable you by a patient continuance in well-doing, to seek for glory, honour, immortality, and eternal life. Mind that your piety be uniform; let no child be forgotten, no aged parent neglected, no poor widowed relative forsaken, no duty omitted. One word more: let your home religion be steady and growing; and as a general rule, rather seen, and felt, than heard.
3. The considerations by which this important duty may be enforced are numerous and weighty. Would to God we could rightly see and feel them. God, our Saviour, has made Christian believers a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a peculiar people, to show forth the praises of Him who has called them out of darkness into His marvellous light. And shall they not do His pleasure? Shall not Christian people acknowledge their Owner--and the claims of Him who hath made, redeemed, and saved them--by giving up themselves to His service, by glorifying Him, both at home and abroad, in their body and spirit, which are His? Besides, as members of the family circle, are we not bound to promote its comfort, safety, and welfare to the extent of our ability? If you feel any interest in the prosperity of the Church, the conversion of poor sinners, the general good of society, show piety at home. Be followers of them who through faith and patience inherit the promises. Tread in the steps of faithful Abraham, the pattern of believers, and the friend of God, who commanded his children and household after him to keep the way of the Lord. Drink into the spirit of Joshua, who served the Lord himself, and put forth all his strength to lead his family to do likewise. (J. J. Topham.)
The Christian at home
Some characteristics of home piety.
1. A careful respect for the rights of each member of the family. It is our first duty to be just towards each other, and a duty which is obligatory all round, as between husband and wife, parents and children, brothers and sisters, families and their relatives, employers and servants. It is not always easy to be just. It requires thoughtful consideration and some power of imaginative sympathy even on the part of those who desire to do as they would be done by. A great deal of the wrong that is suffered in the world arises out of unwitting injustice. Some persons are grossly and habitually unjust to those about them, misrepresenting their opinions, and imposing upon them sacrifices of feeling and trouble, while in other respects they are singularly generous. Another frequent cause of unhappiness in families is the partiality shown to a favourite child. This also justice forbids.
2. Next to careful respect for the rights of others I may mention great forbearance in asserting our own. A small thing in family life, but most significant as an index to character, is the self-pleasing with which some persons secure their own preferences at table. Even if they make a show of giving up what others like, they do it so ostentatiously that their generosity is generally declined. But real self-denial, that can find pleasure in the gratification of others, will conceal its preferences so that they may enjoy what they like without knowing that it is at the expense of any one else.
3. A third characteristic of home piety is the endeavour to please those about us for their good. A cheerful manner, a flow of wise and genial conversation, sparkling here and there with some bright coruscation of wit, flavoured always with the salt of cultured taste, and sometimes suggestive of serious thoughts, is a fine means of pleasing and benefiting others. Show piety at home by learning to talk well and wisely.
4. Lastly, piety should be shown at home in a devout regard for the honour of God. At the principal meals of the day, and morning or evening, if not both morning and evening, reverence should find suitable expression in acts of worship. You must be guided by your own sense of fitness as to what arrangements you shall make for this purpose. Let us systematically choose the good part, seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, endeavour to catch the spirit of our Master, and let its influence be diffused throughout our whole life. (E. W. Shalders, B. A.)
Piety at home
The radiance of a Christian character is to shine around the family hearth. In most minds the word home awakens emotions both sweet and solemn. Our tenderest relations, our strongest affections, our highest joys, our deepest sorrows, all are touched by the thought of home. The great duty which our text enjoins is the cultivation of piety at home.
I. Home is the place where character is most tested; and if piety be not shown there, it cannot be shown anywhere. Our real character is not so much shown in what we do intentionally and with a purpose, as in what we do impulsively and without reflection. Abroad in the world men may wear a cloak--they may deceive others, they may deceive themselves as to their true character; but at home the cloak generally slips aside, the true character comes out, and those who see them in their unguarded hours know them as they really are. Often a word, a look, or even a gesture in the family will give more insight into a mans heart than years of observation of his public life. The close intercourse of home life tries as well as reveals the real character. That which tries character also helps to form it. Home not only shows what we are, it helps to make us what we shall be for ever. The education which is deepest and most enduring is that of the home school.
II. Home is sometimes the scene of our deepest sorrows: and piety is the best help to enable us to bear these. The causes which disturb the happiness of home are manifold. Unwise marriage unions are the cause of much family misery. Bad habits are a frequent occasion of home sorrow, Evil tempers sometimes ruin the happiness of home. A practical carrying out of our text would speedily correct the evils to which we have referred, and change the character of the home-life where they have been endured. Were all the members of a family to learn to show piety at home, what a scene of blessedness that would be! But there are other trials which sometimes convert the home into a house of mourning, and which piety alone can enable us to meet. There are homes in which the pinching of poverty has to be endured. There are homes where disease presses with his heavy hand; and homes over which death spreads his black and chilly wing. But if there be only one pious member of the family, how the others will look to him and lean upon him in their hour of bereavement and sorrow! The influence acquired by consistency of character now operates for the good of his afflicted friends.
III. Home ought to be the scene of our highest joy; and piety is the only means to make it so, The mutual love and confidence so essential to family happiness, can be produced and secured by nothing so certainly as by a common affection for the Saviour. How blessed are the ties of nature when they are sanctified and strengthened by grace! (G. D. Macgregor.)
Selfish children
An old Virginia minister said lately, Men of my profession see much of the tragic side of life. I have seen men die in battle, have seen children die, but no death ever seemed so pathetic to me as the death of an aged mother in my church. I knew her first as a young girl, beautiful, gay, full of joy and hope. She married and had four children. Her husband died and left her penniless. She sewed, she made drawings, she taught, she gave herself scarcely time to eat or sleep. Every thought was for her children, to educate them, to give them the advantages their father would have given them had he lived. She succeeded. She sent her boys to college and her girls to school. When all came home they gave themselves up to their own selfish pursuits. She lingered among them some three years, and then was stricken with mortal illness brought on by overwork. The children gathered around her bedside. The oldest son took her in his arms. He said, You have been a good mother to us. That was not much to say, was it? It was much to her, who had never heard anything like it. A flush came over her pallid face, and with faint voice she whispered, My son, you never said so before! (Dr. Hoge.)
John Gough and his mother
I remember, when my father was away in the Peninsular war, my mother, who used to work lace very nicely (and she grew very nearly blind by it), went one day from Sandgate to Dover, eight and a half miles, to sell it. I went out to play, having the whole day to myself till she came back. I was a famous reader when I was a little bit of a thing, and I never remember the time when I learned to read, and I cant remember when I could not read with the book the wrong side up. As I was playing, a boy came up to me and said, Johnny Gough, Mr. Purday wants you in the library. Well, I ran into the library, and I remember being taken into a little room, and a girl dipped her hands in water and rubbed my face, and brushed my hair back, to make me look decent, and then took me into the reading-room, where there was a venerable looking gentleman, whom I distinctly remember they called my lord. Mr. Purday said, This is the boy I was speaking of; and he then put a newspaper into my hands, and asked me to read a certain column to him, which I did. He gave me a five-shilling piece; another gentleman gave me sixpence; and the proprietor of the library gave me two pennies. Oh I how rich I was! I went out to play with the boys; I put my hands in my pockets now and then, and jingled my money, and then went on playing again. After a while a boy came to me and said, Johnny, your mother has got home. I ran into the house, and there sat my poor mother upon a stool, faint and weary, with her basket of lace at her side. Her face was buried in her hands; I heard her sob, and I never could bear to hear my mother cry. Mother, mother, said I, what is the matter? My poor child, she said, I have not sold a farthings-worth to-day, and what we shall do God only knows! Said I, Mother, just look at this! and she did look at it; and she said, Why John, where did you get that? I have been into the library; one gentleman gave me that, another gave me that, and Mr. Purday gave me these two pennies. My mother went upon her knees, clasped me around the neck, lifted up her eyes, thanked God, and then gave me a halfpenny all to myself! And what do you suppose I did with it? I went out and changed it into two farthings, and I never enjoyed money as much as that all the days of my life. (J. B. Gough.)
A widows trust in God
M. Poinsot, the devoted Protestant Scripture-reader at Charleroi, has been much blessed in his arduous and heroic work for Christ. He says in his journal--I visited a poor woman of seventy-six years of age, alone, poor, and ill. I said to her, The nights must seem very long to you, being always alone? If I were alone, she replied, I should have been dead long ago, but I have a Friend who never leaves me day nor night; I commune always with Him, and His Word comforts me. But, I said, if you became worse in the night? He would take care of me, was the reply; He is the best Doctor in Belgium.
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Expositor's Bible 1887 · Public Domain On v3 Chapter 14
Chapter 14
THE PASTORS BEHAVIOR TOWARDS WOMEN-THE CHURCH WIDOW. - 1Ti_5:3-4; 1Ti_5:9
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THE subject of this fifth chapter is "The Behavior of the Pastor towards the older and younger men and women in the congregation." Some have thought that it forms the main portion of the letter to which all the rest is more or less introductory or supplementary. But the structure of the letter cannot easily be brought into harmony with this view. It seems to be much nearer the truth to say that the unpremeditated way in which this subject is introduced cannot well be explained unless we assume that we are reading a genuine letter, and not a forged treatise. The connection of the different subjects touched upon is loose and not always very obvious. Points are mentioned in the order in which they occur to the writers mind without careful arrangement. After the personal exhortations given at the close of chapter 4, which have a solemnity that might lead one to suppose that the Apostle was about to bring his words to a close, he makes a fresh start and treats of an entirely new subject which has occurred to him.
It is not difficult to guess what has suggested the new subject. The personal exhortations with which the previous section ends contain these words, "Let no man despise thy youth; but be thou an ensample to them that believe, in word, in manner of life, in love, in faith, in purity." Timothy is not to allow the fact that he is younger than many of those over whom he is set to interfere with the proper discharge of his duties. He is to give no one a handle for charging him with want of gravity or propriety. Sobriety of conduct is to counterbalance any apparent lack of experience. But St. Paul remembers that there is another side to that. Although Timothy is to behave in such a way as never to remind his flock of his comparative youthfulness, yet he himself is always to bear in mind that he is still a young man. This is specially to be remembered in dealing with persons of either sex who are older than himself, and in his bearing towards young women. St. Paul begins with the treatment of older men and returns to this point again later on. Between these two passages about men he gives directions for Timothys guidance respecting the women in his flock, and specially respecting widows. The subject occupies more than half the chapter and is of very great interest, as being our chief source of information respecting the treatment of widows in the early Church.
Commentators are by no means unanimous in their interpretation of the details of the passage, but it is believed that the explanation which is now offered is in harmony with the original Greek, consistent with itself, and not contradicted by anything which is known from other sources.
It is quite evident that more than one kind of widow is spoken of: and one of the questions which the passage raises is-How many classes of widows are indicated? We can distinguish four kinds; and it seems probable that the Apostle means to give us four kinds;
1. There is "the widow indeed (η οντως χηρα)." Her characteristic is that she is "desolate," i.e., quite alone in the world. She has not only lost her husband, but she has neither children nor any other near relation to minister to her necessities. Her hope is set on God, to Whom her prayers ascend night and day. She is contrasted with two other classes of widow, both of whom are in worldly position better off than she is, for they are not desolate or destitute; yet one of these is far more miserable than the widow indeed, because the manner of life which she adopts is so unworthy of her.
2. There is the widow who "hath children or grandchildren." Natural affection will cause these to take care that their widowed parent does not come to want. If it does not, then they must learn that "to show piety towards their own family and to requite their parents" is a paramount duty, and that the congregation must not be burdened with the maintenance of their mother until they have first done all they can for her. To ignore this plain duty is to deny the first principles of Christianity, which is the gospel of love and duty, and to fall below the level of the unbelievers, most of whom recognized the duty of providing for helpless parents. Nothing is said of the character of the widow who has children or grandchildren to support her; but, like the widow indeed, she is contrasted with the third class of widow, and, therefore, we infer that her character is free from reproach.
3. There is the widow who "giveth herself to pleasure." Instead of continuing in prayers and supplications night and day, she continues in frivolity and luxury, or worse. Of her, as of the Church of Sardis, it may be said, "Thou hast a name that thou livest, and thou art dead." {Rev_3:1}
4. There is the "enrolled" widow; i.e., one whose name has been entered on the Church rolls as such. She is a "widow indeed" and something more. She is not only a person who needs and deserves the support of the congregation, but has special rights and duties. She holds an office, and has a function to discharge. She is a widow, not merely as having lost her husband, but as having been admitted to the company of those bereaved women whom the Church has entrusted with a definite portion of Church work. This being so, something more must be looked to than the mere fact of her being alone in. the world. She must be sixty years of age, must have had only one husband, have had experience in the bringing up of children, and be well known as devoted to good works. If she has these qualifications, she may be enrolled as a Church widow; but it does not follow that because she has them she will be appointed.
The work to which these elderly women had to devote themselves was twofold:
(1) Prayer, especially intercession for those in trouble;
(2) Works of mercy, especially ministering to the sick, guiding younger Christian women in lives of holiness, and winning over heathen women to the faith.
These facts we learn from the frequent regulations respecting widows during the second, third, and fourth centuries. It was apparently during the second century that the order of widows flourished most.
This primitive order of Church widows must be distinguished from the equally primitive order of deaconesses, and from a later order of widows, which grew up side by side with the earlier order, and continued long after the earlier order had ceased to exist. But it would be contrary to all probability, and to all that we know about Church offices in the Apostolic and sub-Apostolic age, to suppose that the distinctions between different orders of women were as marked in the earliest periods as they afterwards became, or that they were precisely the same in all branches of the Church.
It has been sometimes maintained that the Church widow treated of in the passage before us is identical with the deaconess. The evidence that the two orders were distinct is so strong as almost to amount to demonstration.
1. It is quite possible that this very Epistle supplies enough evidence to make the identification very improbable. If the "women" mentioned in the section about deacons {1Ti_3:11} are deaconesses, then the qualifications for this office are quite different from the qualifications for that of a widow, and are treated of in quite different sections of the letter.
2. But even if deaconesses are not treated of at all in that passage, the limit of age seems quite out of place, if they are identical with the widows. In the case of the widows it was important to enroll for this special Church work none who were likely to wish to marry again. And as their duties consisted in a large measure in prayer, advanced age was no impediment, but rather the contrary. But the work of the deaconess was for the most part active work, and it would be unreasonable to admit no one to the office until the best part of her working life was quite over.
The difference in the work assigned to them points in the same direction. As already stated, the special work of the widow was intercessory prayer and ministering to the sick. The special work of the deaconess was guarding the womens door in the churches, seating the women in the congregation, and attending women at baptisms. Baptism being usually administered by immersion, and adult baptism being very frequent, there was much need of female attendants.
1. At her appointment the deaconess received the imposition of hands, the widow did not. The form of prayer for the ordination of a deaconess is given in the Apostolical Constitutions (8:19, 20), and is worthy of quotation. "Concerning a deaconess, I Bartholomew make this constitution: O Bishop, thou shalt lay thy hands upon her in the presence of the presbytery and of the deacons and deaconesses, and shalt say; O eternal God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Creator of man and of woman; Who didst replenish with the Spirit Miriam, Deborah, Anna, and Huldah; Who didst not disdain that Thy Only begotten Son should be born of a woman; Who also in the tabernacle of the testimony and in the temple didst ordain women to be keepers of Thy holy gates; -look down now also upon this Thy servant, who is to be ordained to the office of a deaconess. Grant her Thy Holy Spirit and cleanse her from all defilement of flesh and spirit, that she may worthily discharge the work which is committed to her, to Thy glory and the praise of Thy Christ; with Whom be glory and adoration to Thee and to the Holy Spirit forever and ever. Amen." Nothing of the kind is found for the appointment of a Church widow.
2. It is quite in harmony with the fact that the deaconesses were ordained, while the widows were not, that the widows are placed under the deaconesses. "The widows ought to be grave, obedient to their bishops, their presbyters, and their deacons; and besides these to the deaconesses, with piety, reverence, and fear."
3. The deaconess might be either an unmarried woman or a widow, and apparently the former was preferred. "Let the deaconess be a pure virgin; or at least a widow who has been but once married." But, although such things did occur, Tertullian protests that it is a monstrous irregularity to admit an unmarried woman to the order of widows. Now, if widows and deaconesses were identical, unmarried "widows" would have been quite common, for unmarried deaconesses were quite common. Yet he speaks of the one case of a "virgin widow" which had come under his notice as a marvel, and a monstrosity, and a contradiction in terms. It is true that Ignatius in his letter to the Church of Smyrna uses language which has been thought to support the identification: "I salute the households of my brethren with their wives and children, and the virgins who are called widows." But it is incredible that at Smyrna all the Church widows were unmarried; and it is equally improbable that Ignatius should send a salutation to the unmarried "widows" (if such there were), and ignore the rest. His language, however, may be quite easily explained without any such strange hypothesis. He may mean "I salute those who are called widows, but whom one might really regard as virgins." And in support of this interpretation Bishop Lightfoot quotes Clement of Alexandria, who says that the continent man, like the continent widow, becomes again a virgin; and Tertullian, who speaks of continent widows as being in Gods sight maidens (Deo) as for a second time virgins. But, whatever Ignatius may have meant by "the virgins who are called widows," we may safely conclude that neither in his time, any more than that of St, Paul, were the widows identical with the deaconesses.
The later order of widows which grew up side by side with the Apostolic order, and in the end supplanted., or at any rate survived, the older order, came into existence about the third century. It consisted of persons who had lost their husbands and made a vow never to marry again. From the middle of the second century or a little later we find a strong feeling against second marriages springing up, and this feeling was very possibly intensified when the Gospel came in contact with the German tribes, among whom the feeling already existed independently of Christianity. In this new order of widows who had taken the vow of continence there was no restriction of age, nor was it necessary that they should be persons in need of the alms of the congregation. In the Apostolic order the fundamental idea seems to have been that destitute: widows ought to be supported by the Church, and that in return for this, those of them who were qualified should do some special Church work. In the later order the fundamental idea was that it was a good thing for a widow to remain unmarried, and that a vow to do so would help her to persevere.
In commanding Timothy to "honor widows that are widows indeed" the Apostle states a principle which has had a wide and permanent influence, not only on ecclesiastical discipline but upon European legislation. Speaking of the growth of the modern idea of a will, by which a man can regulate the descent of his property inside and outside his family, Sir Henry Maine remarks, that "the exercise of the Testamentary power was seldom allowed to interfere with the right of the widow to a definite share, and of the children to certain fixed proportions of the devolving inheritance. The shares of the children, as their amount shows, were determined by the authority of Roman law. The provision for the widow was attributable to the exertions of the Church, which never relaxed its solicitude for the interest of wives surviving their husbands-winning, perhaps, one of the most arduous of its triumphs when, after exacting for two or three centuries an express promise from the husband at marriage to endow his wife, it at length succeeded in engrafting the principle of Dower on the Customary Law of all Western Europe." This is one of the numerous instances in which the Gospel, by insisting upon the importance of some humane principle, has contributed to the progress and security of the best elements in civilization.
Not only the humanity, but the tact and common sense of the Apostle are conspicuous throughout the whole passage, whether we regard the general directions respecting the bearing of the young pastor towards the different sections of his flock, old and young, male and female, or the special rules respecting widows. The sum and substance of it appears to be that the pastor is to have abundance of zeal and to encourage it in others, but he is to take great care that, neither in himself nor in those whom he has to guide, zeal outruns discretion. Well-deserved rebukes may do far more harm than good, if they are administered without respect to the position of those who need them. And in all his ministrations the spiritual overseer must beware of giving a handle to damaging criticism. He must not let his good be evil spoken of. So also with regard to the widows. No hard-and-fast rule can be safely laid down. Almost everything depends upon circumstances. On the whole, the case of widows is analogous to that of unmarried women. For those who have strength to forego the married state, in order to devote more time and energy to the direct service of God, it is better to remain unmarried, if single, and if widows, not to marry again. But there is no peculiar blessedness in the unmarried state, if the motive for avoiding matrimony is a selfish one, e.g., to avoid domestic cares and duties and have leisure for personal enjoyment. Among younger women the higher motive is less likely to be present, or at any rate to be permanent. They are so likely sooner or later to desire to marry, that it will be wisest not to discourage them to do so. On the contrary, let it be regarded as the normal thing that a young woman should marry, and that a young widow should marry again. It is not the best thing for them, but it is the safest. Although the highest work for Christ can best be done by those who by remaining single have kept their domestic ties at a minimum, yet young women are more likely to do useful work in society, and are less likely to come to harm, if they marry and have children. Of older women this is not true. Age itself is a considerable guarantee: and a woman of sixty, who is willing to give such a pledge, may be encouraged to enter upon a life of perpetual widowhood. But there must be other qualifications as well, if she wishes to be enrolled among those who not only are entitled by their destitute condition to receive maintenance from the Church, but by reason of their fitness are commissioned to undertake Church work. And these qualifications must be carefully investigated. It would be far better to reject some, who might after all have been useful, than to run the risk of admitting any who would exhibit the scandal of having been supported by the Church and specially devoted to Christian works of mercy, and of having after all returned to society as married women with ordinary pleasures and cares.
One object throughout these directions is the economy of Christian resources. The Church accepts the duty which it inculcates of "providing for its own." But it ought not to be burdened with the support of any but those who are really destitute. The near relations of necessitous persons must be taught to leave the Church free to relieve those who have no near relations to support them. Secondly, so far as is possible, those who are relieved by the alms of the congregation must be encouraged to make some return in undertaking Church work that is suitable to them. St. Paul has no idea of pauperizing people. So long as they can, they must maintain themselves. When they have ceased to be able to do this, they must be supported by their children or grandchildren. If they have no one to help them, the Church must undertake their support; but both for their sake as well as for the interests of the community, it must, if possible, make the support granted to be a return for work done rather than mere alms. Widowhood must not be made a plea for being maintained in harmful idleness. But the point which the Apostle insists on most emphatically, stating it in different ways no less than three times in this short section (1Ti_5:4; 1Ti_5:8; 1Ti_5:16) is this, - that widows as a rule ought to be supported by their own relations; only in exceptional cases, where there are no relations who can help, ought the Church to have to undertake this duty. We have here a warning against the-mistake so often made at the present day of freeing people from their responsibilities by undertaking for them in mistaken charity the duties which they ought to discharge, and are capable of discharging, themselves.
We may, therefore, sum up the principles laid down thus:-
Discretion and tact are needed in dealing with the different sections of the congregation, and especially in relieving the widows. Care must be taken not to encourage either a rigor not likely to be maintained, or opportunities of idleness certain to lead to mischief. Help is to be generously afforded to the destitute; but the resources of the Church must be jealously guarded. They must not be wasted on the unworthy, or on those who have other means of help. And, so far as possible, the independence of those who are relieved must be protected by employing them in the service of the Church.
In conclusion it may be worth while to point out that this mention of an order of widows is no argument against the Pauline authorship of these Epistles, as if no such thing existed in his time. In Act_6:1 the widows appear as a distinct body in the Church at Jerusalem. In Act_9:39; Act_9:41, they appear almost as an order in the Church at Joppa. They "show the coats and garments which Dorcas made" in a way which seems to imply that it was their business to distribute such things among the needy. Even if it means no more than that Dorcas made them for the relief of the widows themselves, still the step from a body of widows set apart for the reception of alms to an order of widows set apart for the duty of intercessory prayer and ministering to the sick is not a long one, and may easily have been made in St. Pauls lifetime.
William Robertson Nicoll, ed., The Expositor's Bible (London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1887–1910) — public domain. 65 of 66 books (1 Corinthians is not separately keyed, as that volume carries no machine-parseable verse references); section-level commentary keyed to the opening verse. Introductory and overview sections not keyed to a specific passage are excluded.
B. W. Johnson 1891 · Public Domain On vv3–6 3, 4. Honor widows that are widows indeed. In…
3, 4. Honor widows that are widows indeed. In the church at Jerusalem the widows were honored with support (Acts 6:1). The teaching of Paul here seems to place widows who were above sixty years old, and without children or grandchildren to support them, in a class of church widows devoted to the work of the church, and supported out of its funds. Such were “widows indeed.”
B. W. Johnson's The People's New Testament with Notes (1889–1891) — public domain. Electronic text from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) ThML edition.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary 1892 · Public Domain On v3 1Ti_5:4. Children or nephews.—R.V. “children or grandchildren.” “Descendants, or…
CRITICAL AND EXPLANATORY NOTES
1Ti_5:4. Children or nephews.—R.V. “children or grandchildren.” “Descendants, or more specially, as the context implies, grandchildren—nephews in the original but now antiquated sense of the word” (Ellicott). Shew piety at home.—Another example of St. Paul’s natural religion. Filial piety is what he here enjoins.
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1Ti_5:5. She that is a widow indeed.—Like old Anna who “departed not from the Temple”—left desolate for a long lifetime.
1Ti_5:6. She that liveth in pleasure.—R.V. “giveth herself to pleasure.” The only other use of the word in the New Testament is Jas_5:5.—an instructive parallel. Dead while she liveth.—As in the vivid thought of the East that which was certain was spoken of as actual, so St. Paul regards a wanton life as an actual death.
1Ti_5:8. If any provide not.—If he does not use his judgment to anticipate the needs. For his own, and specially for those of his own house.—This cuts at the root of the improvidence which might originate in the care of the Church, through the deacons, for those who were destitute. A man’s household must be his concern rather than that of the Church or the board of guardians.
1Ti_5:9. Let not a widow be taken into the number.—R.V. “Let none be enrolled as a widow.” It has been suggested that they were an order of widows who took the oversight of the younger women. Perhaps they acted as chaperons.
1Ti_5:10. Brought up children.—Whether her own children, or others left as orphans, it is not easy to decide. Lodged strangers.—R.V. “used hospitality to.” Not only with the possibility of finding angels (Heb_13:2) amongst them, but with the direct assurance that the Lord Himself, in His lowliest servant, was honoured.
1Ti_5:11. The younger widows refuse.—“They were not necessarily to be excluded from the alms of the Church, but were only to be held ineligible for the collegium viduarum” (Ellicott).
1Ti_5:13. Tattlers also, and busy-bodies.—Like Diotrephes—going about prating against St. John—these babblers give unrestrained licence to their tongues, and permit others no peace from their meddlesomeness.
1Ti_5:16. If any man or woman that believeth have widows.—How were the younger widows to be supported then? Let their relatives care for them rather than place them in a position to bring reproach on the community.
MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.—1Ti_5:3-16
Widows and the Early Christian Church.
I. There was a distinction recognised between the different grades of widowhood.—In this paragraph four classes of widows are mentioned.
1. The widow indeed (1Ti_5:3; 1Ti_5:5). She is desolate, quite alone in the world. She has not only lost her husband, but is without children or any other near relative to provide for her needs. The Church must be to her in place of husband and family, and seek to mitigate as much as possible the oppressive loneliness of her life.
2. The widow with a family. “Children and grandchildren” (1Ti_5:4). It is the Christian duty of the members of the family to provide for the wants of the home (1Ti_5:4; 1Ti_5:8; 1Ti_5:16). The Church must not burden itself with responsibilities that belong to others, and which they must be taught to discharge.
3. The widow living in pleasure. Gay, frivolous, and even worse (1Ti_5:6; 1Ti_5:11-15). Her young, passionate nature must be restrained, and be warned not to bring discredit and disgrace upon herself and the Church. 4. The enrolled widow (1Ti_5:9-10). She must be sixty years of age, have had only one husband, have had experience in the bringing up of children, and be well known as devoted to good works. She is a widow indeed, and something more. She has an office in the Church with definite functions to discharge, and the Church is responsible for her support.
II. Discretion and tact were necessary in dealing with the different classes of widows.—Timothy was young, and was exhorted so to behave himself that his moral integrity should command respect in spite of his youth. Respect must be shown towards age and moral worth (1Ti_5:3), and discretion exercised in dealing with the young and wanton (1Ti_5:6-7). There is a shrewd insight into human nature in one of the rules imposed by Wesley on his early preachers: “Converse sparingly with women, especially with young women.” “Care must be taken not to encourage either a rigour not likely to be maintained, or opportunities of idleness certain to lead to mischief. Help is to be generously afforded to the destitute, but the resources of the Church must be jealously guarded. They must not be wasted on the unworthy, or on those who have other means of help. And, so far as possible, the independence of those who are relieved must be protected by employing them in the service of the Church” (1Ti_5:3-16) (Plummer).
III. The principle of self-help and independence in the Christian family is recognised and strongly enforced (1Ti_5:4; 1Ti_5:8; 1Ti_5:16).—The Church is not to be regarded as a permanent board of relief constituted for the administration of indiscriminate charity. It does not and should not free any of its members from responsibilities by undertaking for them in mistaken charity the duties they ought to discharge and are capable of discharging themselves. Christianity teaches the gospel of work, not as an end in itself, but as a means of securing support and independence, and of freely ministering to the good of others. No one should be encouraged to attach himself or herself to the Church for the sake of personal maintenance. The Church must keep her needy members, but all who can work should be stimulated to honest and diligent industry.
Lessons.—
1. The young minister must be circumspect in his behaviour towards women.
2. The Church should shelter and help its deserving widows.
3. The Church should encourage work and a spirit of independence.
GERM NOTES ON THE VERSES
1Ti_5:4; 1Ti_5:8; 1Ti_5:16. Family Responsibilities.
I. Parents and children should mutually contribute to the family support.
II. The help of children afforded to their parents is a just requital of parental toil and affection.
III. The neglect of self-evident family duties is utterly alien to the spirit and teaching of Christianity (1Ti_5:8).
1Ti_5:4. The Christian Home—
I. Is the sphere for exercising practical religion.—“Learn first to show piety at home.”
II. Recognises the righteous claims of the widowed mother to affection and support.—“If any widow have children or grandchildren, let them … requite their parents.”
III. Enjoys the Divine approval.—“For that is good and acceptable before God.”
Piety at Home.
I. The home must be safe.
II. Make it attractive.
III. Make it instructive.
IV. Make the home a preparation for life.
V. Make the home a preparation for heaven.
VI. Keep the home near heaven.—J. Hamilton.
1Ti_5:8. Consistency of Benevolence with providing for our own.
I. Whenever the conduct proposed is physically impossible, it cannot be our duty.
II. Wherever this conduct would frustrate the great end of benevolence by lessening human happiness, it cannot be our duty.—
1. If the interests and duties of mankind were all thrown into a common stock, there would be little or no good done to any.
2. The division of human industry should be voluntary.
3. By the institution of families preparation is effectually made for the preservation, support, and education of children.
4. All the duties of man respect especially the objects he best knows, those to which he can most frequently and effectually extend his beneficence.—Dwight.
1Ti_5:11-15. Young Widowhood—
I. Has its special perils.—
1. In rebelling against the claims of Christ (1Ti_5:11-12).
2. In degenerating into habits of idleness and mischievous gossip (1Ti_5:13).
II. Has its safeguards in the duties and responsibilities of domestic life.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary (gen. ed. Joseph S. Exell; Funk & Wagnalls, c. 1892) — public domain (pre-1929). A full-Bible homiletical/sermon-outline anthology covering 65 of 66 books (2 John is absent from the source module). Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv3, 5 Honor widows
Honor widows
"Respect and provide for widows"
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the real widows
"widows with no one to provide for them"
let them first learn
"first of all they should learn" or "let them make it a priority to learn"
in their own household
"to their own family" or "to those living in their homes"
Let them repay their parents
"Let them do good to their parents in return for the good things their parents have given them"
translationWords
honor
household
God
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv3, 5, 6 5:3-16 A widow without wealth or family was alone…
5:3-16 A widow without wealth or family was alone in a world that did not provide for her. The Christian community was expected to care for such widows among its members (see Deut 10:17-19; Isa 1:17; cp. Acts 6:1-6; Jas 1:27). Some have argued that this passage suggests a religious order of widows in the first-century church at Ephesus, but there is no certain evidence of such an order in the first-century church, only of a ministry of care for community members without means.
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.