1 Timothy 5:11-16: Young Widows
2021-10-30
1 Timothy 5:11-13
A lot of this discussion on widows seems to assume a world where women do not normally work. While there were women who worked throughout the ancient world, such a Lydia (Acts 16:14), it seems like most women worked in the home (Titus 2:5).
The Spirit here deals with younger widows. Because of the plight of women in the ancient world, the younger widows are not admonished to find work; surely it would be difficult to find work as a woman. The bottom line is that they should remarry (1 Timothy 5:14). However, He enumerates reasons why they should not be admitted to the widow registry here. Presumably, “younger widows” means under 60 years old (cf. 1 Timothy 5:9).
If younger widows were to be accepted into the widow registry, they would be caught between two desires. They want to remarry, but they realize their support depends on them remaining a widow. Their desire for remarriage while also being supported as a widow might lead them to immorality.
Also, being younger, they may end up being lazy and gossiping, meddling in others’ affairs. There is nothing to occupy their time, so they waste time with worthless things.
This is a very human trait. Sodom was a city of wealth and pride, and because they had not need, they were lazy and started dabbling in immorality until it blew up into very vile action (Ezekiel 16:48-49). This is the concern for widows as well: no care in the world, everything is provided for them by the church in this hypothetical scenario, and they get involved in things they should not.
Not being familiar with unemployment benefits and welfare too much, this danger exists in our society for those who receive those benefits if there is no incentive to get off them.
1 Timothy 5:14-15
Young widows should get married again and live normal married lives by having children and taking care of the house. By having a responsible husband, they receive the support they need without being a burden on the church. They are given the responsibilities of family in which they are naturally wired to do by God.
By doing this, the enemy will not be able to find fault. The enemy is always looking for reasons to discredit Christians and the church. Apparently, Paul knew examples of widows who had brought shame on Christ because of this, and their activity was satanic in nature.
1 Timothy 5:16
The bottom line with widows is that if someone has a relative that is a widow, they should help them. This alleviates the church from supporting them. The church’s goal in supporting widows is to support those who are “widows indeed.”