seekeroftruth
Well-Known Member
1 Timothy 5:1 Do not rebuke an older man harshly, but exhort him as if he were your father. Treat younger men as brothers, 2 older women as mothers, and younger women as sisters, with absolute purity.
3 Give proper recognition to those widows who are really in need. 4 But if a widow has children or grandchildren, these should learn first of all to put their religion into practice by caring for their own family and so repaying their parents and grandparents, for this is pleasing to God. 5 The widow who is really in need and left all alone puts her hope in God and continues night and day to pray and to ask God for help. 6 But the widow who lives for pleasure is dead even while she lives. 7 Give the people these instructions, so that no one may be open to blame. 8 Anyone who does not provide for their relatives, and especially for their own household, has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.
9 No widow may be put on the list of widows unless she is over sixty, has been faithful to her husband, 10 and is well known for her good deeds, such as bringing up children, showing hospitality, washing the feet of the Lord’s people, helping those in trouble and devoting herself to all kinds of good deeds.
11 As for younger widows, do not put them on such a list. For when their sensual desires overcome their dedication to Christ, they want to marry. 12 Thus they bring judgment on themselves, because they have broken their first pledge. 13 Besides, they get into the habit of being idle and going about from house to house. And not only do they become idlers, but also busybodies who talk nonsense, saying things they ought not to. 14 So I counsel younger widows to marry, to have children, to manage their homes and to give the enemy no opportunity for slander. 15 Some have in fact already turned away to follow Satan.
16 If any woman who is a believer has widows in her care, she should continue to help them and not let the church be burdened with them, so that the church can help those widows who are really in need.
17 The elders who direct the affairs of the church well are worthy of double honor, especially those whose work is preaching and teaching. 18 For Scripture says, “Do not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain,”[a] and “The worker deserves his wages.”[b] 19 Do not entertain an accusation against an elder unless it is brought by two or three witnesses. 20 But those elders who are sinning you are to reprove before everyone, so that the others may take warning. 21 I charge you, in the sight of God and Christ Jesus and the elect angels, to keep these instructions without partiality, and to do nothing out of favoritism.
22 Do not be hasty in the laying on of hands, and do not share in the sins of others. Keep yourself pure.
23 Stop drinking only water, and use a little wine because of your stomach and your frequent illnesses.
24 The sins of some are obvious, reaching the place of judgment ahead of them; the sins of others trail behind them. 25 In the same way, good deeds are obvious, and even those that are not obvious cannot remain hidden forever.
a. 1 Timothy 5:18 Deut. 25:4
b. 1 Timothy 5:18 Luke 10:7
This is from bible_studys.org.
This is just explaining the role Timothy is to take with all of the congregation. He should not be looking on the young women to lust after them, but should think of them as his sisters. The older women are to be held in respect, as if they were his mother.
“Honor” in this context signifies the expressing of esteem by material and financial support. “That are widows indeed” (or, “who are real widows”): The following verses set forth three prerequisites for a widow to qualify for church aid:
(1) She must be desolate, having no family to care for her;
(2) She must possess certain spiritual qualities;
(3) She must be a certain age.
God has always provided for the widows and orphans. If we are to be like Christ, then we must help them too. Paul is saying, not all women who have lost their husbands are truly widows. Honor those who are really widows.
“If any widow have children or nephews”: Families, not the church, have the first responsibility for their own widows. Children and grandchildren are indebted to those who brought them into the world, reared them, and loved them. Fulfilling this responsibility is a mark of godly obedience (Exodus 2:12).
A widow’s “children” or “nephews” (grandchildren), are to show respect (“show piety at home”), by caring for her (“requite their parents”). This prevents the church from being unnecessarily burdened financially. The responsibility for supporting a widow lies first with her family, second with the church.
A widow deserving of church aid is “desolate” (has no family to care for her); “trusteth in God” (lives the Christian life faithfully); “continueth in supplications” (constantly prays for her support and for the church’s ministry).
This is speaking of a widow, such as Anna, who was in the temple in Jerusalem when Jesus was carried there for dedication. True widows are not interested in dating or getting married again. They will probably remain single.
In this case, they are a great help to the church, because they pray for the church. I have said before; the church is just as strong as the prayers that go up for it. These widows are ministers in the church and the church should support them.
A widow qualifies for church aid is she;
(1) Is at least 60 years in age,
(2) Was faithful to her husband, and
(3) Has done good works. “The wife of one man” does not forbid remarriage.
For Paul would hardly exclude here a widow from receiving church assistance who; on his advice , had remarried and later become a widow again. This phrase denotes marital fidelity.
It appears that Paul is saying, the widow must be 60 years old, before she would classify as a widow. I believe he is saying, they would probably still be interested in marrying again before that age. It does not mean that a woman must be over 60 years old before she can join the church. It means for the church to take over her support as a widow, she must be over 60.
The wife of one man means that she has not been jumping from one marriage to the other. She has been a faithful wife.
The church is to “refuse” to financially support “younger widows,” that is, those below 60 years of age. “Wax wanton” means that some younger widows rebel “against Christ”, in that “they will marry” outside of His will. That is, marry people of whom He disapproves.
This is speaking of the younger woman desiring to be married again. There is nothing wrong in wanting to be married again. There is something wrong with putting your hand to the plough and turning back. This is speaking of someone, who in their grief had dedicated themselves to the work of God in the church.
When their grief for their loved one is over, they start yearning to be married again. It is not wrong to want to be married. It is wrong to proclaim yourself as a widow who will never marry, and then want to turn back into a worldly life.
This is speaking of someone who has vowed to live single and work for God, and have gone back on that promise. They have turned away from their faith in God to go back into a world of sin and lust.
Those that serve of the temple should of the temple receive their living. This past statement was true in the Old Testament. It should be the rule for the church, as well. A minister of the Word of God needs to spend his time in prayer and study of the Word of God. He would have to take time away from the things of God to make a living if he did not live of the church.
The minister, laboring for the church should be paid by the church. It is not a sin to take a salary from the church. It would be a sin to take an extravagant amount that the church could not afford. We should be good stewards of God's money. Pay your preacher well, but not so much as to cause him or her to sin.
First, an elder is very familiar with the Word of God and would know the consequences of sin. It would be highly unlikely this person would be involved in sin. Secondly, someone might have a personality conflict with someone and use accusations against that person to get back at them. Thirdly, what someone sees or thinks he sees or hears, may not be what it appears.
Public reprimand would be the thing to do, because it would keep someone else from doing the same thing. It is worse for an officer of the church to be caught up in sin. The elders should know better.
One important reason for the public rebuke is that others would not think the elder was getting away with the sin. It would show that they are subject to God, as well as the member of the church. To be chosen out for special greatness brings great obligation with it.
Another way to look at this would be, if this person were giving Timothy trouble over the reprimand and wanted to fight. Paul could be saying, Timothy, don't let your temper get out of control and hit someone, you would be guilty of sin along with them in that case.
Perhaps his advice, is for Timothy to stay above sin of this nature. Timothy would also, have to try to stay neutral so he could give an unbiased judgment.
This is like many of the things Paul said in his writings. This drinking of wine was not for all ministers of the Word of God to do, but was for Timothy. Timothy was to stay away from the foul water that was in the area. Bad water brings stomach problems. Paul is advising Timothy not to drink the water to keep from getting the virus.
In an area where the water was good, this would certainly not be good advice. It appears that Timothy had been sick quite a bit. This stops all this present day talk of those who are right with God never being sick. The sickness was not because of sin Timothy had committed, but because the water was bad. Notice also, the word "little".
This is from the easy English site..... To be on the list carries with it a promise to serve Christ in the church in some way. This means that those on the list are not free to marry. It is quite likely that at some time a young widow will want to marry again. If she were on the list, her marriage would break the promise that she had made to Christ. She would not then be loyal to him because she had promised to give herself to serve him.
If a widow is not on the list she can get married. Paul says that it would be a good thing if they did get married. But being on the list involves a promise to God. That means that they would not get married. If they do get married, they break that promise. They are guilty of turning away from the Lord.
In the time when Paul wrote, most of the women had no education. They did not have jobs by which they could keep themselves. Women should marry. They should have children and keep the home. When the husband died and the children had left home, they did not have much to do. There was the danger that these women would be lazy. Worse still, they might waste their time and that of other women. They would go from house to house. They would spend their time talking to each other. They would gossip about other people. And they would talk about things that they should not talk about. They would get involved in affairs that had nothing to do with them.
Oh brother.... a seventy year old woman reading this can get really testy. I don't like Paul... never have... I figure Paul was a short, ugly, bald, bowl legged self indulgent bully before Jesus knocked him down and put him to work for the church. I think Paul's attitude toward women may have bordered on dismissive. I think Paul's attitude towards women borders on belittling. He's always accusing women of just sitting around gossiping. Now I dismissed it as sarcasm when Paul used it in the last chapter... but now it's getting a little old.
To be fair.... women in those days wouldn't present a great picture that I could use to argue against his attitude. Women were no better than slaves. They were there to have children, raise children, and they did chores. Women didn't have time to sit around gossiping.... women had to keep the house clean and keep the diapers changed.
Wait... that's a good point... back in the days of Paul... did they have diapers? I know way back in the days of Moses... the people had to go outside of the town to go poop. Did they train the babies to hold it until they got outside the town limits? Babies poop when babies poop. A woman would have been responsible for keeping all the baby [and child] poop cleaned up. There was no birth control... there were a lot of children... there was a lot of poop.... women didn't have time to sit around and gossip.... the stink would tell on them... right?
Now back to the care of widows. The age thing didn't give me too much of a start. Paul is making a good argument here. A young woman who looses her husband would have lost everything. Women didn't own anything. Oxen had it better than a young widow... at least an ox could munch on the wheat while he worked.... single women battled being accused of just about anything... they had to be very careful where they went and who they were seen with.
A young woman with no children... no job... no husband.... no income... no home.... would be tempted to go work in the church. There was a lot of work to be done caring for the members of the church. Problem was.... once they got on the employee list.... their job was assigned and they would be difficult to replace. Women over 60 could take it on... because they had no one to care for other than the church.... young women had a life to live.
And that brings up the family. Paul told Timothy that only those women who needed assistance should be taken care of by the church. If there were family members in town... it was up to the family to take care of their parents. It wasn't on the church. So.... my guess is... if a woman had a family that didn't want anything to do with her because she had gone crazy and joined that "Christian" church... then the church would help her out. If not... it was up to the family to help out their mom. Now I always was taught that "honor thy mother" meant be a good person.... but according to this chapter.... it means be financially responsible for them. HHMMM.... I wonder.... do they teach that in Sunday School these days?
Today... women have it so much better. It's a new freedom.... HOWEVER, I remember in the 50's women couldn't have a credit card or a mortgage without a man. Women didn't work outside the home. TV commercials were all showing "good homemakers" who needed to remove every speck of dirt in the most efficient manner while remaining perfectly beautiful... and the kids had to be clean, well behaved, and smile on cue. I can imagine what would have happened if the diapers piled up or the tub had a ring... or worse yet... if that woman left a ring around his collar. If a woman was widowed in the 50's, though, at least she could get a job in a diner or maybe she could be a teacher.... or a telephone operator. She wasn't as dependent as the women back in Paul's day.
Widows.... through no fault of their own..... were in serious trouble. Back in the days of Moses... when a woman lost her husband... his brother had to marry her. According to the stuff we read about the elders having only one wife.... humans had progressed to monogamy by the time Paul was writing this. So the brother was no longer an alternative. It must have really sucked to be a young widow in those days.
Only widows of age had a ticket. They could get a job at the church. I guess they would clean the church and cook the meals and well... maybe the old widows were the first nuns?
