Posted on by Abe Austin

Scriptural Analysis- Exodus 22:22-24

22 Ye shall not afflict any widow, or fatherless child.

23 If thou afflict them in any wise, and they cry at all unto me, I will surely hear their cry;

24 And my wrath shall wax hot, and I will kill you with the sword; and your wives shall be widows, and your children fatherless.

The passion in God’s words is palpable in these verses! We have been hearing of laws and penalties that were to be applied by the Israelite judges, but now God is claiming judgment and retribution in this matter for Himself. The widow and the fatherless are not to be afflicted “in any wise,” and God will be actively listening for their cries of distress and punishing anyone who raises his hand against them.

As has already been noted in the rules related to the betrothal of women and the treatment of servants, God’s law shows a keen understanding of which people are in the most vulnerable of positions, and He is fiercely protective of them. In verse 24 He promises that He will raise up foreign armies to kill any Israelite men who abuse and take advantage of the widow and the fatherless.

And why would He do that? He explains it is to make the wives of those men widows, to make the children of those men fatherless. It all goes back to the principle of justice and retribution. If you would hurt or profit over those who lack a husband and father, then your own family will be made to lack a husband and father. Not only should we do unto others as we would have others do unto us, but also do unto others as we would have others do unto those under our care.

Posted on by Abe Austin

Worthy Vessels- 2 Kings 4:2-7

And Elisha said unto her, What shall I do for thee? tell me, what hast thou in the house? And she said, Thine handmaid hath not any thing in the house, save a pot of oil.
Then he said, Go, borrow thee vessels abroad of all thy neighbours, even empty vessels; borrow not a few.
And when thou art come in, thou shalt shut the door upon thee and upon thy sons, and shalt pour out into all those vessels, and thou shalt set aside that which is full.
So she went from him, and shut the door upon her and upon her sons, who brought the vessels to her; and she poured out.
And it came to pass, when the vessels were full, that she said unto her son, Bring me yet a vessel. And he said unto her, There is not a vessel more. And the oil stayed.
Then she came and told the man of God. And he said, Go, sell the oil, and pay thy debt, and live thou and thy children of the rest.

COMMENTARY

Thine handmaid hath not any thing in the house, save a pot of oil
She shut the door upon her and her sons, who brought the vessels to her; and she poured out
The handmaid had nothing but a single pot of oil in her house. It was all that she gave God to work with, but it was more than enough. For it wasn’t the pot that mattered, just so long as it was a container from which blessings could flow. Once blessed by the hand of God that pot was able to not only fill itself, but also every other vessel it came in contact with.
When God asks to work through us we might feel that we are little more than a simple pot as well. It is easy for us to say that we don’t contain enough goodness or capability to fill the soul of another, but frankly we don’t have to. In and of itself, the pot didn’t have enough either, but somehow it found its extra oil in the giving of what it had. So long as another vessel was present and the oil pot tried to share with it, God made up the difference.

Go, sell the oil, and pay thy debt, and live
The oil pays our debts and lets us live. The grace of God that flows through us and into others also purifies our own hearts and absolves us of our sins. It is an astounding charity of God, for He performs the miracle, but then rewards us as if it had been our own merit.
We do not have to create the oil, we just have to be willing to pour.

Posted on by Abe Austin

The Lord Sees You- Luke 21:1-4

And he looked up, and saw the rich men casting their gifts into the treasury.
And he saw also a certain poor widow casting in thither two mites.
And he said, Of a truth I say unto you, that this poor widow hath cast in more than they all:
For all these have of their abundance cast in unto the offerings of God: but she of her penury hath cast in all the living that she had.

COMMENTARY

And he saw also a certain poor widow
Yesterday we examined a rich and enthusiastic man who climbed a tree just to get a good look at Jesus. Jesus recognized and appreciated his efforts, which gives me confidence that he sees all of our silly attempts to catch his attention as well.
In the gospels we see many other bold individuals: brave Peter asking to walk on the water, the sinful woman washing the Savior’s feet with her own tears, brash Paul unapologetically butting heads with his fellow apostles.
But today we have a much more quiet example, one of a person that is not vying for attention at all. She is a poor widow casting her meager contribution into the temple treasury. Surrounded by others that are far better in worldly terms, she is nonetheless immediately recognized for her quiet faith by the Savior.
I’m sure each of us has done something nice for another and had it gone unnoticed. We have seen how society flocks around the drama or a repentant sinner while the quietly consistent disciple goes forgotten. We have wanted to be humble, but also wanted to be appreciated.
This story of the poor widow assures us that Jesus sees and validates all our efforts to follow. If all the world forget us, he at least never will.