Archive for the ‘widow’ tag
October 4, 2009: God Provides for Elijah
The text for this lesson is 1 Kings 17.
Key Points
- Just as God provided food and life for Elijah, the widow, and her son, so He provides food, forgiveness, and life eternal for us in Christ.
- Law: In sin, I complain that God does not give me what I need or deserve.
- Gospel: God daily supplies me with those good gifts that sustain me in body and soul, giving each of them through His Son.
Context
In Elijah’s day (ninth century BC), Israel was divided into the Northern and Southern kingdoms. Each had its own king, military, and worship sites. Elijah preached in the north (usually called Israel, while the south was Judah). Here, each king seemed bent on outsinning his predecessor, beginning with the first, Jeroboam. The leader during Elijah’s ministry, Ahab, was quite successful at this contest of iniquity, for he “did evil in the sight of the LORD, more than all who were before him” (1 Kings 16:30). For instance, he chose as his queen Jezebel, from Sidon, who was a zealous devotee of the false god Baal. With her encouragement, Ahab built an altar and temple for this pseudo-deity in the capital city of Samaria. He also made an Asherah, an image of a popular goddess of the time. In short, Ahab won hell’s applause.
March 22, 2009: The Widow’s Mite
The text for this lesson is Mark 12:41–44.
Key Points
- Just as the widow gave all she had to God, trusting Him to provide and care for her, so Jesus gave His all for us, who fail to trust in God for all things.
- Law: God demands that I love Him with all my heart, all my soul, and all my might and that I be willing to hand over to Him all that I am and have.
- Gospel: Christ loves me with all His heart, all His soul, and all His might, and willingly gave up His life and poured out His blood for me to ransom me and make me His own.
Context
Preceding this story are several incidents that involve Jesus’ face-offs with the religious leaders of the day—the Pharisees, Sadducees, and scribes. The Pharisees challenge Him about taxes (Mark 12:13–17), the Sadducees about the resurrection (Mark 12:18–27), and the scribes about the priority of the commandments (Mark 12:28–34). Right before spotting the widow, Jesus dresses down the scribes for strutting peacockishly about in their “long robes” (Mark 12:38), their narcissistic addiction to public praise, and the heartless way they “devour widows’ houses” (Mark 12:40). Presumably, Jesus means the way these teachers swindle widows out of their savings, all supposedly in the service of God.
