Five Widows
Clarence E. Lunden
Table of Contents
Five Widows
To be blessed forever in continual happiness, we must have the capacity for eternal values and realities. Man receives new birth through believing the incorruptible Word of God (1 Peter 1:23).
It is of first importance that we discover that great heart of love expressed so richly at the cross of Jesus and which will be seen throughout eternity in its varied ramifications. Every necessity in man is met by the grace found in Jesus, if there is faith in His Person. Thus the kingdom of God is pressed into, because the soul has no other resource, being consciously stricken, indigent, and poor.
There are five widows spoken of in the gospel of Luke. In the accounts of these widows we see illustrated the divine capacity which marks all of wisdom's children. The expression "widow" means "the silent one", or "bereaved". "The LORD will destroy the house of the proud: but he will establish the border of the widow" (Prov. 15:25).
1. The widow Anna departed not from the temple (Luke 2:36-38).
2. The widow of Sarepta was a companion to the rejected man of God (Luke 4:24-26).
3. The widow of Nain, leaving her hopes of nature in the place of death, found new ones in resurrection life (Luke 7:11-15).
4. The widow of the city, with an adversary, found the true Protector who would never fail her (Luke 18:1-8).
5. The certain poor widow discovered that Christ was everything to her, and she was no longer in need of two mites (Luke 21:2-4).
Luke's gospel is moral in character, having to do with man's vital relationship with God, and it is especially adapted to the subject at hand. It is not to be wondered at that all five widows of the New Testament are set forth in progression as to state of soul. Of the nine widows spoken of in Scripture, five are found in the New Testament. One of these is set forth in detail in the Old as well.
Anna
The meaning of this name is "grace". Grace goes beyond mercy. In grace the Lord brings us into relationship with Himself, according to God's own thoughts, in order to make God known in a way He was never known to man before. Mercy relieves where there is a need; grace blesses beyond any need.
"And there was one Anna, a prophetess, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Aser: she was of a great age, and had lived with an husband seven years from her virginity; And she was a widow of about fourscore and four years, which departed not from the temple, but served God with fastings and prayers night and day. And she coming in that instant gave thanks likewise unto the Lord, and spake of him to all them that looked for redemption in Jerusalem" (Luke 2:36-38).
The sovereign eye of God had marked out this widow for blessing in a family background of faith. Her history gives evidence of her having had a taste of the empty, wasting things of nature, as well as the loss of them. As a result, she had found something better and lasting.
"Which departed not from the temple" (Luke 2:37).
To Anna the "center", or place of God's appointment, signified His presence. Nothing else mattered. How richly she had been taught of God! To be shut up to God alone, in whose "presence is fullness of joy", could not be loss. From this state of soul arose the pilgrim character -and what is that character? Simpler appetites, abodes, objects, contentment in going on with the lowly, as well as to be unnoticed-all of this and more must have characterized Anna. Simplicity brings us into the presence of God.
Could it be that Anna was apprised of the prophecy of Jacob, long ago, concerning her tribe?
"Out of Asher his bread shall be fat, and he shall yield royal dainties" (Gen. 49:20).
This aged saint was most happy. That is the meaning of the name "Asher"-happy. It is possible that Anna's forbears had been brought back to the Land during Ezra's time. She valued being in the place of God's appointment, the divine center, and remained in the sanctuary, expressing the feelings of the remnant who valued the true testimony of God, though it was outwardly in ruins. She waited, not departing from the center. She knew by faith that there, and there alone, she would receive the blessing. God is well pleased with this attitude of waiting.
Has the splendor of the outward forms of the kingdom of God so engaged us that we have forgotten what adorns the inner sanctuary-the Spirit's realm-its exercises, joys, and expectations? How much we can learn in the sanctuary! It carries the standard by which the half shekel is weighed, the redemption money required for the people's acceptance (Ex. 30:13). It was in the sanctuary that Elijah, when discouraged, heard the still small voice which brought him to repentance (1 Kings 19:13). When King David envied the wicked in their prosperity, the sanctuary of God showed him their end (Psa. 73:17). Can we rightly estimate our true position before God except in the sanctuary, using the divine standards and weights?
Anna rests at the sanctuary and finds herself in the midst of heavenly traffic. What a rare honor this proves to be! Precious grace that has in any way taught us our need. As the world recklessly passes on, insensible to their souls' need, danger, and loss, the sovereign goodness of God has gathered out "widows" for blessing, those who cannot find their rest short of the sanctuary.
"But served God with fastings and prayers night and day" (Luke 2:37).
We see service flowing from this devoted child, and rightly so, as true service must stem from the sanctuary. She is credited with service both night and day. He who alone reads the heart can rightly estimate service. Is it necessary to wait until the day of the great tribunal, when all of our works pass in review, to determine what pleases God? Here in these illustrations we learn much of His mind.
Fasting suggests a course of conduct which should clothe one who has been so blessed as to be a part of a favored remnant whom God could own when the nation of Israel had turned away from Him.
There can be no real fasting without prayer, because all must be done in dependence. Spiritual fasting would consist in denying ourselves that which, although good in itself and which should be received with thanksgiving, is not expedient along with the path of rejection.
"And she coming in that instant gave thanks likewise unto the Lord, and spake of Him to all them that looked for redemption, in Jerusalem" (Luke 2:38).
The coming of the child Jesus into the temple crowned her vigil. To be where we should be at all times surely is something to be desired. What if she had missed this spiritual appointment? Now Anna has a theme of testimony to the remnant of her day. She seemed well acquainted with the "excellent of the earth."
Service naturally follows devotion and dependence. To not depart from the temple, which to Anna was the Lord's presence, was her self-imposed duty. Like this lovely example of affection and devotion, the heavenly things should be continually before us until our eyes at last shall behold the most beautiful sight that any will ever see-the face of Jesus Christ. Having seen Him, she "spake of Him to all them that looked for redemption in Jerusalem." The light was now shining through a willing prism, the stone having been polished and prepared just for this.
This precious lesson from the account of Anna leaves us with a sweet, happy occupation, expressed so well in the first book of the Psalms, "One thing have I desired of the LORD, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the LORD, and to inquire in his temple" (Psa. 27:4).
A Woman That Was a Widow
"But I tell you of a truth, many widows were in Israel in the days of Elias, when the heaven was shut up three years and six months, when great famine was throughout all the land; But unto none of them was Elias sent, save unto Sarepta, a city of Sidon, unto a woman that was a widow" (Luke 4:25-26).
The above statement introduces blessing for the Gentiles, while Israel rejects their Messiah with the words, "Is not this Joseph's son?" Jesus must go to another country to be accepted.
This narrative from 1 Kings 17, introduced by the Lord Jesus after He was rejected, shows that the prophet Elijah found a companion who sustained him in his isolation while Israel lay in famine. The Lord Jesus implies that His own case and feelings were much the same.
When the Lord Jesus came to earth, He emptied Himself of His glory. The expression "widow" suggests that she had been emptied. Living in a house with an upper room would indicate that she had had balmier days, as only the more prosperous could afford this. She had lost her husband, and, being reduced to a handful of meal in a barrel and a little oil in a cruse, with two sticks to make a fire, she goes about to make one more cake for herself and her son, and then die.
Elijah was sent to be sustained by this widow, and by obeying his instructions, "she, and he, and her house-did eat many days."
The Lord Jesus voluntarily placed Himself in a position of necessity to come down to the very place of His creature, as typified by Elijah's history. It was in His purpose to have His heart gratified by a response from the one whom He had come to take up as a companion to share with Him the vast blessing that He as Man was about to head up-the kingdom of God.
"A widow of Sidon" suggests the calling out of the Gentiles, a people for the name of the Lord Jesus. She typifies the one who is to be His eternal companion or helpmeet. Because Jesus has become "Man", the reference to Gen. 2:18 applies. "It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him, or "woman".
The Lord Jesus, during His rejection in the world, not only finds a pearl of great price, but offers Himself up to God as a sacrifice in order to meet all of God's claims against the one whom He regards as His treasure. In Matt. 13:44 we read, "And for joy thereof goeth and selleth all that he hath, and buyeth that field."
He buys the field for the treasure that He finds in it.
In this, the day of blessing for the Gentiles, what response has there been from my heart to the heavenly Man who desires my company?
To those who do not know the Savior, He says, "Behold, I stand at the door, and knock; if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me" (Rev. 3:20).
Having gone on high, the Lord Jesus finds His delight and has His heart gratified in the midst of those who are truly gathered to His Name, and who value His Word. It pleases Him to have us giving our full attention to Him, separated from this evil world and with garments unspotted. Our answer to that love so deeply shown at the cross should be to seek His companionship while He awaits the Father's time for Him to take His rightful place as "head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fullness of him that filleth all in all" (Eph. 1:22,23).
Having undertaken to prepare a place for us, the Lord Jesus is now preparing our hearts for that place by occupying us with a pure Object, Himself, in order that we may be holy in our walk. Soon He will come and take us to that place which He has prepared, where we shall forever "live together with him" (1 Thess. 5:10).
May we, like the "woman that was a widow", find our companionship, joys, and resources with the "Man of God", Jesus, while we pass through this world that is so foreign to a heavenly people.
This meditation takes us a little farther than our thoughts about Anna. Anna departed not from the appointed place..until the Lord came, she was happy as her hope was realized, she served God night and day with fastings and prayers, and she spake of Him to the remnant of faith with a positive testimony. This second widow became a companion to the man of God in the day of His rejection and isolation.
"Meet companion then for Jesus,
From Him, for Him made;
Glory of God's grace forever
There in me displayed.
He and I in that bright glory
One deep joy shall share;
Mine, to be forever with Him;
His, that I am there."
(Echoes of Grace Hymn Book, #239)
Nain
We are led into a deeper truth as we are introduced to the third widow of Luke.
"And it came to pass the day after, that he went into a city called Nain; and many of his disciples went with him, and much people. Now when he came nigh to the gate of the city, behold, there was a dead man carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow: and much people of the city was with her. And when the Lord saw her, he had compassion on her, and said unto her, Weep not. And he came and touched the bier: and they that bare him stood still. And he said, Young man, I say unto thee, Arise. And he that was dead sat up, and began to speak. And he delivered him to his mother" (Luke 7:11-15).
In Scripture the expression "son" often carries the thought of hope-Christ the hope of Israel, Abraham's son Isaac, the son of Ruth who was the daughter-in-law to Naomi, and many others.
In the foregoing account, death had fallen upon the hope of a needy widow. Having been dependent upon her son, all resource and support are gone. How faithless man is. We never turn to God unless driven to it. Alas, many do not then!
Yet it was God who had allowed this distress in her life.
Twice in these verses we are told that there were "much people". But the day following the burial, where would they be? No one would be left to support a needy, lonesome, forlorn soul, bereft of all stay. Much people could not give the comfort of God. Only this will do for the heart of man yearning for rest of soul in the turbulent vicissitudes of this life. Death had enclosed all.
Jesus is always present where there is an exigency.
"And when the Lord saw her, he had compassion on her" (Luke 7:13).
Little did this widow know that there was one Eye which saw all and cared-One who was able to take the place of husband, son, or brother. "There is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother" (Prov. 18:24).
As she passed toward the gate of the city, she turned to see Jesus standing beside her. There is nothing we can notice which would indicate that she had ever seen Him before, had ever heard kind words from His lips, or felt the comfort of His presence or a demonstration of His power.
How much a soul can learn in a few moments about God through Jesus, if in His presence and in want. Was it not so with the thief on the cross with Jesus, as he heard and believed the words, "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do"? He immediately passed from the jaws of hell into the paradise of God. At this hour of deep sorrow and bereavement, a poor soul, at the very bottom of despair, is to discover hope in resurrection life. Such are the ways of our God-always faithful as a Creator God (1 Peter 4:19). Do not say that you have never had an opportunity to come and be blessed; He is right now standing at the door. She learns compassion, comfort, and love, as well as vital truth.
"Weep Not" (Luke 7:13).
Who was this who could speak with such compassion? Dear friend, have you never heard the voice of the Son of God, the One who in His time shall wipe all tears away? Would it not be good to hear those words of compassion now before eternal weeping begins? He can turn that night of weeping into eternal day now. When He comes, it will be forever too late (John 5:24; 1 John 1:7).
How much passes in our lives until we are brought to a sense of our personal necessity. It is this that introduces us to Jesus, as it was with this widow. Here stands a Man, the Son of man, with a beating heart, to assume all of the liabilities of this destitute widow. There she stands, a helpless creature, in the presence of her Creator who had become a Man, not to judge, for He had not come for that, blessed Savior, but to wipe her tears and to place all of her hopes in resurrection life. Perfect love acts without any thought of receiving anything in return; it just gives. This was new to man. He had no capacity to take it in. Even this capacity must be furnished-the creature had nothing good in himself.
This Capacity Is New Birth.
Here we find the very God of hope Himself-the One whose own heart is the origin and the full efficacy of love, compassion, comfort, rest, and hope. He stands beside the bier of His creature with the power of resurrection, in His hand. He is about to undo the works of Satan. Once He said to Martha, "I am the Resurrection and the Life." He touches the bier. An Israelite would be defiled-not Jesus. He has annulled the power of death. What grace it is to know Him. One word from His lips, and death flees.
"Young man, I say unto thee, Arise. And he that was dead sat up, and began to speak. And he delivered him to his mother" (Luke 7:14,15).
It was a marvelous visitation by the God of heaven that day, in the Person of His Son, where all hope was gone! Her heart drank in the blessing-life in resurrection. Not one word was heard from the widow-first overcome with bitter, bitter grief-then overcome with joy, everlasting joy.
Who can take in the profound depths of love and grace that would so act-restoring the son to his mother, taking nothing again? Here is perfect goodness found only in God. This is the way that God wishes to make Himself known.
Learning thus the beginning of heavenly things, life in resurrection, the soul is set at liberty, having its hope outside of a scene of death.
"All death behind, all life before."
The Widow of the City
The fourth widow has an adversary. Only one who has life in resurrection can appreciate this. The adversary with whom the heavenly man has to contend is living in the heavenly places (Eph. 6:12; Rev. 12: '7, 8). If our life is there, the enemy would seek to rob us of the joy of our new position and what belongs to it. The believer needs the whole armor of God in order to withstand this adversary.
"And He spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint; Saying, There was in a city a judge, which feared not God, neither regarded man: And there was a widow in that city; and she came unto him, saying, Avenge me of mine adversary. And he would not for a while: but afterward he said within himself, Though I fear not God, nor regard man; Yet because this widow troubleth me, I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me. And the Lord said, Hear what the unjust judge saith. And shall not God avenge his own elect, which cry day and night unto him, though he bear long with them? I tell you that he will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth? (Luke 18:1-8)
Many believers become discouraged when they see their life in resurrection but are unable to enjoy the new position because of the adversary who would withstand them. They may have learned constancy as Anna did, to walk in companionship and rejection as the woman of Sidon, and to prize the hope as the widow of Nain, but they have not yet discovered the protection from the enemy and his power. It is God in Christ who is everything to us.
Without faith it is impossible to please Him. Jesus is not seen with this widow. Every element is against her. She has only one way to turn-to God in childlike confidence. According to the account, she cried day and night. Was it because God was unwilling to hear? Indeed not. He heard the very first utterance. How He loves to have us in His presence! Is it not sad that the God who has gone to such lengths to have us must put us into trying circumstances in order to get us into His presence?
In the case before us, the widow has a real test, because the judge to whom she must present her needs is unjust and fears not God nor man. What can she do in such a dilemma? She presents her petition to the unjust judge, having recognized God's government upon her, to which she submits. There is recorded no effort on her part to seek help elsewhere, simply submit and pray. "The king's heart is in the hand of the LORD, as the rivers of water: he turneth it whithersoever he will" (Prov. 21:1).
This widow who has an adversary finds in Christ her only Protector. This is a difficult lesson for us to learn. It is hard, indeed, to turn from what the five senses suggest-from all that we have in nature as a prop.
Since the Great Shepherd has undertaken to take us to heaven, will He not see us through the wilderness? What leanness for those whose arm is the flesh! Good, indeed, for us were we reduced to trust wholly in the Lord for everything.
Are we buying that which is not bread? How great an emphasis is made today upon the subject of security. By much the same token, was there ever a day when there was so much prosperity and so little calling upon God,-so little trust?
The verse in the center of the Bible is: "It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in man" (Psa. 118:8). "It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in princes" (Psa. 118:9).
A Certain Poor Widow
"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" (Luke 21:2,3).
The eye of God was upon this poor widow. Jesus observed what she did. A movement towards Him in any way never escapes His notice. He values all that comes from the heart, be it ever so small. If the motive is wrong, what good is the gift?
Man arrived in this world very much dependent. He is continually so, nor could any creature of God be otherwise. The mind of man has sought to change this, and Adam's race gives every indication of it. The Lord Jesus, on the contrary, never moved except in dependence, from the very moment He was born into this world until He lay His blessed head upon His breast in death.
The prodigal had to learn that he had sinned and was destitute. Job learned that he was vile. Isaiah discovered in God's presence that he was a man of unclean lips. To learn that in my flesh dwells no good thing, and in the language of Psa. 16, to feel "Preserve me, O God: for in thee do I put my trust"-is godly knowledge indeed. To be poor in ourselves and to have all of our trust in the Savior is to be rich indeed.
How much had the rich cast into the treasury? Of their abundance. This poor widow cast in two mites out of her need. It was her living and all that she had. It is recorded in God's Word that she cast into the treasury of God more than they all. Such is the estimate of the divine sanctuary.
Whatever is given is not a gift unless it is felt as a sacrifice. How often the sense of self-preservation comes first and hinders the soul from presenting a sacrifice.
In Luke 20, verses 45-47, and chapter 21, verse 1, the hearts of the scribes are exposed as those who wish to make a show before men. This shows what they love and the desire for prominence-long robes, greetings in the markets, highest seats in the synagogues, and chief rooms at feasts. Also in public they make long prayers, which really belong in private. The same shall receive greater damnation.
The jewel merchant seeks out a dark background, as black, blue, or purple velvet, upon which he displays his gems. For the display of the precious stone in the picture of this fifth widow, the Lord chooses the darkest moral background that He can find-a religious professor who refuses the Christ of God. Such will cause the "certain poor widow" to stand in relief at the treasury of God. The varied prisms are already conveying the light shining through them. "But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin" (1 John 1:7).
The believer is always in the light. This can never change forever. Do we walk day by day according to the light? Have we cast our all into the treasury of God, or do we keep a trust in man just in case the first trust fails us? Strange, indeed, our failing hearts, that we can trust God for eternity as to our souls and eternal happiness, but not for today. If this be our case, we have yet to experience the joy of this "certain poor widow" who has left her cares with stronger hands than her own-hands that are willing to assume the place of Savior of the body.
At last the prodigal has come all of the way home in experience. Nothing is left now but what the servants will take care of-the best robe, ring, shoes, and to feed upon the fatted calf.
How the Lord's heart must be grieved not to find among His own more "certain poor widows". "I will not fail thee, nor forsake thee" (Josh. 1:5).
What a discovery to find that Christ is everything. May He help us to quickly cast all into the treasury of God and lean hard upon the everlasting arms.
Is there a grace that exceeds the grandeur of such elevation and security which a bereaved widow finds, as she rests completely upon the arm of the only Man, who, having taken on a human body, dying, and being raised, can stand as the Daysman to bridge the gulf that must forever separate Adam's race from all blessing?
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