Have you ever noticed how many times we are commanded in scripture to take care of the widow, the orphan, and the stranger? Or to love our neighbor as ourselves?
In the times of Scripture, if people did not have a male head of household, they were immediately the poorest of the poor and extremely vulnerable due to not being able to own anything. Wealth couldn't be passed down. Land couldn't be passed down. People were left trying to figure out how to survive.
Think of Ruth and Naomi, who after the death of their husbands returned to Bethlehem and were dependent upon the kindness of Boaz who let them glean in his fields.
So when we have a widow who is as destitute as the one in 1 Kings 17, no one has followed scripture. No one has taken care of her as a widow. No one has loved her as a neighbor.
What would it look like to love our neighbor today? To take care of the widow, the orphan, and the stranger? How are we being called to share the love of God?
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