The Orphan And Widow
It seems clear that in God’s heart under the general heading of the “Oppressed Poor,” there are two groups of people that are a priority to Him. They are addressed countless times in the scriptures and nothing gets his ire up more than people who take advantage of them. On the other side of the equation, I also think that nothing touches His heart more deeply than those who take up their cause and seek Justice on their behalf.
Obviously, I am referring to the Orphan and Widow. These two people groups of society are the weakest and most vulnerable under oppression.
Orphans were brought into the world without a say in the matter. Whether their parents were the victims of war, starvation, AIDS or they have been abandoned, they are powerless to fight for themselves. Unless someone else does, they have a death sentence hanging over their heads.
The same could be said of widows, in that they too are in a situation not by their own choice. Often in the later years of their lives without the physical strength to work, or unable to work due to cultural prejudices, they are abandoned and alone. They are seen as a liability and not a productive member of the community.
The scriptures are very straightforward about how God sees them and their situation and leaves little to question. In fact our actions towards these two groups significantly define how God views the reality of our faith;
This is pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father, to visit orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world.
James 1:27
The prophet Isaiah proclaimed:
Learn to do right! Seek justice, encourage the oppressed. Defend the cause of the fatherless, plead the case of the widow.
Isaiah 1:17
In looking at this quote further, I noticed that he actually laid out a great strategy for taking up their cause:
- learn to: In others words get proactive and learn about the plight of the orphan and the widow. Do your research.
- do good/right: Pretty straightforward and again get proactive. Do something about it, no room for passivity here.
- seek justice: This is another proactive action…seeking. This is not waiting for it to come to you, look for ways to establish justice.
- encourage the oppressed: Again be proactive and do not keep your mouth shut.
- defend the orphan or “defend the fatherless”: Get proactive and fight on behalf of the orphan.
- plead for the widow: I think it is clear, that as God is proactive so we should be too - plead for the widow
