WIDOWS
WIDOWS
Luke 2:36 - 38; Luke 7:11 - 16; Luke 18:1 - 8; Luke 21:1 - 4
I have in mind, dear brethren, to speak about widows as they are viewed in this gospel. They have a unique place in this gospel, and these four of whom I have read include all the widows spoken of in the sense of being examples, or as representing features of the truth. The Lord indeed alludes to a widow of whom I have not read, but not to one in current history then, but in past history — the widow of Sarepta — and His allusion shows that widowhood in itself need not be representative of what is of God, for He says, “There were many widows in Israel in the days of Elias ... and to none of them was Elias sent but to Sarepta”, Luke 4:26 — that is outside the limits of Israel. He says, he was sent “to a woman that was a widow”. She was singled out and honoured of God, but, as I said, she was not in current history and those of whom I have read were in current history. The Lord so regards them and they represent or include all the widows in current history at the time; such, I mean, as are used to illustrate the truth, and in what I have to say tonight, dear brethren, I am not intending at all to occupy you with past history merely, but with current history. There are those indeed who carry on what they regard as the service of the Lord and deal in past events and future events, but what the Spirit has to say to the churches at any given time alludes to what is current. Indeed, one has often remarked, and it is well to observe it, Scripture always speaks to the person who reads it — it has him in mind — or to the persons who may hear him read it. And so it is tonight as I have read these scriptures, they speak to me, and they speak to you, to all of us, so that we might learn something of [p. 2] widowhood and whether we are in it in any sense — in any of those four senses spoken of in these scriptures.
Luke has in mind the women he presents to help us in regard to the assembly, more particularly its public aspect. John also has in mind to help us as to the assembly, but more as to its spiritual or inward aspect. Matthew, too, has the assembly in his mind in his gospel, but in its administrative capacity. Luke would occupy us with seemliness in our public relations, and ornamentation, too. These four scriptures afford considerable instruction as to the public position of the saints as moving or walking in relation to the assembly, as of it. What you get, dear brethren, in the first instance, is a very old widow. The book indeed occupies us at the outset with old persons, but concurrently with young persons and in the public history of the assembly, these two features always appear. One generation comes and passes away, as we are told, and another comes, but the coming one is concurrent to a point with the one passing away, and the function of the one passing away is, in a great measure, to carry forward substantially and in an exemplary way what existed in the immediate past, so that there is a consecutive history in the assembly — the passing-away generation furnishing the coming one and so on, and hence the importance of old brothers and sisters maintaining freshness in their outlook and conversation, not occupying us unduly with their earlier days, although it is well to keep the earlier days in mind, and what they learnt from the generation that was passing away as they came in; but then also what they are themselves, for we are not historians, whether oral or in the sense of writing. A mere historian in Christianity is a bore and answerable to nobody, whereas one who is in the enjoyment of the things he has in his mind and who has added to them, not anything extremist, but what is in keeping with them, is a help; he can [p. 3] be listened to. He passes away in triumph and leaves something in the way of example as well as in the way of instruction and information with the coming generation. In Luke this is exactly how he presents the truth. He introduces to us two old people. No doubt, if one were enquiring as to the brethren in this city one would enquire about the older ones, and it is well to enquire, too. There are those who stretch back a long way and have had something to do, perhaps, with the recovery of the truth in this city. So Luke would just present to you that sort of thing. He introduces to us two old people — exemplary people, too, outwardly. You could not find anything to complain of as to their way of doing, their movements and services. Indeed Zacharias is serving in the order of his priesthood, so that the casual eye would see nothing but what was right. Elizabeth, too, is highly commended, but we are immediately told that they were accustomed to pray for things which they did not expect to get. That is a very poor thing in old brothers and sisters, and indeed, so serious is it in the mind of heaven that the brother, the responsible person, Zacharias, is stricken with dumbness for a period. Elizabeth holds her ground and joins in with the work of God, the fresh work of God that was coming in Mary. She joins with that most happily. It is a very beautiful thing to see the older ones joining in with a fresh movement, for God delights in freshness and takes up young people, seemly people, suitable people, prepared people, in order to inaugurate something fresh; and how beautiful it is when the older ones join in that, are thoroughly in it — and that is what you get in Elizabeth. She and Mary had a delightful time in the hill country of Judaea. Zacharias had to wait for nine months or so — a very poor time he must have had in his dumbness. He could say nothing. It was judicial, and we must not assume that although [p. 4] grace is reigning God is not acting judicially, because He is acting judicially. And so Zacharias has to suffer, but then he suffered profitably, for as soon as his tongue is loosed he praises God. They are his best days; he is entirely free from all personal and natural feelings, because instead of speaking of his son, glorifying his son, he glorifies Christ, that is, he has Christ in mind — the dayspring — this fresh glorious thought is in his mind.
Then in chapter 2 we have two old people, that is, Simeon and Anna. I am speaking, of course, about widows, and I proceed to speak about Anna. She is said to be a very old person and that is what I have in mind in referring to her first in the midst of young people, in the midst of a great movement of God, the introduction of Jesus here on earth, a babe in the temple. Well, she is of great age, we are told, but she is thoroughly in the thing. It would perhaps be questionable in some of your minds to say she was a very, very old person, but actually she must have been more than one hundred, for I take it that she was actually in widowhood for eighty-four years. But how honourably and how beautifully she is mentioned in her earlier days. She lived with her husband for seven years. There is not a flaw, beloved friends, as far as the Spirit of God is concerned, in this person. She is of great age, knowing widowhood as perhaps no one in her times knew it, but she is completely above her circumstances. She is energetic. I need not enlarge on her because she is known so well amongst us, thank God. I am speaking of her now for one purpose. I am speaking to the older ones to begin with here. How she carried down — how far back she must have gone. I believe the intent is to the spiritual mind that she carried down conditions depicted in Malachi to conditions in this great intervention of God, that is, the old dispensation in all that it was, spiritually, is embodied [p. 5] in this wonderful widow, showing that there was no hiatus, as it were, in the testimony of God. It was carried down in quality from the one dispensation to the other. Correspondingly in any communication of God in any city or country in the world, any fresh energy of the Spirit, there is no thought whatever of disregarding what preceded it. Whatever is of God is to be accumulated and carried down, not only by historic means, but in a substantial way by those who might otherwise be overwhelmed with their circumstances, that is Anna. She is in the temple night and day, as we are told, and she came in at that instant when Simeon was speaking so beautifully, so prophetically, of Jesus. She came in at that instant. She came in at the right moment. Here are two people who are thoroughly at one in regard of Christ, in regard of this new great intervention of God. They are thoroughly at one and she in a way exceeding Simeon in activities and in priestly feelings. She spoke of Jesus. She spoke of the Lord to all those who looked for redemption in Jerusalem; that is to say, with her there would be no question of occupying the disinterested ones. It is a question of the interested ones. There are interested ones today. It is delightful in moving about the world to see the interested ones, the interest in their faces and feelings, in their demeanour, in their attitude towards the truth. She is engaged with interested ones, and she is engaged with them energetically, night and day in the temple, maintaining relations with God in His temple. She spoke to all those who looked for redemption in Jerusalem, and that is all I had to say about her.
Now I pass on to the second scripture — a very different picture, still a widow; and Luke records the Lord Jesus as having to say to her, not she to Him, as in Anna’s case. The Lord is still a babe in Anna’s day, but now He is in active service and He is having [p. 6] to say to her, and although this is a beautiful gospel text, I am not speaking of it from that point of view, but as bringing in the widow features as applying to us at any given time. I would be very simple and pointed, and you will bear with me in any remarks that may perhaps cut against our feelings. Her position is favourable — it is naturally favourable. I would say, dear brethren, that that is a dangerous thing for Christians, not that we are not to enjoy things. God gives us all things richly to enjoy. The ungodly unconverted enjoy them but not as we enjoy them. Rain comes down on them and the sun shines on them, but there is no giving of thanks with them. There is no return to God; they are sinning against heaven, in that sense, in God’s sight, as the prodigal did. But, dear brethren, Christians may be in very comfortable circumstances, the prospect pleases, everything is just what might be desired. I have no doubt that the common idea of Nain is that it was favourable. It was set in a good prospect. Although this was a widow, she was set in a good prospect. It was evidently a pleasing place. That is a dangerous state of things amongst the people of God. I do not say that it is illegitimate, not at all, for God prospers us as our souls prosper, and there are those He can trust these material things to; but then He says, if you are not faithful with these things you are not going to be entrusted with greater things than these; that is obvious, and the danger is that we have a nice meeting, a nice business, a nice house and car. I am not speaking against these things themselves, but to bring out what may exist. There is a serpent in it, and it has to be watched. God allows it to go on. This disaster occurred in the woman’s house. This boy was probably the delight of her heart. He was an only son. How delightful an only son is; how a widowed heart would cherish an only son; her only hope in all this prospect around [p. 7] in which he might one day shine. We may bring up our children and educate them, and all that goes with it, in order that they may shine in this prospect. God loves us too well to allow this. The boy dies. The widow’s heart is robbed of its object, but God intends that that heart is to be filled with a restored son. He was the only son, we are told, of his mother and she was a widow. Now he is to be restored. We are told that there were a good many with her at the funeral. She was a person in favour, and that is quite possible with brethren — to be in good favour. I do not say that it should not be, but the more we accept the reproach of Christ, the less we will be in favour. It is said of the Lord that He grew in favour with God and with men, and quite right to a point, and quite wrong beyond that. The more we accept the reproach of Christ the less we will be in favour. She had a large funeral apparently, but then the Lord is on the other course. He has a good many with Him; He has the disciples with Him. Thank God for the many Christians there are today. Let nobody be afraid of numbers — of numbers of true disciples. There were a good many with the Lord. He loves to have His disciples with Him, He looks for it, especially as He is moving along in the testimony, as it is here. He touched the bier and says, “Young man, I say unto thee, Arise”. If there is any young man or young woman here who has been brought up with worldly prospects in any sense, in any legitimate sense, it is for you to pay attention, for this young man died. It might have been said that there was not a young man in Nain that could be spared less than this young man. He was taken. The Lord knows where to strike. He knows where to strike in love, where to touch us, and then it is to give us back infinitely more than we had expected, and how different now is the prospect! The young man, we are told, “sat up, and began to speak”. Think of what [p. 8] might be read into this. If we look at it spiritually this young man is back from the dead. What would he speak about? Normally, what would he speak of? What would anybody ask him about? If I were to see him I would ask him something about his experience. He began to speak. The idea is that the thing is begun. Something that was needed is begun, and he is now given back to his mother. What a conversation they would have, dear brethren, as the pall-bearers and the funeral people dispersed, and as they were alone, what a conversation they would have! What speaking! A young man come back from the dead, and is that not what is needed? It is not oratory that we can learn in the schools and colleges, it is learning how to speak according to God. Zacharias began to speak after he was dumb. This young man was dead and he began to speak, after he was dead, now that he was risen. That is the sort of speaking, that is the speaking that enriches the saints — the assembly: the speaking of one who has had this experience; and so the testimony is greatly enhanced, because it is said that God has visited His people. All these happenings — if God comes into a family in this way, that has been looking towards the earth or the world, converts young people, touches them as to their baptism, enables them to take the ground of their baptism, take the ground of their being risen with Christ, and to speak accordingly, what is the effect? Something has happened. A great prophet has risen up. The testimony is to Christ and to God — that God has visited His people. Is it not worth while? That is how the testimony goes on. It is in these visitations of God, a present application is seen in the speaking of life, the speaking that marks one who has been in death and come out of it in the power of the Spirit.
I come on to speak of the third widow, chapter 18. Here we have still a different view. It is no longer a [p. 9] bright prospect. It is a city sure enough, but it is no longer Nain. The saints viewed in this light are in great distress, and the more spiritual we are, the more apart from the world we are, the more we feel these things. The adversary — this woman had an adversary. The more we are with God in widow state in this sense, the more we shall feel it. It is keenly felt. How is this to be met? Last week we had a bright week; things were bright and cheerful amongst us. This week something has happened — the adversary has got in. How quickly things of this kind come up. The souls of the saints are wrung with distress. They are baffled. How can it be met? There is no man to help us. It is a widow, bereft of her husband. God tests us in this way. Gloom is apt to settle down upon us and I might say surrender, but not with this widow. See what she had to contend with. Here is a judge who does not care about God or about man. The circumstances are most difficult, but the Lord says they are intended to be that. They are intended to be difficult. The case of the widow of Nain was intended, and this case was intended to bring out the latent power of faith in the saints. If we are Christians at all God has put us in these circumstances to bring out the latent sensibilities and instincts that we have and we are resolved that there can be no abandonment of the position. The way out is prayer. “Men ought always to pray”, as the Lord says, “Always to pray and not to faint”, Luke 18:1. We can see how practical this is, and how unless we take it home we shall be overwhelmed. Some will give up; some will turn aside; some will say, ‘I cannot go to that unjust man, I cannot persevere in that’. But the Lord is picturing difficult circumstances, and He is directing your heart, not to a difficult ungodly man, but to God, for we pray to God, not to unjust judges. God would keep us away from them as regards actual judges, but the Lord is picturing a difficult case and [p. 10] He is showing that faith triumphs in spite of difficulties. “Men ought always to pray and not to faint”. If we look back at our histories, we shall readily discern these very circumstances having marked us time and time again, and how did we get out of it? We got out of it in this way, as we persevered in prayer. God will not fail. He bears long with the persons who are praying. They are not trying Him. He bears long as to them. We have to learn the patience of God; God is bearing long with the adversary. As to us, He is keeping His eye on us. He has great patience as to the adversary. He hopes that it may be that he will deliver himself from the snare of the devil, and God is working out His own thoughts in our souls all the while. Here it is a question of God’s elect. If one were to take up the thought of the elect, how much could be said about it. It is a question of God’s sovereign election of us in these circumstances. He has elected us in these circumstances. They are as much a part of His election as the other, because He brings out the latent power there is through His own work in His elect. The Lord says, to use the figure, He will indeed avenge His own elect, although He bears long as to them. Let us not thwart the purpose of God in being impatient in circumstances. God has long patience in regard to the adversary, but He has His eye on us, and the thing will come to an end. As the parable shows, the unjust judge grants the petition because of the perseverance in prayer.
Finally, in chapter 21, we have the well-known instance of the widow who gave two mites. She has a fitting place. She is on a level with Anna; she is a sister of Anna — a spiritual woman, and the Spirit of God brings her in here. The Lord having not to say to her, but to us of her. It is one thing to have the Lord speak to you. He loves to do it, too, but it is another thing to have Him speak of you. It is one [p. 11] of the most interesting things to hear what divine Persons say of the saints. I believe that very largely the conversation in heaven is in regard of the saints. We can understand it, in a way prove it, in the way that the more spiritual we are as brethren, the more our conversations would be about the saints — I mean the saints in relation to God, in relation to Christ as the inheritance of God. What spiritual people do, what marks them down here, reflects what is in heaven, and I have not a doubt, I have not any hesitation in saying that the theme of holy conversation up there has to do with the saints. Think of our being the subject of conversation up there. One could prove it from many scriptures, how the saints are the theme up there. Divine persons speak to one another, of each other to each other, but they do love to speak of the saints. The Lord is interceding, we are told. “... he ever liveth to make intercession”. That means that He is speaking about the saints from that point of view constantly. How sorrowful if He has to speak of our naughtiness. He intercedes — He ever liveth to intercede for us. He is now speaking of this woman. He was watching at the treasury of God and she came there and cast in all her living. Scripture does not say, He knew everything divinely. There cannot be a doubt that He knew everything divinely, that He knew in detail exactly what that woman had. He knew much more about her than the Spirit of God tells us here. He was watching. He was looking on as to what was happening, and this woman came and cast in all her living into the treasury of God. That is a beautiful view of the saints, if indeed we can be so regarded in a concrete way. All her living. But then what a living! What must have entered into that living! The actual mites, the actual coins, are deposited in the treasury of God. What does it mean, dear friends? It means simply that the saints have turned around completely from mere prosperity in [p. 12] this world. They have turned around completely and all that they have is now in relation to the treasury of God. It is a question of promoting what is of God in this world. What a spectacle for heaven is that! Everyone who acts like this woman becomes the peculiar theme of conversation in heaven. There is no unjust judge here. There is no one persecuting here. It is the saints turning around entirely from mere selfishness and being occupied with gain in this world, to use what they have under their hand in relation to the testimony of God. That is the final widow in this book, and what a finish!
So the Lord goes on to speak immediately (circumstances brought it up) of the temple that was then there made of stones. He says, “... there shall not be left one stone upon another”, Luke 21:6. What did he have in His mind? Do you think He had forgotten this woman? He had carried her forward in His mind. Suppose there is somebody today who loves Christ in any little way occupied with Him and promoting His interests, and found in religious associations not in keeping with Him, the Lord would say that person is in associations far inferior to him. It is no question of the evil that may be there. It is not good enough for him, and so I would say to anybody here tonight who loves Jesus, who loves God, who in the bottom of his heart would like to promote His interests but in some way is associated with something that is connected with the world, some association that is unwarranted by Scripture, I am not saying anything about the evil, but it is not good enough for you there is something better than that. The Lord virtually says, This great building is not good enough for this woman. That gift of hers belongs to something greater than this. The Lord would bring you to see that He has a building of living stones and that He is the head of the corner and that the treasury of God is there and that your giving belongs there, not [p. 13] where you are. It is not good enough for you. God has reserved some better things for us, and amongst these better things is the assembly, formed of living stones. Christ Himself is the builder and there are treasuries in it and the Lord would say to you, That is your place, and your giving is to be there.
That is all. I trust these remarks will help us in this city and those of us who are visiting as to this widow character of things and the various features it instructs us in, and particularly that we should see the better thing, what God has brought in, the greater and more perfect tabernacle, where the interests of those who love Him are. May God bless His word to us.