Wisdom Wednesday: The Wise Widow at The Temple

 Dear readers,

As I have mentioned over the past few weeks, I have been busy preparing for an online writer’s conference; amid this, my parents have been taking care of my nieces as they traveled on a much-needed vacation together. Things have been a little chaotic around here; that’s why I decided to give myself a break and skip “Music Monday” for this week. I think as things calm down and get back to normal, it will return next week. In the meantime, my dad offered to step in as I focus my attention on my surprise for “Faithful Friday.” Yes, I’ve worked on it all week, and things are finally coming together… Wait till you see what I have in store for you!

Anyway, back to today’s “Wisdom Wednesday."

The Wise Widow at the Temple                    

 The Bible expresses God’s care for women who have lost their husbands. God is the “protector of the widows” (Psalm 68:5); He “upholds the widow and the fatherless” (Psalm 146:9). Even in Job’s time, he recognized that the wicked sought to oppress and cheat the widows (Job 24:3, 21) because of their fragility. God specifically instructed his people not to take advantage of the widows and orphans (Exodus 22:22) and to care for them out of their abundance (Deuteronomy 24). When warning a foreign nation of the coming destruction because of their wickedness and hatred for God’s people, God assures that He will save the orphans and the widows from destruction (Jeremiah 49:11).

Widows understand the deep sense of loss and often live a life of loneliness and frugality. This was likely the case in Jesus’ time when widows were cared for by their families as they aged. 

The Gospels record one unique occasion where Jesus praised the wise devotion of a widow as He and His disciples were observing activities in Jerusalem. People were placing their offerings in large trumpet-shaped offering receptacles, and apparently, by the sound it was easy to hear if someone dropped a large number of coins in the receptacle:

And he sat down opposite the treasury and watched the people putting money into the offering box. Many rich people put in large sums. And a poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which make a penny. And he called his disciples to him and said to them, “Truly, I say to you, this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the offering box. For they all contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had, all she had to live on.” Mark 12:41-44 ESV

Jesus singled out the unnamed widow (you will likely meet her in heaven, and then you may know her real name) because of her worship in giving all she had to live on. Her offering was sacrificial; it was her all. She trusted the Lord for her daily bread tomorrow.

Why do we consider this dear woman to be wise? It is because she demonstrated the most fundamental elements of Godly wisdom:

·         She feared God in reverence, and expressed her reverence in sacrificial giving to Jehovah. (Proverbs 9:10" The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, And the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.)

·         Her humility was evident as Jesus pointed out (and the disciples must have recognized) she was poor and a widow coming alone.  And her small offering may have been apparent to all (two coins do not make a racket).  (Proverbs 11:2 But with the humble is wisdom)

Her wise devotion by offering her all brought praise from God’s Son, who would soon become her Savior as He gave his life for her. She gave her all to Him; He gave His all to save her.