would like to know what you think about this.

What do you think it means to cover a widow?

What do you think it means to cover an orphan?

Why is it necessary?

One way of looking at it is as being a covering in prayer.. a wife has
her husband.. the child with parents living has their parents as
coverings.. A widow or an orphan does not have these things..So prayer
wise it means watching over and being a prayer covering. There is also
the physical aspect of life.. food, clothing and shelter, these days
government has taken over many of these things with social service
programs. But people should be looking to see where they can step in and
fill in the gaps left in the lives of widows and orphans.. These days is
not so much widows as single mothers, or even single fathers. I am a
single mother and the people in my church blessed me and my daughter
tremendously over the years. Even though I worked full time, and
provided for us, there were still extras that we couldnt always do...
little things like going out to lunch after church on Sunday or
sometimes help things around the house. I hope this answers your
question.

Are we not entreated to do just that... Take care of widows and orphans
in both the old and new testaments within the Bible.

As well as the Quran.

Umm..

the Torah says to do this.
the Bible says to do this.
the Quran says to do this.

God has spoken.

oh oh oh!!!

AB....i am an orphan....and i have an extra bike!

Would that be a bicycle built for two?

interesting topic AB!

As I fit into both catagories, but being the "younger" widow, the Church
is not entitled to "aid" me in the sense that I am a widow. Now if I
were in some financial need as anyone else in the Church, that is
possible. But in the sense of financially aiding widows on only the
merit that they are a widow..they are to be "a widow indeed" over a
certain age. The younger widows are told to marry, bear children, etc.

Thanks for the topic

Wow!

I had no idea that the church could put an age limit on 'widow'.

It really matters not to me if the crutch likes it or not.

There is an obligation upon all the righteous to aid the widow and those
that are orphaned. To say 'marry' is to deny that widow a time to
grieve. What a shamefull practice.

Without that time of grief a widow will never be able to truly love
another. Without that love a new union would be an uneven yoke and
doomed to failure.

no no no I think you missed what I was trying to say...see I Timothy ch
5...Paul admonishes young widows to remarry for the reason of being
young. However, there is not at all a specific time mentioned that they
should grieve and/or remarry,IF they choose to.

Grief, in my experience having talked with many other young widows over
my 8 yrs, varies from one to another. Some remarry fairly quickly, some
years later and some never. Grief is very different from one person to
the other and much depends on the circumstances under which the spouse
died...i.e...suicide deaths are different some times because of the
added "stuff" that comes with that.

But, thankfully, God does not give us a time table on grief, or a
direct command to remarry. Paul, however does give us his insightful
thoughts.

My Grandma lived as a widow for 46 years. She said she was married to
the one only one she wanted.

to the only one.......sorry

I struggled for answers about marriage for a long time being my Ex was
divorced and here is what I have found :

1 Corinthians 7
Marriage

1Now for the matters you wrote about: It is good for a man not to
marry.[a] 2But since there is so much immorality, each man should have
his own wife, and each woman her own husband. 3The husband should
fulfill his marital duty to his wife, and likewise the wife to her
husband. 4The wife's body does not belong to her alone but also to her
husband. In the same way, the husband's body does not belong to him
alone but also to his wife. 5Do not deprive each other except by mutual
consent and for a time, so that you may devote yourselves to prayer.
Then come together again so that Satan will not tempt you because of
your lack of self-control. 6I say this as a concession, not as a
command. 7I wish that all men were as I am. But each man has his own
gift from God; one has this gift, another has that.

8Now to the unmarried and the widows I say: It is good for them to stay
unmarried, as I am. 9But if they cannot control themselves, they should
marry, for it is better to marry than to burn with passion.

10To the married I give this command (not I, but the Lord): A wife must
not separate from her husband. 11But if she does, she must remain
unmarried or else be reconciled to her husband. And a husband must not
divorce his wife.

12To the rest I say this (I, not the Lord): If any brother has a wife
who is not a believer and she is willing to live with him, he must not
divorce her. 13And if a woman has a husband who is not a believer and he
is willing to live with her, she must not divorce him. 14For the
unbelieving husband has been sanctified through his wife, and the
unbelieving wife has been sanctified through her believing husband.
Otherwise your children would be unclean, but as it is, they are holy.

15But if the unbeliever leaves, let him do so. A believing man or woman
is not bound in such circumstances; God has called us to live in peace.
16How do you know, wife, whether you will save your husband? Or, how do
you know, husband, whether you will save your wife?

17Nevertheless, each one should retain the place in life that the Lord
assigned to him and to which God has called him. This is the rule I lay
down in all the churches. 18Was a man already circumcised when he was
called? He should not become uncircumcised. Was a man uncircumcised when
he was called? He should not be circumcised. 19Circumcision is nothing
and uncircumcision is nothing. Keeping God's commands is what counts.
20Each one should remain in the situation which he was in when God
called him. 21Were you a slave when you were called? Don't let it
trouble you—although if you can gain your freedom, do so. 22For he who
was a slave when he was called by the Lord is the Lord's freedman;
similarly, he who was a free man when he was called is Christ's slave.
23You were bought at a price; do not become slaves of men. 24Brothers,
each man, as responsible to God, should remain in the situation God
called him to.

25Now about virgins: I have no command from the Lord, but I give a
judgment as one who by the Lord's mercy is trustworthy. 26Because of the
present crisis, I think that it is good for you to remain as you are.
27Are you married? Do not seek a divorce. Are you unmarried? Do not look
for a wife. 28But if you do marry, you have not sinned; and if a virgin
marries, she has not sinned. But those who marry will face many troubles
in this life, and I want to spare you this.

29What I mean, brothers, is that the time is short. From now on those
who have wives should live as if they had none; 30those who mourn, as if
they did not; those who are happy, as if they were not; those who buy
something, as if it were not theirs to keep; 31those who use the things
of the world, as if not engrossed in them. For this world in its present
form is passing away.

32I would like you to be free from concern. An unmarried man is
concerned about the Lord's affairs—how he can please the Lord. 33But a
married man is concerned about the affairs of this world—how he can
please his wife— 34and his interests are divided. An unmarried woman or
virgin is concerned about the Lord's affairs: Her aim is to be devoted
to the Lord in both body and spirit. But a married woman is concerned
about the affairs of this world—how she can please her husband. 35I am
saying this for your own good, not to restrict you, but that you may
live in a right way in undivided devotion to the Lord.

36If anyone thinks he is acting improperly toward the virgin he is
engaged to, and if she is getting along in years and he feels he ought
to marry, he should do as he wants. He is not sinning. They should get
married. 37But the man who has settled the matter in his own mind, who
is under no compulsion but has control over his own will, and who has
made up his mind not to marry the virgin—this man also does the right
thing. 38So then, he who marries the virgin does right, but he who does
not marry her does even better.

39A woman is bound to her husband as long as he lives. But if her
husband dies, she is free to marry anyone she wishes, but he must belong
to the Lord. 40In my judgment, she is happier if she stays as she is—and
I think that I too have the Spirit of God.

That was for Auburngirl.......

thank you...that I Cor vs was the other I was going to refer to. I
struggled early on because in I Cor Paul advises young widows, or rather
widows to remain unmarried, yet in his letter to Timothy he advises the
younger widows to remarry. I asked my minister about this as it seemed
inconsistant to me. He told me of the things going on at the time of
Paul's letter to the Corinthians how they were in the midst of famine
etc and that at that point in time it was better to remain unmarried.
He advised me that in Paul's letter to Timothy, where he states the
Reasons why a younger widow should ih his opinion remarry...he advised
me there is absolutely nothing wrong with a widow choosing to remarry if
she wishes as it clearly states you not longer "bound" to the marriage
if the spouse is deceased.

AP....

Alpine.
Very good scriptures. The widow that is called a true widow is one who
has no family ( any realtion) to help her. We are told a man who does
not take care of his family is worse than an infedel..sp? . Miles

To cover means to protect and to keep discreetly, it also acts like a
roof on a house, or a seal on an oath.

More later, I am too tired to function.

Balance to Yah.