Foreword
Someone is missing.
We serve a holy God and He wants things done the way He described them in His Word. It is His desire that His House shall be built from living stones and not one stone can be missed!
In the story of King David’s life we see how Uzzah dropped dead because God’s laws were not taken seriously, and in the New Testament we have the story of Ananias and Sapphira (see 1 Chron. 13:9-10; Acts 5:1-10). They were judged because things were not done the way the Lord had told them by His Holy Spirit.
In the Book of Jeremiah, we see how God judged the nation of Israel, and one of their sins was that they did not take care of the widows (see Jer. 22:3). God mentions them in one breath with orphans, the poor, and the strangers in our land. Selah! Think about this.
The New Testament Church is not a building made by human hands, but a building made out of living stones—you and I. The storeroom in Malachi 3, one of the favorite chapters of our pastors, is not a church building (see Mal. 3:10). We are the storeroom! When we get together, we feed each other with the streams of living water that gush out of our bellies. When one of those streams is blocked—because our brother or sister has worries about what he or she must eat or where to find a roof above his or her head or what he or she should wear—then all of us suffer. One stream is blocked, and there is not enough food in the House.
We are responsible for one another and especially for those with whom God has connected us. When our widows are not taken care of—those who have no children to take care of them and who are too old or unable to work to take care of themselves—we all suffer! God is not pleased with us, because He is married to the widow according to His Word (see Isa. 54:4-5). He wants them to be taken care of. The widow plays an important role in the Body of Christ.
In the Bible we see Anna, a widow who lived in the temple (see Luke 2:36-37). Church history says of her that she was taken care of by the temple, and in turn she looked after the young children who were brought there by their parents as a gift to God, like Samuel and Mary. She also was an intercessor.
Did you know that a God-appointed and anointed intercessor must be available to God 24 hours per day1 (see Isa. 62:6-7)? They have no time to go out and work and therefore should be taken care of by the other members of the Body of Christ. Similarly, we read that the gatekeepers (whom I call prophetic intercessors), lodged all around the House of God, were charged with the responsibility of opening it every morning (see 1 Chron. 9:26-27). “The gatekeepers were at each gate; they did not have to leave their position [available 24 hours per day], because their brethren the Levites prepared portions for them” (2 Chron. 35:15). It is a specific, full-time calling and ministry from the Lord, just as there are other specific callings and ministries (see 1 Cor. 12:5). I am not talking about busybodies who are lazy and don’t want to work. Intercession—real intercession—is a full-time job. Why do you think things are sometimes difficult when one wants to work for the Lord? There is not enough intercession backing up and covering the work that must be done.
The widows must be taken care of and put into their proper place in the Body of Christ. They are not useless; they are very useful! God is putting His House in order, because He wants to visit us with His presence. Get ready!
Take care of your widows.