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King James Version (KJV)
“In our prayers we talk to God, in our Bible study God talks to us, and we had better let God do most of the talking.”
— D.L. Moody
Scripture focus
11. But the younger widows refuse: for when they have begun to wax wanton against Christ, they will marry; 12. Having damnation, because they have cast off their first faith. 13. And withal they learn [to be] idle, wandering about from house to house; and not only idle, but tattlers also and busybodies, speaking things which they ought not.
1 Timothy 5:11-13 — KJV
Younger widows. That is, those under 60 years of age.
Refuse. See on ch. 4:7. Note that Paul does not suggest that needy widows who are under 60, and without children, should not receive material assistance from the church. He says simply that younger widows should not be enrolled in this special group, which seems to have been granted a permanent subsidy.
Wax wanton. That is, act without the self-restraint that is becoming to Christian womanhood. Presumably, women who had passed the age of 60 would not be susceptible to many of the temptations that might beset their younger sisters in the church. Those admitted to this special group had proved themselves worthy of special honor and recognition as mothers in Israel.
They will marry. In and of itself this course of action would not be wrong, for elsewhere Paul encourages remarriage (see on v. 14). Apparently, however, widows became eligible for the privileges accorded this special group only when they were considered of such an age that it was unlikely they would be able to find other companions. Thus, if these widows who had been admitted to the group were to marry, it would be obvious that they should not have been accepted in the first place and that they did not deserve the support provided. They should have followed the instruction set forth in v. 14, to begin with.
By SdaBc
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