Job 22:9

You have sent widows off empty-handed,

   Crushed the arms of the fatherless.

 

Widows and Orphans. There is potential that taking care of them is the most important thing Christians are supposed to do. Our church has a widows ministry and an adoption ministry. It is part of what we do, but it does not match the meaning here in Job and in the times of this story.

‘Empty-handed’ was sometimes just ‘empty’.

‘Arms’ was also ‘strength’ (which makes more sense). ‘Fatherless’ was also ‘orphans’.

During the times of the Old Testament, I believe the oldest sibling was to take in the older widow, the nearest relative to take in the young widow, or the widow was just to get married again. Old men often die before their wife, and young men died all the time in wars, so this was all fairly common, and with families all living as big units, it made sense. The scriptures are full of commentary on the topics of widows. Today, our standalone family units make this more of a community issue than it was back then. I would guess that families in Paul’s day had similar issues as anyone who became a Christian was likely ostracized from their family and as standalone as we are.

Orphans was always a part of widows and orphans when I grew up, as the mom and the dad surely would not have both died back in the day. Today, I am sure car accidents are the number one driver of increases is orphans. But the term I picked was fatherless. Here I picture the mother who has no husband for whatever reason and has no family to take her in and it is her children that need the care. This happens in our culture today so often due to drugs and all that goes wrong there. These kids whose parents abandoned them dying to overdoses, or being sent to prison, or any of the tragedies of today, are the ones we as a Christian community could be called to support.

Whatever the case, Job is being charged with not upholding the most basic of duties to others. God was characterized as providing to some so they could provide for others. This community is something that has been lost in our culture in general, and it even suffers in our churches today. This is why it is so important for us to see all we have as God’s and our role to steward it rather than to consume it.

Written 7/250/26, Posted 8/27/26, Job 528/~1070 – Getting close to halfway