The Widow’s Plea

Your rulers are rebels And companions of thieves; Everyone loves a bribe And chases after rewards. They do not defend the orphan, Nor does the widow’s plea come before them. Isaiah 1:23

Luke 18 starts with a parable about a persistent widow and her plea to an unrighteous judge. Jesus understood the plight of widows in Israel. Widows and orphans were among the weakest and poorest people in that society. God provided laws to protect them, and pledged to avenge their afflictions with great wrath.

‭‭Exodus‬ ‭22‬:‭22‬-‭24‬
You shall not afflict any widow or orphan. If you afflict him at all, and if he does cry out to Me, I will surely hear his cry; and My anger will be kindled, and I will kill you with the sword, and your wives shall become widows and your children fatherless.

Jesus sometimes used widows to exemplify situations that demand justice. For example, when a woman became a widow, it was not uncommon for a scribe or Pharisee to be designated as executor of the deceased husband’s estate. A corrupt executor could trick or defraud the widow out of her property. Perhaps it was this situation Jesus had in mind when he spoke this parable shortly before He entered Jerusalem for the final week of His earthly life.

Luke 18:2-5
“In a certain city there was a judge who did not fear God and did not respect man. There was a widow in that city, and she kept coming to him, saying, ‘Give me legal protection from my opponent.’ For a while he was unwilling; but afterward he said to himself, ‘Even though I do not fear God nor respect man, yet because this widow bothers me, I will give her legal protection, otherwise by continually coming she will wear me out.’”

The judge in this parable was part of a corrupt legal system. He didn’t care about the widow’s plight but only cared for his own peace. The widow however was at the point of absolute desperation and kept begging for help.

Jesus compared this situation to the plight of believers who cry out to God day and night for justice.

Luke 18:6-8a
And the Lord said, “Hear what the unrighteous judge said; now, will not God bring about justice for His elect who cry to Him day and night, and will He delay long over them? I tell you that He will bring about justice for them quickly.”

In contrast to the unrighteous judge, our faithful God is a defender of the defenseless, who cares deeply for the persecuted and afflicted. He will not delay justice except to give the unrighteous a chance to repent and turn from their wicked ways.

The final question is this: “when the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the earth?” (v. 8)

This question goes back to the purpose of this parable. He was telling them a parable to show that at all times they ought to pray and not to lose heart… (v. 1)

When we are praying desperately for a particular answer, we must remember this:

1. God knows the future and knows what is best for us. He will always cause all things to work together for good to those who love Him. (Romans 8:28)

2. The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and plenteous in mercy. (Psalm 103:8)

3. The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance. (2 Peter‬ ‭3‬:‭9‬)

We must not lose heart, but keep the faith. God IS faithful. When we are the most defenseless, He is the most compassionate. Thus the question remains…When He comes will He find us faithful to HIM?

Understanding the Trinity

One of the things I struggled with over the years is reconciling the monotheistic concept of Judaism with the Christian doctrine of the Trinity. Since the term "Trinity" is not in the Bible I have felt a need to understand why it has been considered a core doctrine by Christian churches for virtually all of church history.

So before I raise questions in your mind about my own orthodoxy, let me explain. I tremble to even consider that I might misrepresent God's nature, and don't believe that anyone can truly comprehend the nature of God since he exists beyond our frame of reference in time and space. However, I really want to understand what the Bible says about the nature of God and his relationship to Jesus our Lord, so I will proceed with my limited analogy if you will bear with me in this endeavor.

The SHMA

Hear, O Israel! The LORD is our God, the LORD is one! (Deuteronomy 6:4 NASB)

This is a phrase that every Jew knows and memorizes as a child. It is the foundation of Judaism and the first commandment in the Torah. Jesus, being a Jewish Rabbi, understood and agreed with the writings of Moses, calling the SHMA the Greatest Commandment. However, the New Testament clearly indicates that Jesus made Himself equal with God by calling God His Father. So now God appears as two personalities in a family relationship.

This Father-Son relationship is most fundamental to Christianity and most abhorrent to the religion of Islam, who consider Christianity to be a polytheistic religion. So how do you explain to a Muslim (or a Jew for that matter) that you believe in one God who has multiple forms or personalities? Is He one God or two or three? One morning recently I awakened with thoughts that helped resolve that question in my mind.

The FORM of God

Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. (Philippians 2:6 NASB)

All through the Old Testament there are references to the "right hand" or "strong arm" or "outstretched arm" of God. These references uniformly occur in places where God is interacting with creation as Lord and Savior, in other words, in the role of Messiah. In fact in practically every reference you can substitute the name of the Messiah for this term and it makes perfect sense. For example,

My righteousness is near, My salvation has gone forth, And the Messiah will judge the peoples; The coastlands will wait for Me, And for the Messiah they will wait expectantly. (Isaiah 51:5)

Ah Lord GOD! Behold, You have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and the Messiah. (Jeremiah 32:17)

Try this yourself; I think you will find a blessing in that.

In the New Testament we see the glorified Jesus our High Priest, seated at the right hand of God. The thought occurred to me that perhaps Jesus actually is analogous to God's right hand. The concept of a spiritual body consisting of multiple interacting personalities is not foreign to the Bible; reference the Body of Christ for example.

So when Jesus communicates with the Father, is this a conversation, or an interaction analogous to the interaction of the brain with the body, where the brain communicates via a type of nervous system to produce visible action? In this case, even though the Son of God is communicating to the Father as a person, in the spirit the two are considered one. You would not refer to me as "they" in reference to my body parts, but as to "him" who has a single will and many interconnected members. Is it possible that in the incomprehensible nature of God we can make such an analogy? Let me continue.

The Spirit Connection

I now understand that the Holy Spirit is analogous to the central nervous system of God. The Holy Spirit makes it possible to connect directly to God. It was the Holy Spirit that rested upon Jesus, fusing His will to God and allowing Jesus to carry out the perfect plan of God on earth. The Holy Spirit so fully embodied the Father's presence in Jesus that He could say "whoever has seen Me has seen the Father."

Now, the body analogy may be confusing since the Holy Spirit is invisible, like the wind. In my lifetime this has become much easier to visualize since we transmit control signals invisibly all around the world and through the darkness of space by various forms of electromagnetic radiation. Certainly the Creator of the universe could operate in ways that go far beyond our mortal technologies, even transcending the boundaries of time.

Jesus said that those who worship God must worship Him in spirit and in truth. That is our connection protocol. We authenticate by being authentic, by emptying ourselves of our old lives to put on the righteousness of Christ. We connect to Jesus through the Holy Spirit, the Helper whom the Father sends to be with us and in us, who teaches us and intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. The Holy Spirit translates our earthly requests to heavenly and perfect petitions before the throne of God.

Jesus said "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." In our human form we cannot behold the face of God and live, but through His Spirit we can grasp the nail pierced hand of God and draw near with confidence to the throne of grace.

Conclusion

Though we may not comprehend God's true nature while we exist in earthly form, we can understand that God took the form of a man (Jesus), and was indwelt by the Holy Spirit who empowered Him to perfectly reflect the nature and will of God on earth. The creator is still worshiped as the one true God. There is one throne in Heaven, not three, and Jesus is seated or standing there at the right hand of God to execute God's plan for creation.

The Valley of Jehoshaphat

"I will gather all the nations

    And bring them down to the valley of Jehoshaphat.

    Then I will enter into judgment with them there
    On behalf of My people and My inheritance, Israel,
    Whom they have scattered among the nations;
    And they have divided up My land.
"They have also cast lots for My people,
    Traded a boy for a harlot
    And sold a girl for wine that they may drink."
Joel 3:2-3 NASB

Joel prophesied that the LORD will execute vengeance on the nations in the last days. This would happen in the "Valley of Jehoshaphat". Another way to translate this is "Valley of God's Judgment" since Jehoshaphat means "God is Judge". This is no doubt in reference to the valley where God destroyed the nations who came against Judah, in response to their fasting and prayer and praise and worship.

It is from this chapter that John draws at least two quotations in the book of Revelation:

Put in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe.
            Come, tread, for the wine press is full;
            The vats overflow, for their wickedness is great.

The sun and moon grow dark
            And the stars lose their brightness.
Joel 3:13,15 NASB

These verses are clearly referring to the battle of the ages between the armies of the LORD and the armies of the nations. What have the nations done to merit this day of vengeance?

• Scattered His people among the nations - desolation of the church by persecution and corruption
• Divided up His land - confiscation of property and occupation of holy ground
• Cast lots for His people - slave trade
• Traded a boy for a harlot, sold a girl for wine - sex and drug trafficking

These atrocities happen around the world, but mostly outside America. My church has committed to fighting human trafficking and the sex trade. I must believe that as heinous as the persecution of the church has been throughout history, rampant sex trafficking of innocent children must surely fill the cup of God's wrath to overflowing.

We are working to stop the tide of human trafficking and sex slavery, and I have to believe from studying these verses about Jehoshaphat that we can:

• Recognize that we are powerless before this great multitude coming against us
• Stand before the LORD with our infants and wives and children
• Bow with our face to the ground and worship the LORD
• Rise up early and put our trust in the LORD our God
• Begin singing and praising God
• Stand and see the salvation of the LORD on our behalf 
• Take back the spoil, which are the poor desperate young people caught in these traps

We will surely overcome, but if not, surely this cup of reeling will one day overflow in the Valley of Jehoshaphat and bring the armies of the LORD to the final battle.