Ladies Bible Study: 1 Timothy chapter 5

Greetings Dear Ladies,

The ladies Bible class meets each Thursday from 10-11 am, and lunch is provided.

The Ladies Bible Class, from the Lancaster church of Christ has been meeting every Thursday since the late 1960's when the congregation was first established here in Lancaster Oregon. Over the years there have been several teachers, and I am happy to say that I have sat in their classes and that I knew many, if not all, of the original members of the congregation.  

Having known these ladies who so diligently and vigilantly held the ladies Bible class, through favorable times and not so favorable times, inclement weather, or seasons of low attendance, is my motivation for keeping it going. 

 One of our ladies is a sheep farmer who says this class is her one time a week to sit down, relax and enjoy a nice Biblical conversation with like-minded ladies. When we are snowed in and tempted to cancel the class, she says, "No one is going to deprive me of my one time a week to come and have lunch and tea and sit awhile."  So, if she is the only one that comes, my daughter and granddaughter and I keep the good work going, out on a lunch and get out our fancy teacups just for this shepherdess who works so hard on the family farm.

Of course we want more ladies to come, and we often enjoy a very large crowd in summer when we meet at the church kitchen.  In winter, we meet in my cozy little home to save the expense of heating up that large fellowship room at the meeting-house.  We also use my home to get the internet reception for Skype, enabling us to have one special guest from another place each Thursday.

The procedure we use for our time together is the same as it was when the class first began.  The text is read, taking turns around the room as each person reads a verse, until the chapter in the Bible is read.  During this time, each lady is encouraged to think about what is being read so she may have a comment to make or an observation concerning the text.  A Skype visitor also reads a verse when it is her turn.  After the chapter has been read, anyone is free to discuss it.

Last Thursday we read 1st Timothy chapter 5.  It is always a blessing to me to hear what others have to say, and this chapter dealt with the conduct of women who were members of the church. Paul wrote to the young preacher, Timothy, to give instructions on how to guide the members of the church and whar he was to teach them.  The care of women was laid out in this chapter.  

Some of the ladies comments were very insightful and enlightening. It usually happens that someone sees something in a scripture that I never really noticed before. For example, one lady observed that "not just any woman was to be financially supported by a church.  Just being elderly did not qualify her. Just being a member of the church in good standing did not completely qualify her.  It was limited to those women who had been hospitable to the saints, had been faithful Christian examples, lacking any means of family support. 

Another lady noted that in general the chapter showed that men were to look after women, and that the younger women were instructed to marry and be busy at home.  The chapter rightly pointed out that "otherwise they learn to be idle."

Here are the verses that speak of this:

1Ti 5:13  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.

1Ti 5:14  I will therefore that the younger women marry, bear children, guide the house, give none occasion to the adversary to speak reproachfully.

Another member of the class said that no matter what stage of life she was in, a man would be obligated to see to her care.  A young woman who was not married, (young widows in this instance) tended to be free of home responsibilities and more likely tempted to go around visiting and tattling (spreading information and tale-bearing about other people in a derogatory way).  She stated that this can still happen today when women, even those who are married, neglect their duties at home and go from one house to another, talking about the previous one to the next one, often in a circular route.

The ladies exchanged ideas of how a younger woman can adjust to being busy at home by noticing things that need to be done and by running her home efficiently or by being available for counsel and advice, being an encourager, etc.  Besides this, a lady at home can find her own interests that will make her feel accomplished and content. 

Still another comment revealed that For every command God has made, there seems to be a built-in protection. A married woman would be busy at home looking after a husband and a house, but she is protected in many ways by that occupation. She is obligated to one man and cannot be bossed by other men. She is provided for by her husband as is free to be frugal and to invest for the future.

She is free to do her work in her own style as creatively as she likes. She can be multi-talented, and she can reach out to others through her hospitality.  I know as a preache's wife that I have initiated quite a few invitations to dinner so that my husband might get the people interested in having a Bible study and learning about becoming a Christian.

Other comments followed that were very edifying, and I wish I had recorded some of these classes. They add such a spiritual richness to our lives.

One may ask why we even have a ladies class. We do so because there are many things that are not taught in detail in the church Bible classes or the sermons.  We try to apply the chapter we are reading to the influence a woman can have in her home and in her role as wife, mother and keeper of the home. Also, since some women are widows or their husbands are not members of the church, it is good to apply the study to their particular needs.  They may not have faithful Christian husbands to rely on spiritually or to discuss Biblical things with.

The session ended with prayer by one of the ladies.  This was followed by a delightful lunch with choices of teas, coffee and cold drinks. 

Please be with us next Thursday, February 12 for our annual Lady's Day lunch and gift exchange. Please bring something you do not want or is no longer useful to you, that is good enough for a gift that some other lady might want, unwrapped. These items are placed in a basket and anyone can choose what they want to take home with them.  If you have nothing of that sort, feel free to use the Dollar Tree for your choice of gift.  Every lady that attends will also getting a special gift this year, apart from the gift exchange. 

Here is the chapter we read and discussed. Please feel free to leave your own comment on the subject. Anyone can post a comment, or email me with your comment at ladylydiaspeaks@comcast.net.

Instructions for the Church

1Ti 5:1  Rebuke not an elder, but intreat him as a father; and the younger men as brethren;

1Ti 5:2  The elder women as mothers; the younger as sisters, with all purity.

1Ti 5:3  Honour widows that are widows indeed.

1Ti 5:4  But if any widow have children or nephews, let them learn first to shew piety at home, and to requite their parents: for that is good and acceptable before God.

1Ti 5:5  Now she that is a widow indeed, and desolate, trusteth in God, and continueth in supplications and prayers night and day.

1Ti 5:6  But she that liveth in pleasure is dead while she liveth.

1Ti 5:7  And these things give in charge, that they may be blameless.

1Ti 5:8  But if any provide not for his own, and specially for those of his own house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel.

1Ti 5:9  Let not a widow be taken into the number under threescore years old, having been the wife of one man,

1Ti 5:10  Well reported of for good works; if she have brought up children, if she have lodged strangers, if she have washed the saints' feet, if she have relieved the afflicted, if she have diligently followed every good work.

1Ti 5:11  But the younger widows refuse: for when they have begun to wax wanton against Christ, they will marry;

1Ti 5:12  Having damnation, because they have cast off their first faith.

1Ti 5:13  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.

1Ti 5:14  I will therefore that the younger women marry, bear children, guide the house, give none occasion to the adversary to speak reproachfully.

1Ti 5:15  For some are already turned aside after Satan.

1Ti 5:16  If any man or woman that believeth have widows, let them relieve them, and let not the church be charged; that it may relieve them that are widows indeed.

1Ti 5:17  Let the elders that rule well be counted worthy of double honour, especially they who labour in the word and doctrine.

1Ti 5:18  For the scripture saith, Thou shalt not muzzle the ox that treadeth out the corn. And, The labourer isworthy of his reward.

1Ti 5:19  Against an elder receive not an accusation, but before two or three witnesses.

1Ti 5:20  Them that sin rebuke before all, that others also may fear.

1Ti 5:21  I charge thee before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, and the elect angels, that thou observe these things without preferring one before another, doing nothing by partiality.

1Ti 5:22  Lay hands suddenly on no man, neither be partaker of other men's sins: keep thyself pure.

1Ti 5:23  Drink no longer water, but use a little wine for thy stomach's sake and thine often infirmities.

1Ti 5:24  Some men's sins are open beforehand, going before to judgment; and some men they follow after.

1Ti 5:25  Likewise also the good works of some are manifest beforehand; and they that are otherwise cannot be hid.