Single Mothers & The Bible

[marry-ella]

Further, the Book of Jasher

The book of what. I plead ignorance?? please explain. I was thinking about the sloppy jobless obvious single man in the church that every new single woman is going to get introduced to because everyone thinks all he needs is a good wife lOl I am not MARRING just another problem as I said in my earlier post (not that you said that you were just quoting scripture : - ) What about women such as myself that find ways to work out the finances while still being the biblical idea of a mother? Oh and by the way thanks for the welcome. I am unfortunately from generation X and have poor manners my continual apologies.

 

[CecilW]

The book of what. (Jasher) I plead ignorance?? please explain.

There are two references in Scripture that appeal to the Book of Jasher for confirmation and support. However, no such book exists as part of the Bible. Thus, it is a "lost book".

However, there is a Book of Jasher running around that may or may not be the original, or translated therefrom. A Google search under "Bible Jasher" will find interesting articles, and probably a downloadable version of the whole book. I doubt that any of us "Sola Scriptura" folks place it on the level of the Bible, in terms of determining our rules of faith and conduct. However, it is an interesting and possibly reliable resource.

I was thinking about the sloppy jobless obvious single man in the church that every new single woman is going to get introduced to because everyone thinks all he needs is a good wife lOl

Eeeeewwwwww!!! Guess I've known a few of those, too.

I am not MARRING just another problem as I said in my earlier post

I should hope NOT!!! Your Father (The God One) wouldn't approve. It is, we contend, one of the horrors of monogamism -- that any worthless schmuck can find a woman desperate enough to settle for a breathing humanoid male. To the contrary, PM provides the option for her to pursue a proven worthwhile man, and gives the men an incentive to do better or do without.

What about women such as myself that find ways to work out the finances while still being the biblical idea of a mother? Oh and by the way thanks for the welcome. I am unfortunately from generation X and have poor manners my continual apologies.

I'm not sure what the question is. Should you subject your finances to a lazy moocher just because he's plumbed with an outie? Horrors! No. This might well be one of your indicators. Is the man whom you consider likely to leave you freedom to handle your own finances? Maybe even contribute thereto? Or likely to become a drain thereon? Granted, no-one knows the future, and a time may come when there are ups or downs, but what is his underlying attitude?

Or was your question as to whether Paul's admonition to remarry was directed towards a woman such as yurself who is managing motherhood and finances pretty durn well? GenX or not! *grin* In that case, I'd say that Paul was indeed referring to you as well, without in any way diminishing your achievements. Why? God did not design us adults to live alone. We were designed for mates. And God did not design kids to grow up balanced with just one parent. He designed them to need two, of differing genders. His rules. I try to co-operate rather than argue or wiggle out, ya know?

Which isn't to say that periods of solitude may well be necessary as part of the process from time to time.

 

[CecilW]

Relevant to some recent discussions ...

 

[FollowingHim]

Great discussion here. Just one point.

The book of what. (Jasher) I plead ignorance?? please explain.

There are two references in Scripture that appeal to the Book of Jasher for confirmation and support. However, no such book exists as part of the Bible. Thus, it is a "lost book".

However, there is a Book of Jasher running around that may or may not be the original, or translated therefrom. A Google search under "Bible Jasher" will find interesting articles, and probably a downloadable version of the whole book. I doubt that any of us "Sola Scriptura" folks place it on the level of the Bible, in terms of determining our rules of faith and conduct. However, it is an interesting and possibly reliable resource.

There are about 5 books called the "Book of Jasher" floating around, as multiple authors have seen those two references in scripture and called their book the "Book of Jasher" to give it some apparent authority. As far as I have been able to ascertain, no ancient manuscripts exist, only modern "translations", and it's most likely the whole load are forgeries, there's minimal evidence to support any of them. The most commonly cited one does parallel Genesis but with a load of added details, which sound fascinating but include a number of clear disagreements with the Biblical account, making it far more likely that it is a modern forgery than an authentic ancient book.

 

[sweetlissa]

Doc said
The reason you do not see single mothers much in the Bible is because God had already established an order to care for those that found themselves without a husband because of war, famine, or even abandonment. For instance, if a man was killed in a war, it was the responsibility of the brother (or the next of kin to the husband), to take that wife into his own home and treat her as his own wife. In fact, if the responsible party did NOT perform such an action, he could be found condemned.++

This seems to be coming from the Levirate law. So I looked up the actual scripture of the Levirate law (Deuteronomy 25:5-10) This is a law that we polygyny supporters use often to show that there may be a command for polygyny in the bible.

Deu 25:5 If brethren dwell together, and one of them die, and have no child, the wife of the dead shall not marry without unto a stranger: her husband's brother shall go in unto her, and take her to him to wife, and perform the duty of an husband's brother unto her.
Deu 25:6 And it shall be, that the firstborn which she beareth shall succeed in the name of his brother which is dead, that his name be not put out of Israel.
Deu 25:7 And if the man like not to take his brother's wife, then let his brother's wife go up to the gate unto the elders, and say, My husband's brother refuseth to raise up unto his brother a name in Israel, he will not perform the duty of my husband's brother.
Deu 25:8 Then the elders of his city shall call him, and speak unto him: and if he stand to it, and say, I like not to take her;
Deu 25:9 Then shall his brother's wife come unto him in the presence of the elders, and loose his shoe from off his foot, and spit in his face, and shall answer and say, So shall it be done unto that man that will not build up his brother's house.
Deu 25:10 And his name shall be called in Israel, The house of him that hath his shoe loosed.

In Tom Shipley's book "Man and Woman in Biblical Law" he states
"Very little attention has been given to this aspect of the levirate by commentators, even though it is manifest that it mandates polygamy when the surviving brother is married. The childless widow is forbidden to marry outside of her dead husband’s family rather than an already married brother-in-law. She must become the second (or third or fourth...) wife of her brother-in-law."

"The widow is forbidden to marry anyone except the next of kin. That the wife is under the jurisdiction of her husband is assumed in the levirate, but that is not the focus of the law. The focus is upon maintaining the family line of the dead brother. The levirate law emphasizes the duty of both the brother-in-law and the widow to raise up a seed in the name of the deceased."

The scripture specifies that the command is only in effect if the brother died without having had a child with the woman. If she had children by the man who died, this law doesn't seem to apply.
I am a supporter of polygyny, but I want us to be accurate. This is not a command from God to care for widows and orphans but a command from God for brothers to protect each other's lineage.

God allows polygyny. Enough said.

 

[Verifyveritas76]

Deu 25:5 If brethren dwell together, and one of them die, and have no child, the wife of the dead shall not marry without unto a stranger: her husband's brother shall go in unto her, and take her to him to wife, and perform the duty of an husband's brother unto her.

I find it interesting that the definition of his duty, though it involves sex, is specifically to provide her with a son. I might have to reexamine what the duty of marriage is biblically.

Can anybody else shed some light?