Life is highly unpredictable, and anything can happen to anyone at any time. Every day, more children are finding themselves parentless and it’s a problem that God cares about very deeply.
God cares about orphans. He cares about them so much that He gave instructions on how they are to be cared for in both the Old and New Testament. All throughout scripture, He reminds us of His love for them and our duty toward them.
In this post, we’ll be looking at a few of those reminders. Here are three things the Bible says about orphans.
1. Every Orphan Has a Very Active Father in Their Lives
A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows, is God in his holy dwelling.
Psalm 68:5
Orphans may not have an earthly father to take care of them, but they have a Heavenly Father who does. Their Heavenly Father is alive, active, and protective. Not one of them is exempt from His fatherly love and affection.
He defends every orphan and provides for all their needs. And He usually does this through us, the children who choose to answer His call. That call is world-wide to every believer in every tongue and nation. This brings me to the next point.
“For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways;”
Psalm 91:11
2. It Is Our Duty as People of God to Care for Orphans
Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.
James 1:27
We are the hands and feet of God on earth. Who is He to use to help His vulnerable children, if not us, the children who have more?
Practicing religion is great, but practicing love is greater. God is love and though He’s happy when we follow His commandments, He is overjoyed when we follow His example.
“For God so loved the world that He gave…”
He is a loving and merciful God, so we should be loving and merciful children. We should be ready and willing to reflect the light of His unconditional love to the children in the world who so desperately need it. And even if we can’t afford to adopt a child, which is the best-case scenario for them, we can still find a way to look after them in their waiting.
3. The Church of God Must Share Resources with Orphans
At the end of every three years, bring all the tithes of that year’s produce and store it in your towns, so that the Levites (who have no allotment or inheritance of their own) and the foreigners, the fatherless and the widows who live in your towns may come and eat and be satisfied, and so that the LORD your God may bless you in all the work of your hands.
Deuteronomy 14:28-29
Deuteronomy 14:28-29 gives clear instruction that orphans are to be taken care of by God’s people. This Old Testament verse is proof that orphans and widows have always had a special place in His heart.
Now, this scripture doesn’t say that all God’s people must adopt a child. So, if you can’t afford to adopt, don’t feel bad, just choose to do what you can while you can. Share any resources you can with the orphanages in your area or in the world.
Tithe in a church that makes providing for orphans a priority, and even if they don’t you should.
While tithing in your church is important, looking after orphans is important too. Always give back to God what is rightfully His, but then choose to do the right thing with what has now become yours. Sending even 1% to an orphanage from the 90% you have left after tithing can change a child’s life. Every resource counts.
More Scriptures About Orphans
You, LORD, hear the desire of the afflicted; you encourage them, and you listen to their cry, defending the fatherless and the oppressed, so that mere earthly mortals will never again strike terror.
Psalm 10:17–18
The LORD watches over the foreigner and sustains the fatherless and the widow, but he frustrates the ways of the wicked.
Psalm 146:9
But you, God, see the trouble of the afflicted; you consider their grief and take it in hand. The victims commit themselves to you; you are the helper of the fatherless.
Psalm 10:14
Do not take advantage of the widow or the fatherless. If you do and they cry out to me, I will certainly hear their cry.
Exodus 22:22–23
He defends the cause of the fatherless and the widow, and loves the foreigner residing among you, giving them food and clothing.
Deuteronomy 10:18
Do not move an ancient boundary stone or encroach on the fields of the fatherless.
Proverbs 23:10
As you meditate on what scripture says about orphans, notice your heart’s convictions. Whether God is telling you to adopt, sponsor a child, or share a little bit of your resources, choose to obey Him today.
Choose to allow God to use you the way He had planned. And as you do so, I pray that you will continue to be blessed as you continue to be a blessing.
