Good Sunday morning! Today I wondered what is this "woe", a little word that comes up fairly often in the Bible. Searching for "woe" on Blue Letter Bible (http://cf.blb.org ) I see that it occurs 106 times in 98 verses in the King James version of the Bible. What does this little word mean that God should use it so often? Webster's says that woe is; 1. great sorrow, grief, and misery, or 2. a cause of sorrow; affliction; and trouble. While this is true from the world's point of view, to me in reading some of those 98 verses it looks more like a warning of the wrath of God. Certainly that wrath results in sorrow, grief, and misery, but God speaks of "woe unto..." in almost every case.
Woe unto them that draw iniquity with cords of vanity... (Isaiah 5:18)
Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; (Isaiah 5:20)
Woe unto them that are wise in their own eyes...(Isaiah 5:21)
If I be wicked, woe unto me... (Job 10:15)
In looking through those verses, I can see how we can substitute sorrow, grief, and misery unto... The little three letter word is a warning from God, and a sign of the impending wrath of God. Change, repent, turn to God, or woe will come to you and you kin. Such a small word, but full of terrible meaning in the Word of God. We know that at least one more warning of woe comes near the end, when an angel will cross the skies shouting for all to hear. Revelation makes it clear that no one will miss this warning, but that many will ignore it. When looking through the incidents of woe in the Old Testament, I pray for those who will hear that warning now and understand that turning to Jesus is the only answer. Woe, the word may not seem like much out of context, but I surely don't want it to come upon any of us. Praise God for His everlasting love!
Bucky
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