Woes and Blessings

If you read through the Bible, especially the Old Testament, you will see a good many “Woes”. There are woes in the New Testament as well. These woes are caution signs for the people of the earth. Just like the warnings blaring on the TV or radio they are meant to keep people from harm, or as in the case of woes spoken by the prophets they are to let the people know when they have gone too far in their sin so that they will know why God’s wrath has come upon them. The first section of the book of Isaiah contains prophecies to the nations of the earth and Israel about what God is going to do to punish them for their wickedness.

For instance Isaiah gives this word from the Lord Almighty, “Terror and pit and snare await you, people of the earth. Whoever flees at the sound of terror will fall into the pit; whoever climbs out of the pit will be caught in a snare.” This sounds like a hopeless situation, and it is. At times I have felt like I was going through something like this, and you have probably felt that way too. But in our case it was short term. Isaiah says to Jerusalem at one point, “Till your dying day this sin will not be atoned for.” That sounds rather permanent. That is what happened to a people who continually lived in their sin, enjoying their sin with no intention of changing their way. They had ignored the warning signs.

Is there hope? When we have not paid attention to caution signs and warning signs from God can we avoid the woes and detour onto the right path? Not only are there many woes in the Bible there are many blessings. God’s warning signs point us in the direction of the righteous One who will forgive one whose heart is repentant. When we turn around and focus our lives in the direction that God intended us to go we will discover an abundance of spiritual blessings that will follow us all the days of our lives. We will avoid the terror and the pit and the snare. In the book of Isaiah there is reference to a people who praise the Lord Almighty. Today as we go to worship may we lift our voices in praised to the Savior who has saved us from our woes.

Scripture References: Isaiah 22:14 and Isaiah 24:17-18