“WOE TO THOSE!”

Isaiah 5:18-23                                          (ESV)

“18 “WOE TO THOSE” who draw iniquity with cords of falsehood, who draw sin as with cart ropes, 

19 who say: "Let him be quick, LET HIM SPEED HIS WORK THAT WE MAY SEE IT; let the counsel of the HOLY ONE of Israel draw near, and let it come, that we may know it!" 

20 “WOE TO THOSE” who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter! 

21 “WOE TO THOSE” who are wise in their own eyes, and shrewd in their own sight! 

22 “WOE TO THOSE” who are heroes at drinking wine, and valiant men in mixing strong drink, 

23 who acquit the guilty for a bribe, and deprive the innocent of his right!”

The words “WOE TO THOSE” doesn’t just mean to stop what you are doing.  But that is what my uneducated understanding of the words meant.  In my wiser years however, I have found that according to one dictionary, the “Definition of woe (Entry 2 of 2) 1 : a condition of deep suffering from poor choices, affliction, or grief. 2 : ruinous trouble : calamity, affliction economic woes.”  In the Scriptures above, if you desire “1 : a condition of deep suffering from poor choices, affliction, or grief. 2 : ruinous trouble : calamity, affliction economic woes”, the easiest way to achieve your goal is to be running so fast, to be so busy, that you cut corners and live a life of catching up, and never achieving things that will bring you Peace and fulfillment.  

Being caught in the being a “successful life” can be one of the most deceitful things that “the enemy” does.  Remembering my former ways, I would go to the office in the mornings, work until the evening, go to a board meeting until late at night, get home sometimes after my family had gone to bed, believing that I was “needed” to make things run fluently.   But when my Brain Hemorrhaged in 2007 and I was hospitalized for 52 days, the world never skipped a beat.  Attempting to get right back into the rat race I found myself in, I had to experience the loss of a dear friend, my mother and mother-in-law, and have GOD take the next four years shouting (Spiritually!) to SLOW DOWN before I was able to HEAR HIM!  I was so BUSY trying to “Let him be quick, LET HIM SPEED HIS WORK THAT WE MAY SEE IT” that I couldn’t BE STILL, AND KNOW THAT I AM GOD!!!

The “ruinous trouble : calamity, affliction economic woes” almost sent me back where I was in 2007, until ALMIGHTY GOD opened my EYES to SEE HIS TRUTHS!  It is WAY easier to be one “who calls evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter when you are moving so quickly that you cannot HEAR from GOD.  

Genesis 3:1a warns us “Now the serpent (the enemy) was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the LORD GOD had made....”.  Don’t let his tactics deceive you into believing that “this world” needs you so much that you don’t have time to listen to your CREATOR.  ALMIGHTY GOD is warning us that getting caught up in the vortex of selfish, sinful behavior will doom us to hell, and HE is warning us “WOE TO THOSE” headed in this direction!!!