Articles
Woe
There is a small, three letter word that is found over one hundred times in the Bible. It is an interjection, an exclamation. According to the Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew and English lexicon of the Old Testament, this word is a “passionate cry of grief or despair”. It can be a warning or declaration of disapproval. If the title didn’t give it away, the word to which I am referring is WOE.
We find the word first used in Numbers 21:29. In that passage, a proverb is recited condemning the people of Canaan as the conquest of the promised land began. “Woe to you, Moab!”. It declares a curse, a declaration, and a warning uttered in just three English letters.
There are examples of this word used to describe the helpless state of the speaker. Psalm 120:5 declares, “Woe is me, for I sojourn in Meshech…”. Isaiah 6:5 says, “Woe is me, for I am undone! Because I am a man of unclean lips, And dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips;”
It seems that this word is used more often as a warning or expression of disapproval. In Eccl. 4:9, the words of the wise preacher describe the importance of friendship & companionship. It says, “Two are better than one, Because they have a good reward for their labor. For if they fall, one will lift up his companion. But woe to him who is alone when he falls, for he has no one to help him up.” It is a sad a desperate state to be alone in this world. It is a far sadder and more serious predicament to find ourselves alone in matters of spirit and eternity.
The message of God to the sons of Josiah delivered by Jeremiah warned those wicked men of the fate that awaited them. Jer. 22:13 – “Woe to him who builds his house by unrighteousness And his chambers by injustice…” To continue in this way, they were condemning themselves to grief and despair. In fact, this warning seems to be more of a declaration of God’s condemnation. These sons had defied the law and disgraced themselves with covetousness, oppression, and violence.
In the New Testament, Jesus used this “warning or declaration of disapproval” with a few different groups of people.
He declared woe to the impenitent cities of Chorazin, Bethsaida, & Capernaum in Matthew 11:20-24 “because they did not repent.” These cities of Galilee, the home turf of Jesus, had seen most of His “mighty works”, yet they rejected Him. Jesus said in verse 24, “But I say to you that it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment than for you.”
Perhaps the most utterances of this word in one chapter are found in Matthew 23. Jesus warned the multitudes and His disciples about the scribes and Pharisees. In verses two and three, he tells His Jewish followers to “observe and do” the things that they are told by their leaders according to the Law, but to not follow their examples. They taught the law, but did not observe it themselves. In verse 13, Jesus declares, “But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you shut up the kingdom of heaven against men; for you neither go in yourselves, nor do you allow those who are entering to go in.” Their greed and hypocrisy would not allow them to see the prophecy being fulfilled and caused them to fight against those who did see. In verse 14, Jesus declares, “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!”, this time for their abuse of those who were weak all while giving “long prayers.” Another Woe is declared to them for their false teaching and false piety in that endeavor. Jesus calls them “blind guides” when he points out their legalistic dishonesty and their abuse of that false piety. Jesus continues to declare “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!” in the next several verses as He gives evidence of the many ways hypocrisy has defined their religiosity. They count their tithes down to the leaf, yet “have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faith.” They “strain out a gnat and swallow a camel!” They “cleanse the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of extortion and self-indulgence.” They seem to care only about the appearance of godliness. “you are like whitewashed tombs which indeed appear beautiful outwardly, but inside are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness. Even so you also outwardly appear righteous to men, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.” They have deluded themselves to believe that they would have done better than their ancestors, while being just as flawed and just as hypocritical, if not more so.
It would be foolish to reflect upon the hypocrisy of these “religious” people, people who defined themselves by their piety and relationship with God, and not pause and examine ourselves. What a fearful thing to receive a similar judgment (Heb. 10:31). Do we share any of these traits ourselves? Do I care more (or only) about the appearance of the outside of my cup? An I too a “whitewashed tomb(s)”, “full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness.” Am I counting leaves and missing “the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faith”?
As Isaiah said in chapter 6:5, “Woe is me…” if I find that I too am a hypocrite in the way these condemned souls were. Woe is me if I care more about appearance than truth. Woe is me if I work to win souls to Christ, only to find that I have made them a hypocrite also. Woe is me if I become so focused on the little details that I fail to see and neglect the themes and principles that the Lord has established. I hope that the woe I declare to myself serves as a warning to heed rather than ultimate condemnation.
Proverbs 8:35-36 – “For whoever finds me finds life, And obtains favor from the Lord; 36 But he who sins against me wrongs his own soul; All those who hate me love death.”
