He Loves You So

"None eye pitied thee, to do any of these unto thee, to have compassion upon thee; but thou wast cast out in the open field, to the lothing of thy person, in the day that thou wast born.

And when I passed by thee, and saw thee polluted in thine own blood, I said unto thee when thou wast in thy blood, Live; yea, I said unto thee when thou wast in thy blood, Live." Eze 16:6

It's a sad story, one of unfaithfulness, shame, and pain. The story of a young man who was passing by a field and saw a little baby discarded out in the middle, in the dirt, lying in its own blood. Born earlier that day, not even washed from birth, umbilical cord not cut, the baby had been left to die. No one cared, no wanted the baby. When the young man approached, he realized the little baby was little girl. He picked up the child and whispered an earnest, fervent plea. "Live. Live."

The young man took the baby home and the child grew into a lovely young lady. He gave her the best of everything. He fell in love with her, and she returned his love. The story seemed a fairy tale in the making, but the end was dark and full of pain.

She betrayed him, shamed him, belied his trust. She was unfaithful to him with everyone who passed by. If that wasn't enough, she took the children she had borne to her husband, and sacrificed them, killing them by fire.

The imagery is harsh, lewd, and revolting. The story of a woman who threw away all that was good and inflicted pain, taking no count of the fact that he had saved her as a baby. A wretched ending to a beautiful beginning.

Ah, but this is not quite the end of the story. The young man, now older, loves her still. He remembers that little baby that he rescued. He still remembers the young woman he fell in love with. He STILL loves her. He sets about to clean up the havoc she has created, in anger he confronts her, and after many consequences ensue, he reconfirms his vows to her.

"Nevertheless I will remember my covenant with thee in the days of thy youth, and I will establish unto thee an everlasting covenant...And I will establish my covenant with thee; and thou shalt know that I am the LORD" Ezk 16:62

And now we know who the young man is. Here is God's story, here is how he feels. Did you know this? And yet he loves us.

"But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners,

Christ died for us." Romans 5:8

"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son,

that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." John 3:16

"Oh! That...." The 10 "O thats" of Job

*There are at least 3 more such exclamations listed in the book of Job in the KJV, but none of those 3 are of the same Hebrew word.

O that God...

The Hebrew word מי , pronounced "me", used in direct exclamation is found 10 times in the book of Job. Athough this is often an interrogative pronoun, asking who, it is also a by oblique construction, a colloquial idom meaning "Would to God!..." Commonly phrased as "Oh that..."

The deepest yearnings of our soul are known only to God and are kept by Him.

Dare we entrust our yearnings to God, which knoweth the hearts?

The 10"O thats"of Job

1. Oh that I might have my request

2. Oh that God might speak

3. Oh that ye would hold thy peace

4. Oh that Thou wouldest hid me

5. Oh that my words were written

6. Oh that my words were printed in a book

7. Oh that I knew

8. Oh that I were

9. Oh that we had

10. Oh that One would hear

Do any of these sound familiar to you? Oh too familiar to me.

"I wish I had, God speak to me, everyone else be quiet, hide me o God, if only my words were written, if only what i had to say mattered, if only i knew, i wish i was ..., if only we had, oh that some ONE would listen"

The 10 "O that"s of Job. Job wasn't wrong to question, but he was genuinely longing for God to answer. Are we longing for God's answer, or are our exclamations really just exaggerated complaints?

Can we trust God to satisfy our need? Do we trust Him?

Job 6:8 Oh that I might have my request; and that God would grant me the thing that I long for!

Job 11:5 But oh that God would speak, and open his lips against thee;

Job 13:5 O that ye would altogether hold your peace! and it should be your wisdom.

Job 14:13 O that thou wouldest hide me in the grave, that thou wouldest keep me secret, until thy wrath be past, that thou wouldest appoint me a set time, and remember me!

Job 19:23a Oh that my words were now written!

Job 19:23b Oh that they were printed in a book!

Job 23:3 Oh that I knew where I might find him! that I might come even to his seat!

Job 29:2 Oh that I were as in months past, as in the days when God preserved me;

Job 31:31 If the men of my tabernacle said not, Oh that we had of his flesh! we cannot be satisfied.

Job 31:35 Oh that one would hear me! behold, my desire is, that the Almighty would answer me, and that mine adversary had written a book.

In God's Time

He hath made every thing beautiful in his time:

I know that, whatsoever God doeth,

it shall be for ever:

Nothing can be put to it,

Nor any thing taken from it:

Ecc. 3:11, 14