Hebrew Word Study- Sign: Owth אוֹת
Judges 7:10-11 But if you are afraid to go down, go down to the camp with Purah your servant, And thou shalt hear what they say; and afterward shall thine hands be strengthened to go down unto the host. Then went he down with Phurah his servant unto the outside of the armed men that were in the host.
Back in 2005, according to some of the devout, there was the appearance of the Virgin Mary in Chicago under the Kennedy Expressway along Fullerton Ave. Word quickly spread of this “miracle” of the Our Lady of the Underpass and literally thousands of the faithful made a pilgrimage to the site. It was determined to be just a stain formed by salt run-off and until vandals did various acts of vandalism and eventually removed the image, it was quite a subject of curiosity. Listening to news reports people believed it was a sign that God was real, or that God was preparing for something amazing to happen, others considered it a warning, some considered it a blessing and that if you touched it you would get a good blessing or if you even prayed before it God would extend favor to you.Unfortunately, nothing ever came of it. There were no proven healings, miracles or miraculous events other than what one’s imagination could conjure up. Yet, the desperate believed it was a sign of good fortune.
The Bible is full of people seeking signs from God and God giving them signs, when He determined it was necessary. He gave one to Thomas to convince Him Jesus was risen. He gave a sign to Gideon who was terrified to go against the Midianites, only to get the sign he had to enter the camp of the Midianites, the place he feared the most.
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Sometimes people sought a sign and God didn’t give one like Zacharis the priest and father of John the Baptist. The angel Gabriel appeared before him to say he was finally, in his old age, going to become a daddy and what does he do, he asks for a sign of so he would know it was true. We have the story in Luke 1 and to paraphrase the angel’s response he said: “A sign? I am the angel Gabriel what am I chopped liver for crying out loud, a sign he wants, what more of a sign do you want than the appearance of an arch angel?”
God is giving us signs all the time of his love, his caring. He reveals Himself in His creation. Yet, some of us want something out of the ordinary like the Our Lady of the Underpass.
God will give you the sign if you really need it. But sometimes you need to look around and realize He has given you a sign before you even ask. Sometimes you need to move forward like Gideon and in faith face what you fear the most. Signs could be Iike a bird signing you a song, or a squirrel running up to you twitching his nose or even a dog pulling on his leash in your direction trying to get your attention. God reveals Himself in His creation. Will He do it with a salt runoff in an underpass? I am not saying yea or nay, just use some discernment when you need a sign, for God will give you what you need when the time comes.
By the way, tomorrow in our Torah Study we will be studying about Miracles, Signs, Wonders and Magic. Join us at www.hebrewwordstudy.com
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