Owo Oluwa (Hand of God) by Tomiwa Immanuel is a mixed yoruba-english song (Yoruba is the language of one of the major tribes in Nigeria, occupying the South-West region of the country).
The song Owo Oluwa majors on one of the attributes of God; being the saviour of man and the creator of the heavens and the earth, which is all together described as the hand of God, one which is holding man’s life, the hand of God being laid upon man, the power and glory of God being bestowed on man out of Love.
As I intended writing this post on the song, Owo Oluwa, “Jeremiah 17: 5 – 8” popped up in my mind:
Mp3 Download: Owo Oluwa (Hand of God)
Owo Oluwa
Jeremiah 17:5-8 (King James Version)
5 Thus saith the LORD; Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the LORD.
6 For he shall be like the heath in the desert, and shall not see when good cometh; but shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness, in a salt land and not inhabited.
7 Blessed is the man that trusteth in the LORD, and whose hope the LORD is.
8 For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and that spreadeth out her roots by the river, and shall not see when heat cometh, but her leaf shall be green; and shall not be careful in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit.
Owo Oluwa
Jeremiah 17:5-8 (New Living Translation)
5 This is what the Lord says:
“Cursed are those who put their trust in mere humans,
who rely on human strength
and turn their hearts away from the Lord.
6 They are like stunted shrubs in the desert,
with no hope for the future.
They will live in the barren wilderness,
in an uninhabited salty land.
7 “But blessed are those who trust in the Lord
and have made the Lord their hope and confidence.
8 They are like trees planted along a riverbank,
with roots that reach deep into the water.
Such trees are not bothered by the heat
or worried by long months of drought.
Their leaves stay green,
and they never stop producing fruit.
Owo Oluwa
Music Video: Owo Oluwa (Hand of God)
Going through this verse the first thing I acknowledge is in the very first clause; “Thus saith the Lord”, NLT uses the verbiage, “This is what the Lord says”.
This infers that the Lord himself, the creator of the heavens and the earth is speaking. It directly means that what would mention next is the will of God, it is a godly principle because God himself ordained it, for God literally said…. Let’s consider what he says next.
Owo Oluwa
"Cursed be the man that trusteth in man,"
There is a curse associated with trusting in man, mere humans. This includes trusting in people that are close and around; fiancé, spouse, children, parent, siblings, friends, kins & relatives, doctors, government…
It’s so evident that people fail even when it is not intentional; man is not so reliable on his own, he tends to fail, he tends to die, he is so limited. Hmm…
Owo Oluwa
"and maketh flesh his arm"
Trusting in the strength of man, trusting in other living things; none of which alone cannot stand the test of time.
Trusting in the creation and inventions of man, relying on wealth, guards, elite forces; in the great days of Egypt, this is said as trusting in chariots and horses.
This is literally warning against trusting what can be seen, what can be perceived with the five senses i.e., what can be observed and analyzed with the skin, ear, eyes, nose and tongue.
Hence, it means a caution not to rely on what the brain can analyze and explain inside out. Why is this?
Owo Oluwa
"and whose heart departeth from the LORD"
This is the height of trusting in the flesh, in mere man, in the strength of man that can be easily seen, observed and analyzed.
It inclines the heart in a direction that is away from the Lord, it leads a man away from focusing on the Lord. And this becomes a major problem.
Owo Oluwa
"6 For he shall be like the heath in the desert,"
heath – ‘ar’ar (Hebrew transliteration): it means stripped, destitute, naked, poor (BDB & Strong’s Definition)
Now trusting in mere man, in flesh, in what can be seen is described as a state in which a plant is in a location or condition which it is destitute of the things it needs for survival, the plant is in the desert facing extreme conditions.
Trusting in man is equated to planting in the desert, it means there is no supply in that direction, because the strength of man cannot save nor preserve him, talk less of those that look up to him.
Man cannot find an abundant life (a fully sufficient life), he’ll remain destitute regardless of how much He exploit the resources in the direction opposite direction he chose to ply. But the next statement explains more on this.
Owo Oluwa
"and shall not see when good cometh"; (kjv) "with no hope for the future" (NLT)
A state of hopelessness, a state in which good can’t be seen. This is because of the positioning, this plant is in the wrong place, this describes man being disconnected from his source, the one and true living God, or better still man not focusing and trusting in the Lord, but his heart is elsewhere.
This is can also be extended as a major cause of depression and even suicide, because man decided, he chose to turn his heart away from the Lord. Hence…
Owo Oluwa
"but shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness,
This plant, this man starts to make do with whatever he sees, he continues to struggle and suffer from the awful condition in which a heart that is not focused on the Lord subjects itself, to a curse that can only be found outside the Lord. He lives in parched (dry) places, suffering from thirst (wants and unsatisfaction).
Owo Oluwa
"in a salt land and not inhabited."
Living in a land that is not inhabited: This directly describes living in a state that even logical reasoning doesn’t approve of; this extend to living dangerous lifestyles, considering various options that are not in God.
This explains why a man would consume a product that literally says; people that consume this product are liable to die young…. He keeps doing what man would not normally do, he keeps engaging in several self-degrading and abusive manner of life, whereas the solution is not so far away.
Owo Oluwa
"7 Blessed is the man that trusteth in the LORD,"
Here another man is mentioned in contrast; he is called blessed for he trusts in the Lord. To trust means to have confidence, to be confident, to be bold, to be secured, to be sure.
This is the disposition that every man should have towards the Lord, ever confiding in the Lord, in His words and in His ways.
Owo Oluwa
"and whose hope the LORD is."
Hope – mibtach (hebrew transliteration): it means trust, confidence, refuge, act of confiding, state of confidence, security.
This shows that confiding in the Lord is not just a one-time thing or a one-off affair. It calls for a change in personality; the lifestyle of a blessed man is hoping in the Lord, waiting on the Lord, standing on every word that the Lord has said.
Regardless of what is seen in the flesh, regardless of the circumstances, regardless of what the surrounding men are saying, regardless of what the doctor is saying, regardless of what the economy is saying, regardless of the available opportunity, regardless of feasibility study, regardless of the analysis and speculations of man.
This blessed man still trusts in the Lord and hopes in the Lord regardless.
Owo Oluwa
"8 For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and that spreadeth out her roots by the river,"
A profound description with a plant connected to a source of sustenance. The Lord is the sustainer of man, every man that trusts and hopes in him is blessed; now this man is described as a tree! the opposite was described as a heath, a shrub.
But the blessed man can only be compared to a tree, a strong plant full of life, because he is connected to the Lord in whom is the eternal source of life.
Owo Oluwa
"and shall not see when heat cometh,"
The verse didn’t say heat would not come, but says he would not see it, because he is totally covered by the river. It’s directly synonymous to (Psalm 91: 7).
Flipping through the bible to ascertain this verse, made me feel like citing the entire chapter. This is because the verse succinctly describes a man that trust and hopes in the Lord as a man that acknowledges the LORD as His refuge and fortress, my God, in whom I trust! Yeah, my God in whom I trust.
I have wanted to use the first-person pronoun just from the beginning because this is just so real to me for, I trust in the Lord, and I have started seeing more of the Lord, more manifestation of his presence, signs, miracles, and guidance of the Lord; the Lord has been wonderful thus far.
Psalm 91:7 says, “A thousand will fall at your right hand, ten thousand at your left hand but it shall not come near you.”
The heat is everywhere but it would never affect the tree planted by the riverside.
"but her leaf shall be green;"
Oh! trust the Lord totally, forget the rest of the contrary opinion and taste and see that the Lord is good. Believe in the Lord, surrender to Him; accept Jesus Christ whom the Father has sent.
He says in (John 10:10),”I have come that you may have life and this life in abundance”. Her leaf shall be green – this is obviously describing a quality of life that is gotten from the LORD, this is described by Christ as an abundant life.
Abundance means a large quantity, an overflowing fullness, a copious supply, sufficient. This is so amazing!
"and shall not be careful in the year of drought,"
Shall not be careful, shall not be anxious, shall not be dismayed nor troubled… how come? (Philippians 4:7) explains this as; the peace of God that surpasses all understanding keeps his heart and mind through Christ Jesus.
This is wonderful, this is the gospel, the almost too good to be true news, because the brain cannot just calculate it. That is why we walk by faith and not by sight, not by the things we can see, taste, hear, feel and smell; rather our life is principled by the words that proceeds out of the mouth of the LORD.
This is the philosophy every believer must uphold, for it is one from the Father and it works, there is an overwhelming wealth of testimony already.
"neither shall cease from yielding fruit."
This man will never cease from yielding fruit; it infers this man never stops trusting in the Lord and hoping on the Lord.
This is a reminder to every believer, to every man that believes in the Lord, that the will of the Lord for me, you, us, every one of us is to continue bearing fruit, to never ever cease from yielding fruit.
We gats trust the LORD.
I trust the LORD; I hope in the LORD.
I stand on every single word that HE has said.
The Lord is my sustenance, He is my source.
I abide in Him, and He in me; for without Him I can do nothing.
He teaches me everything, He leads me into all truth.
He holds my hand, to walk in His will.
He places His desires in my heart, so I can love just as He loves.
He quickened my spirit, blessing me with the Holy Spirit; that I live in the Spirit and walk in the Spirit.
Thank you, Lord, I worship you, I exhort your Holy name, thank you Jesus, thank you Almighty God for your overwhelming and abundant provision.
Because of you I can smile, and rejoice daily; at times it seems as though I am afflicted by sickness but before a concerned kin could recommend a doctor; you remind me that by your stripes I am healed, and I start to see healing manifest in my body; perfectly according to your word in (Psalm 107:20),”He sent his word, and healed them, and delivered them from their destruction.”
Trust in the Lord, believe in Christ whom He has sent.
Have not also seen it all, but I trust in the Lord and hope in the Lord. Let’s study God’s word and stand on His promises in unity.
I call you blessed.
 – Tomiwa Immanuel (mp3 download now)){kind=link}
