Context | Knowable Word

Context Matters: Dashing Little Ones Against the Rock

November 3, 2021 By Peter Krol

Psalm 137:9 offers an alarming benediction on those engaged in a shockingly outrageous behavior: “Blessed shall he be who takes your little ones and dashes them against the rock!” What is a serious student of the Bible to make of this, in light of Jesus’ welcoming of little children and his admonition to love one’s enemies?

Joe Palekas has a marvelous piece asking this very question. And to answer it, he takes a thorough tour of the context of Psalm 139:9. He looks at the literary context and train of thought in the poem itself. He looks at historical context when it was written. He looks at the larger literary context of the arrangement of psalms. He looks at the covenantal context, particularly in light of Isaiah’s predictions of the Day of the Lord to be brought against Babylon in Isaiah 13. Palekas looks at the context of the fulfillment in Christ. And he examines how all these contexts then lead us to application in our day and point in history.

In the end, he reaches the following conclusion:

Now Psalm 137 begins to become clearer. The community of exiles weeping by the waters of Babylon are calling for the day of the LORD. God has promised his covenant people that he will return them from exile and visit a just reward upon their captors. He promised this before he even sent them to exile. Psalm 137 contrasts the “day of Jerusalem” with the day of the LORD promised in Isaiah 13 and alluded to in Psalm 137:9. The astonishing and overwhelming image of dashing infants on the rocks is not the product of some twisted or vengeful human imagination. It is a call for God to be faithful to his covenant promises.

This is some terrific Bible study and contextual thinking at its finest. If you’ve ever wondered about that line about bashing babies on rocks, I encourage you to check it out. And if you’d like to see a skillful example of how context matters, I also encourage you to check it out!

Context Matters: The Man of Lawlessness

October 1, 2021 By Peter Krol

Perhaps you’ve heard of the Man of Lawlessness, otherwise known as the lawless one, who “opposes and exalts himself against every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, proclaiming himself to be God” (2 Thess 2:4). Sometimes connected with the Beast of Revelation and the Antichrist of John’s letters, this mysterious figure appears in a rather difficult passage, which is certainly to be numbered among those writings of Paul which are hard to understand (2 Peter 3:15-16). Yet the figure has become something of a staple in Christian fiction and end-times theology. What are we to make of him?

We always need to pay attention to the context of our favorite verses and phrases. When we learn to read the Bible for what it is—and not just as a code to crack—we may find it has a deeper or different meaning than we’ve assumed.

The Immediate Context

Notice how Paul explicitly introduces this character to his readers:

Now concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered together to him, we ask you, brothers, not to be quickly shaken in mind or alarmed, either by a spirit or a spoken word, or a letter seeming to be from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord has come. Let no one deceive you in any way. For that day will not come, unless the rebellion comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction, who opposes and exalts himself…
2 Thessalonians 2:1-4

Please take a close look once again: “Now concerning the coming of … Jesus … and our being gathered together to him, we ask you, brothers, not to be quickly shaken in mind or alarmed…”

So we may have great confidence that Paul is writing about the coming of Jesus and our being gathered together to him. There is much disagreement over what exactly those things mean, along with when and how they take place. But there ought to be no disagreement whatsoever regarding why Paul is writing about these events. That is, he wants to prevent his readers from being shaken or alarmed. He wants to correct the deception that abounds in Christian teaching and writing regarding these events. He wants to make sure his audience, the church at Thessalonica, knows what to look for before the coming of Jesus or gathering of the saints can take place. And this foreknowledge, when truthfully presented, will neither shake them up nor alarm them.

Therefore we can confidently conclude that, sadly, this passage has been used for centuries, contrary to its stated purpose, to create alarm among those who love the Lord Jesus. Whatever conclusions we may draw about the identity or timing of this Man of Lawlessness and his rebellion, any use of this text that provokes shaken minds or alarmed spirits among Christian brothers and sisters is a deception and a misuse of the text in direct violation of its context.

Let us ensure that the sensational but unclear parts of this text do not overshadow the abundantly clear comfort being offered to believers in Christ through it.

The Broader Context

And the broader context points in precisely the same direction.

Paul’s first letter begins with thanks to God for the people’s “work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Thess 1:2-3). This triple theme of faith, love, and hope can be traced through the letter as Paul’s chief focus. You are doing well in these three areas; now excel still more. (See my upcoming interpretive overview of 1 Thessalonians for more detail.)

But by the time he writes his second letter, only a few months later, something is missing. The object of his thanks is now that their “faith is growing abundantly, and the love of every one” of them for one another is increasing (2 Thess 1:3). Some commentators have tried to identify the presence of hope in the following sentence (“Therefore we ourselves boast … about your steadfastness and faith in all your persecutions” – 2 Thess 1:4), but it is telling that Paul now links their steadfastness not with hope—which was so prominent in the first letter—but with faith. Instead, Paul seems to remind them of the hope which was once theirs and could be yet again:

Now may our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God our Father, who loved us and gave us eternal comfort and good hope through grace, comfort your hearts and establish them in every good work and word.
2 Thessalonians 2:16-17

In many ways, the brief letter of 2 Thessalonians is about regaining hope, receiving its comfort through grace. The church was once characterized by faith, love, and hope. They have continued abounding in the first two; they now need to regain the comfort of the third.

And Paul’s teaching on the Man of Lawlessness is delivered with this purpose in mind. Not to shake them up or alarm them, but to deliver to them eternal comfort and good hope through grace that they might be established in every good work and word.

Conclusion

We ought to be careful not to be seduced by sensational topics, lest we miss the express purpose for which the Lord has revealed such things to us. As Paul had said while he was with them (2 Thess 2:5): Yes, the man of lawlessness and his rebellion must come before the day of the Lord. This is not to alarm you but to comfort you, so you know you haven’t missed it.

Context matters.

For more examples of why context matters, click here.

Sometimes We Shouldn’t Be Allowed to Apply Scripture

September 1, 2021 By Peter Krol

Pierce Taylor Hibbs has a really helpful piece entitled “Christian, Here’s When You’re Allowed to Apply Scripture.” In it, he laments the way too many of us too often use the Scripture.

Much of the time, we’re pigeons grabbing bread crumbs of information and entertainment. And that crumb-picking habit carries over into our understanding and application of Scripture. We’re not asking questions of a text, working through context in widening circles, or even using our God-given reason to reach understanding. Instead, we’re crumb-picking. We grab a friend’s complaint here, a Facebook comment there, and a Scripture passage we found through a Google search, and boom: we’ve got an “argument,” an arrow to shoot in conversation. And because we’re quoting Scripture, it appears to be biblical. But let’s be clear: Quoting a Bible verse doesn’t mean you’ve made a biblical argument.

He then proposes that what authorizes someone to make use of the Scripture in application is that they have first done the hard work of observing it in its original context and interpreting it in light of the person and work of Jesus Christ. He then walks through a 3-step process, showing how to do this difficult work, with the example of an easy-to-misuse verse: “God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control” (2 Tim 1:7).

This article is well worth your time. Check it out!

What Does “All Israel Will Be Saved” Mean?

August 11, 2021 By Peter Krol

In Romans 11:26, Paul makes a statement that has baffled interpreters for generations: “And in this way all Israel will be saved.” New Testament professor Jared Compton has attempted to explain the key phrase, “all Israel will be saved,” in this brief piece.

Compton approaches the topic through a series of four interpretive questions:

What does he mean by “saved”?
What does he mean by “Israel”?
What does he mean by “all”?
What does he mean by “will be”?

To be frank, I would probably disagree with Compton’s answers to a few of these questions. But I’m eager to link to his article anyway because he models some excellent Bible study skills in the process of seeking to answer his (insightful) questions. He engages with the text. He observes carefully. He reckons with the context of Paul’s argument in the chapter and this section of Romans.

Even if I might disagree with a few of the answers, based on further observation and investigation of the same text, I have much trust that Compton would be a fellow with whom one could have a productive debate on such things. One who isn’t committed to a particular theology despite the text, but one who may arrive at a set of theological conclusions precisely because of the text. I am happy to send you his way to consider his careful handling of this challenging topic.

Check it out!

Context Matters: We Bless You in the Name of the Lord

August 6, 2021 By Peter Krol

Perhaps you’ve heard it as a greeting or call to worship: “The blessing of the Lord be upon you! We bless you in the name of the Lord!” (Ps 129:8). Or if you haven’t heard it in such a setting, I suspect it is not difficult to imagine hearing it in such a setting. A simple internet search takes me quickly to a slide with this verse superimposed over a pastoral background image.

Now while it is fully consistent with scripture to pronounce God’s blessing on God’s people, this particular blessing comes in a rather unexpected setting. If we read the Bible’s poetry as we read other poetry and not as a fishing hole for motivational sentiment, we’ll see that some familiar expressions take on a deeper meaning than we originally thought.

The Blessing

Of course, the Bible often tells us of God blessing his people, even from the very beginning (Gen 1:28). He commands the high priest of Israel to pronounce his blessing (Num 6:22-27). In their lowest moments, the people long for this very blessing (Ps 80:3, 7, 19). The apostles often conclude their letters with such words of blessing (e.g. 2 Cor 13:14).

So the pronouncement of a blessing, either in greeting or as a call to worship, is a right and proper thing to do. But let’s not allow that fact to prevent us from reading Scripture as coherent literary texts. Let’s not ignore the context.

Psalm 129

Psalms 120-134 are a collection of “songs of ascents,” which pilgrims to religious feasts may have sung on their climb to Jerusalem for national feasts. As one of those poems, Psalm 129 meditates on the lives on those pilgrims who have suffered under deep affliction. This affliction seems incongruent with the life of blessing promised in Yahweh’s covenant. “Greatly have they afflicted me from my youth, yet they have not prevailed against me” (Ps 129:2).

Ps 129:4 is the turning point, where the poet remembers Yahweh’s righteousness, which requires him to fight back against wicked oppressors. The rest of the poem pronounces not blessings, but curses on those who would dare oppress Yahweh’s people. “May all who hate Zion be put to shame and turned backward!” (Ps 129:5).

And observe the entirety of Ps 129:8: The final curse is that, regarding these oppressors, nobody will ever look upon them and pronounce Yahweh’s blessing on them.

Nor do those who pass by say,
‘The blessing of Yahweh be upon you!
We bless you in the name of Yahweh!’

Conclusion

The irony of the greeting-card use of Ps 129:8 is that the statement “We bless you in the name of the Lord” is the very thing the poet does not want people to say. He wants those who hate God’s people to go without hearing such words or receiving such a blessing. And when we ignore the context, perhaps we fail to grasp the profound point that there is a time and a place not to bless. Instead, we can set our hope in the Lord Jesus to show up once again and set right everything that has gone wrong.

For more examples of why context matters, click here.

Context Matters: In the World, but Not of the World

July 19, 2021 By Ryan Higginbottom

Perhaps you’ve heard that Christians are (or ought to be) in the world but not of the world. You’ve learned that those who follow Jesus should interact with their friends and neighbors (the world) but they should also be distinct, with different priorities and standards.

This phrase is common in Christian circles, but many may not know where it comes from. Is this a biblical saying? If so, are we using it correctly? If we read the Bible as a whole and not as an inspirational-motto jukebox, we’ll see that some familiar expressions take on a deeper meaning than we originally thought.

Within the Gospel of John

Let’s dispense with one thing first. “In the world but not of the world” does not appear in the Bible. Rather, it is a simple phrase that joins two sayings of Jesus together in a memorable way.

We find the pieces of this phrase in Jesus’s “high priestly prayer” in John 17. Jesus prays this prayer at the end of his last meal with his disciples, after Judas leaves to betray him (John 13). Jesus addresses the remaining disciples for three chapters (John 14–16) regarding his departure and the coming of the Holy Spirit. At the beginning of John 17, Jesus turns from talking to the disciples to praying to his Father for those same disciples.

In the World

My hunch is that “in the world” was pulled from John 17:11.

And I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, keep them in your name, which you have given me, that they may be one, even as we are one. (John 17:11)

Jesus was thinking about his departure from earth, contrasting where he will be (“no longer in the world”) with where the disciples will be (“in the world”). By “in the world,” Jesus means that the disciples are walking around on the earth like other living humans. This conclusion follows from the beginning of Jesus’s prayer.

I glorified you on earth, having accomplished the work that you gave me to do. And now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed. (John 17:4–5)

Not of the World

The second part of this saying occurs a few verses later in Jesus’s prayer.

I have given them your word, and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. (John 17:14–16)

Whereas “in the world” was used by way of contrast between Jesus and his disciples, the phrase “not of the world” is used to show similarity. The disciples are not of the world just as Jesus is not of the world.

Jesus spoke of this idea in John 15:19. The disciples are not of the world because Jesus chose them out of the world. Put differently, the disciples are “the people whom [God] gave [Jesus] out of the world” (John 17:6). There is a fundamental difference between the disciples and other people now. Instead of being of the world, they are of Jesus.

Jesus’s Requests

The context of words and phrases in the Bible always matters. Both parts of this little saying are located within Jesus’s prayer. How are they connected to his requests?

With regard to the disciples being “in the world,” Jesus asks his Father to “keep them in your name…that they may be as one, even as we are one” (John 17:11). Jesus wants God to guard them, so that none will be lost (John 17:12). The end goal of this preservation is a divine unity.

Part of what identifies the disciples as not being “of the world” is that Jesus has given them his word (John 17:14). Jesus prays that his Father would not “take them out of the world,” but that he would “keep them from the evil one” (John 17:15). A related request falls two verses later: “Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth” (John 17:17).

A Helpful Phrase

Sometimes in these Context Matters posts, we correct a popular understanding of a verse. In this case, “in the world, but not of the world” is not found in Scripture, but the phrase is a helpful summary of biblical truths.

How much greater the reminder this phrase can provide, therefore, when we remember its components lie at the heart of Jesus’s prayer for his followers. Jesus still (and always) prays for his people, so we might conclude he prays these things for us now.

Those who follow Christ are in the world in a way that Jesus no longer is. Because we are still in the world we should ask God to keep us in his name that we might be one.

Those who follow Christ are, like him, not of the world. For this reason the world may hate us. So we should ask God to keep us from the evil one and sanctify us in his truth.

Context matters.

For more examples of why context matters, click here.

3 John: Speaking the Truth in Love to Challenging Leadership Situations

July 16, 2021 By Peter Krol

The Bible’s shortest book is easy to neglect but rewards a close look. This brief communication from “the elder” to “the beloved Gaius” (3 John 1) models for us both the heart and the practice of sincere ministry in a fallen world. Verse 1 introduces the twin themes of love and truth, which permeate the letter.

Regarding love: John loves Gaius (3 John 1), and Gaius loves the stranger-brothers (3 John 5-6), fellow Christians who are outsiders to his church community. Regarding truth: Gaius walks in it (3 John 3-4), we may become fellow workers for it (3 John 8), and one’s goodness may be commended by it (3 John 12).

Putting the two themes together, we see that Christian brothers have testified to both Gaius’s truth (3 John 3) and his love (3 John 6). It would appear that his love for the stranger-brothers was expressed—or could be further expressed—by planting himself firmly in the truth (i.e. walking in it), stroking in the same direction as the truth (i.e. becoming a fellow worker for it), and heeding its commendations (i.e. receiving its testimony). By contrast, therefore, he could fail to love others by departing from the truth, working against it, or being condemned by it.

This is all quite abstract, though, is it not? A survey of the themes will take us only so far. We’ll profit even further by following the letter’s train of thought from beginning to end.

Literary Markers

Once “the elder” identifies his recipient as “the beloved” Gaius, he then directly addresses this “beloved” three more times: 3 John 2, 5, 11. Those three addresses (“Beloved”) mark three sections for the letter’s body. We could potentially also peel off 3 John 13-15 as the letter’s closing. So we can observe the following structure:

Greeting – 1
Body – 2-12
- Beloved, part 1 – 2-4
- Beloved, part 2 – 5-10
- Beloved, part 3 – 11-12
Closing – 13-15

I’ve already shown how verse 1 introduces the letter’s themes, so let’s now walk through the letter’s body and closing.

Gaius’s Health – 2-4

The elder has heard reports that things are well with Gaius’s soul, as demonstrated by the fact that he continues walking in the truth (3 John 2b-3). And just as things are already going well with Gaius’s soul, the elder now prays as well that all may go well with him, and especially that he may be in good health (3 John 2). We could paraphrase these verses as follows:

As I have heard from those who have seen you in action, your soul is clearly doing well. I’ll ask God to make it continue to be so, and for that health to overflow to your body and life circumstances.

Now why is the elder singling out Gaius to receive this letter in the first place? The elder has heard reports referring specifically to Gaius’s attachment to the truth, so Gaius must be some sort of leader or public figure in the church. He is not unknown or unseen. Perhaps he’s a fellow elder in this congregation, responsible to help shepherd the flock. And the elder is praying diligently for the health of not only Gaius’s body but also his situation (“that all may go well with you”).

Gaius’s Church – 5-10

The elder now turns to describe what is going down in Gaius’s church. He begins by celebrating what is good (3 John 5-8) before frankly evaluating what is not good (3 John 9-10).

The good: Gaius is acting faithfully and with love, by sending out these itinerant, stranger-brothers in a manner worthy of God (3 John 5-6). He has entertained angels, and he’s treated them as he would treat the Lord himself, were he physically present. And Gaius hasn’t slowed down the mission in any way: He will “send them on their journey.” He’s making their mission more effective and less burdensome. Because they bear the name of Christ and have left so much behind (3 John 7), we ought to support people like this. This makes us fellow workers for the truth. There is much good to celebrate in this church and in Gaius’s leadership.

The bad: The elder has previously written to the entire church (though many commentators will disagree with me, I don’t see any compelling reason why he couldn’t be referring to 2 John here), but a man named Diotrephes won’t acknowledge his authority to proclaim truth or command obedience (3 John 9). Diotrephes not only talks wicked nonsense against the elder, but he also refuses to welcome the stranger-brothers and puts those who welcome them out of the church (3 John 10). So Diotrephes must be a leader within the church, exercising church discipline against those who accept the elder’s authority and obey his commands regarding what sort of missionaries they ought to support.

So although there is much to celebrate in the perspective and behavior of one of the church’s leaders (Gaius), there is just as much to condemn in the perspective and behavior of another one of the church’s leaders (Diotrephes). There is something deeply flawed here within the structure of the church that would permit Diotrephes to act unilaterally against the apostle’s instructions. This leaves the itinerant missionaries’ health in danger, at least in part because the entire church’s health is in question.

And this leads the elder to propose a way forward.

Gaius’s Assistant – 11-12

With the third and final address to Gaius as “beloved,” the elder commands him to imitate good and make sure not to imitate evil (3 John 11). What is this all about? How does the context shape the way we should understand this instruction?

Remember that Diotrephes is talking “wicked nonsense” (3 John 10). The elder now cautions Gaius not to be snookered by him. Don’t imitate him or his behavior. The elder goes as far as to suggest that Diotrephes has not even seen God (3 John 11). But Gaius—you who do good (3 John 3)—you are from God. You don’t need to get caught up in Diotrephes’s charismatic personality, his demands for loyalty, or his veneer of spirituality. And by all means, do not support his domineering approach to leadership.

The elder doesn’t leave Gaius with only the problem on his hands. Before he goes, he proposes a way forward to help Gaius make it right. This ugliness must be rectified before too long.

In 3 John 12, the elder commends another man, named Demetrius, who has received a good testimony from everyone and from the truth itself. The elder throws in his own testimony and that of his associates as well!

There’s much that’s not said here, so we don’t know precisely who Demetrius is. But there’s got to be a reason why the elder brings him up. The most credible options I’ve come across are that Demetrius was either the messenger who delivered the elder’s letter to Gaius, or another member of Gaius’s church—perhaps someone who had been overlooked for leadership because Diotrephes had seized the reins. But either way, the letter’s train of thought suggests that the elder is commending Demetrius to help Gaius lead the church in the truth, and to deal with the problem of Diotrephes. The elder wants Gaius to know that Demetrius would make a good fellow worker in the truth. A partner in the fight. A support in the mission of loving the stranger-brothers in truth.

In other words, Gaius does not have to stand alone in resisting the abusive leadership of Diotrephes.

Closing – 13-15

Now this is more than a little ugly. The elder has called out this guy (Diotrephes) by name, but in a way that remains surprisingly respectful and circumspect. He now concludes on an ominous note, however. There’s a lot more to say about this, but I’m not going to commit it to writing (3 John 13). Let’s do this face to face (3 John 14). These words have a more sinister tone than those that close 2 John, despite their similarity. There is no suggestion here that face time will have the result that “our joy may be complete” (2 John 12). Instead the final greetings are accompanied by a wish for “peace” (3 John 15).

Conclusion

Body and soul are intertwined. Though Gaius’s own soul is doing well, that health must seep out into his own body, and into the body of Christ of which he is a part. And since our greatest, healthiest joy derives from seeing one another walk in the truth (3 John 4), we must celebrate the good, identify the bad, and rectify the ugly. The good news of 3 John is that we don’t have to face such things alone.

Interpretive Outline

Speaking the truth in love – 3 John 1
Three wishes for the beloved church leader:
1. Prayer for the health of the whole person and community – 2-4
2. Celebration/confrontation of the brutal facts – 5-10
3. Assistance in the trenches – 11-12
More truth remains to be spoken in love – 13-15

This post is part of a series of interpretive overviews of the books of the Bible.

Binding and Loosing in Matthew 16:19

July 7, 2021 By Peter Krol

The Logos blog has a helpful piece from Murray J. Harris on the meaning of the terms “bind” and “loose” in Matthew 16:19. When Jesus entrusts to Peter the “keys of the kingdom,” along with the authority to bind and loose, to what is he referring?

Whenever evangelists affirm that all those who repent and believe in Jesus Christ have their sins forgiven, they are declaring that such people are “loosed” and have entered the kingdom. In this declaration, they are dramatizing on earth the standing verdict that heaven (= God) has already made. Similarly, those who remain unrepentant unbelievers are “bound,” and the kingdom is shut against them. Heaven has already affirmed this truth, for “salvation is found in no one else” than Jesus the Cornerstone (Acts 4:11–12).

Harris makes his case from the context of Matthew and other ancient Jewish literature. He models good contextual work to help answer a thorny question, and he draws useful implications for what this does and doesn’t mean for churches and church leaders today.

Check it out!

The Context of the Great Commission

June 30, 2021 By Peter Krol

Erik Raymond has a thoughtful piece entitled “The Context of the Great Commission is a Miracle.” He combines a number of helpful OIA skills: context, observation, overcoming familiarity, and head and heart application.

Sometimes we get discouraged about the mission. We don’t see the results we’d like. The sting of rejection lingers. The footsteps of apostasy haunt us. The seemingly unanswered prayers fatigue us. Looking through natural lenses, we could conclude the gospel is not working. Thinking like entrepreneurs or fishermen, we might conclude it’s better to pack up and go home. Maybe we should do something else.
But this is thinking naturally, not supernaturally. Remember the context of the Great Commission. Everyone was ready to go home after Good Friday. That’s the point. Christ rose from the dead and surprised everyone. He changed the whole narrative. He’s alive, ruling, reigning, and unstoppable.

Check it out!

Context Matters: God’s Ways Are Higher Than Our Ways

June 7, 2021 By Ryan Higginbottom

Perhaps you’ve heard that God’s ways are higher than our ways, that his thoughts are above our thoughts. You’ve been told that God is so great, and our minds are so small in comparison, that we cannot grasp his motivations or his logic.

I’ve heard well-meaning Christians tell others that God’s ways are beyond us in an effort to bring comfort and assurance. We cannot figure out what God is doing, our lives feel out of control, but don’t worry—God’s thoughts are higher than our thoughts. It’s okay—even predictable—that we wouldn’t track with what God is up to.

But is this what that verse in Isaiah is meant to convey? Are we using this phrase in its proper context? When we learn to read the Bible as a book instead of as an independent collection of sentences and phrases, we’ll find that some of the most familiar passages mean something different than we’ve assumed.

The Context in Isaiah

This passage about God’s ways being higher than ours comes from Isaiah, and it’s worth reproducing a good portion of the passage here.

“Seek the Lord while he may be found;
call upon him while he is near;
let the wicked forsake his way,
and the unrighteous man his thoughts;
let him return to the Lord, that he may have compassion on him,
and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.
For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord.
For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
so are my ways higher than your ways
and my thoughts than your thoughts.” (Isaiah 55:6–9)

Peter has already written about the big-picture structure of Isaiah. Chapters 40–55 hang together, and this passage falls near the end of that section. This portion of the prophecy describes how God will use a Servant to pardon the iniquity of his people.

Crucially, for our purposes, this part of Isaiah is about forgiveness, reconciliation, and the restoration of God’s people.

The Context in Isaiah 55

This chapter begins with God’s famous invitation: “Come, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and he who has no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price” (Is 55:1). God is calling those who hear to live by means of an everlasting covenant with him (Is 55:3).

Those who listen should “seek the Lord” and “call upon him” (Is 55:6). The call is to the wicked and the unrighteous, to “return to the Lord,” for God will “have compassion” and “abundantly pardon” (Is 55:7).

The often-quoted verses (Is 55:8–9) are connected to verses 6–7 by the word “for.” This is a simple but powerful observation. God’s thoughts are different than our thoughts—this explains his eagerness to welcome and forgive. Our ways are not his ways, because we are neither in a position to pardon the repentant, unrighteous man nor are we inclined to show this compassion.

The chapter ends with an explanation about how God intends to accomplish this plan of forgiving those who forsake their wicked ways. It will happen through his word; it will go forth, accomplish his purposes, and not return to him empty (Is 55:11). As a result, the people rejoice, and nature will “break forth into singing” (Is 55:12).

Our Compassionate God

In terms of kindness, God’s ways are high above ours. Isaiah mentions God’s compassion three times in the previous chapter (Is 54:7, 8, 10), so this is a familiar theme by the time we reach chapter 55.

Let’s return to our earlier question. Yes, God is infinitely wiser and more complex than we are; his plans are beyond our ability to unravel. But when Isaiah writes about God’s thoughts being higher than our thoughts, he’s referring to God’s welcoming love to repentant sinners. We should worship and adore the God whose compassion overflows in this way that ours does not.

Context matters.

For more examples of why context matters, click here.

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