On a recent episode of the Former Adventist podcast (episode 77), Nikki and Colleen discussed some contextual considerations, as well as 10 hermeneutic guidelines to think through when reading Scripture. Though they were discussing these things in the context of their upcoming walk through the book of Ephesians, I found myself thinking about the principles again when I talked with a friend about worry and anxiety surrounding the many events happening around the world that seem chaotic and out of our control.
Upon coming out of Adventism, I realized how often we had taken Scripture out of context, either through eisegesis or simply though misapplication. There’s a song that is popular in both Sunday and Sabbath school settings called, “Every Promise in the Book is Mine.” While this idea is a lovely sentiment, a proper reading of Scripture quickly disproves this theory, and realizing that Adventism applied verses and scriptural principles to themselves that were never meant for them left me wondering, quite honestly, what things in the Old Testament were applicable to me, as a New Covenant Christian. I knew that Adventism scoffed at Christianity for “discarding” the Old Testament, and while I certainly didn’t want to do that, I also didn’t want to make the same mistakes in misapplication as I had as an Adventist.
In the conversation with my friend, I found the oft-quoted and merchandized Isaiah 40:31 coming to mind:
but they who wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.
I wanted to share this verse with her, but I felt uncertain as to whether this particular passage of Scripture could be rightly applied to my friend and me. Was this apparent promise FOR us?
Fortunately, my friend is a well-read student of Scripture herself, and has lots of practice using good hermeneutics, so when I did mention it to her, she was able to go to the passage and read it for herself and draw comfort from it.
In fact, I wanted to take the time to dig into this passage myself, so that next time I would feel more confident knowing if I was sharing something appropriate. I decided to refer to the hermeneutical principles Nikki and Colleen had discussed on the podcast and see if they could help me confidently discern the use of this particular verse as well as the surrounding passage as a means of comfort in uncertain and difficult times.
The first step is to identify the book, thinking about the genre, author, historical background, and the time of writing as well as its purpose and theme. I used my ESV study Bible to help me in this area. I noted that the book of Isaiah is in the genre of Major Prophets, written by none other than the prophet Isaiah. Isaiah is not named as the author of any other books in the Bible, and it is a book of prophecy, written in a series of oracles, or tellings.
Concerning historical background, the prophecies in the book of Isaiah date roughly from 740 BC to at least 681 BC, and while there is little detailed information as to specific dates given, a general time frame can be derived based from the dates of the ruling kings mentioned. Isaiah lived in a tumultuous time in the history of the people of Israel, and Isaiah prophesied during the rule of 4 kings over Judah: Uzziah, who succeeded an evil king (Amaziah), began his reign following the ways of the Lord, but ended in pride and ruin, struck with leprosy and forced into co-regency with his son, Jotham. Jotham reigned only five years after his father’s death, and also “ordered his ways before the LORD his God” (2 Chronicles 27:6).
After Jotham came Ahaz who was an evil, wicked king. During his reign Judah fell to the Syrians and was repeatedly attacked and raided by other neighboring peoples. Ahaz’s distress only caused him to run further into his faithless ways. The final king to reign during Isaiah’s time was Hezekiah, who returned the people to the worship of the Lord.
The original audience would have been the people of Israel, whether those who held to faith in the Lord, or those who followed the ways of the evil king Ahaz. The purpose and theme of this book is to proclaim God Himself, the things He has done, and the things He will continue to do for Israel. There is a comparison and contrast in this book between ideas such as the loftiness, the holiness of God against His nearness to those who love and serve him; His fierce wrath toward His enemies, and compassion and salvation shown to those who worship Him. My study Bible offered a couple of insights I found helpful:
Isaiah’s book is a vision in that it reveals, through symbols and reasoned thought, a God-centered way of seeing and living. It offers everyone the true alternative to the false appearances of this world. (Pg. 1233, Introduction to Isaiah, ESV Study Bible, Crossway)
The whole book portrays God’s plan for Judah as a story that is headed somewhere, namely, toward the coming of the final heir of David who will bring light to the Gentiles. (Pg. 1234, Introduction to Isaiah, ESV Study Bible, Crossway)
Now that the stage was set, I was able to read through the fortieth chapter (for context), and I used a list of six things to look for while reading what Nikki provided in the podcast and in her following blog post:
- Are there commands or promises for us to notice?
- If so, who are they for? Be careful not to impose yourself on the text, and be aware of the intended audience.
- What applies to us now?
- Are there principles that can be applied to us?
- What do we learn about God?
- What do we learn about Man?
If you are able to find Isaiah 40 in your Bible to follow along as you read here, I think you will be encouraged.
Are there commands or promises for us to notice? Who are they for?
There are a few places where the text seems to be speaking specifically to the people of Israel. The first two verses read:
Comfort, comfort my people, says your God; Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and cry to her that her warfare is ended, that her iniquity is pardoned, that she has received from the Lord’s hand double for all her sins.
Verses 9-11 also seem to be speaking specifically to Zion/Jerusalem, promising that the Lord will come for them, save them and care for them. Verse 27 refers specifically to Israel, and the Lord asks why they question Him, wondering why it appears that He has forgotten them.
What applies to us now? Are there principles that can be applied to us?
What do we learn about God? What do we learn about Man?
While the specifics of the two examples above do not apply to us, as I read, I found that most of the rest of the chapter lays plain many comforting and encouraging truths about God. As I read, I was able to break the chapter down into a few sections that seemed to focus on a theme, an attribute, of God.
Verses 3–5 speak of the power and glory of the Lord.
Verses 6–8 tell of His steadfastness.
Verses 10 and 11 juxtapose His unmatched strength with His gentleness and care. While these verses follow a specific reference to Jerusalem/Zion, the principles are general and apply to God as he relates to humanity, not just Israel.
Verses 12–17 use great detail and imagery to describe the expansiveness and immense size and power of the Lord.
Verses 18–20, we read about the weakness of idols of wood and gold, while verses 21–24 show the smallness and helplessness of man followed by verses 25 and 26, which point to the incomparable power and might of God.
Finally, the final section, in answer to Israel’s wondering at the Lord’s apparent forgetfulness of them, we find four verses that speak of the Lord as tireless, unfailing, matchless, and sustaining. These last four verses, the ones many of us probably recognize from songs and coffee mugs, draw the reader to find hope and comfort in the Lord, the One who was, is, and will always be the savior and sustainer of His people!
What a wonderful comfort this chapter is in our uncertain times! The world has faced many uncertain times before, and certainly there have been periods of even greater unrest and devastation, but these words ring true for each moment: “The LORD is the everlasting God”! “He does not faint or grow weary, his understanding is unsearchable” (verse 28)!
When I imagine what life must have been like during uncertain times in Israel’s history, what comfort these words would have brought, remembering how faithful God had been to His promises. When I read these words and I see myself, my country, and my world during these uncertain times, and as I think back over 2,700 MORE years of the history of God’s faithfulness and promise-keeping, how much more comforted and sure can I be of who He is, and what He is doing in sovereignly working out His will in our still-fallen world! While reasons for worry and anxiety that we couldn’t have imagined a few months ago are thrust into view, we have infinitely more reasons to find hope, comfort, and rest in the words of Scripture.
As Adventists, we were taught to read the Bible devotionally, to study it with the ever-present help of the Sabbath School lesson or an Ellen White book, and to see ourselves in every passage, a viewpoint which set us up for a confusing, difficult view of Scripture.
I feel that almost every post I write somehow harkens back to the fact that the longer I am out of Adventism, the more in awe I am at the depth and richness of Christ, of the Gospel, and of the word, but every time I sit down to write, I am reminded once again at how true God’s word is.
2 Timothy 4:16,17 reminds us that Scripture serves many purposes, all of which work together to make us complete, equipped for every good work. I hope you will use these helpful tools to allow you to take a deeper dive into Scripture, to see more of the richness that lies in its pages, and to better understand how each and every word is there for a reason, even if that reason is not for your personal instruction or guarantee. The beauty of knowing these facts is knowing that the Bible is not primarily about ME, but about the enormity of the goodness and righteousness of a great God who can be trusted. And for that, I am eternally grateful! †
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Thank you so much for this.
Nikki did an excellent job with going through step by step the hermanutics and really great to go back t.
You have done an excellent job turning what Nikki said to a great template to use. I love how in-depth you went.