So Different Than Us

What Do You Think Isaiah 55:8 Means?

I have heard this around trials, around a statement that we cannot really understand God, around the mystery of sovereignty, etc.

Is God completely other than us? Sure, but is this speaking in general about God and His otherness or is it speaking of a specific area of God’s otherness?

There are two perspectives of this verse: the primary area of difference is what does "for" refer back to?

The thoughts of God in relationship to sin

"Ways and thoughts" of men are contrasted with "ways and thoughts of God".

This is referring overall to man's sin; men have sinful thoughts and ways, and those are opposed to God.

Man need to repent from their thoughts and ways because they are no God's thoughts and ways.

The thoughts of God in relationship to mercy

You need not doubt God's willingness to pardon; though man might be led to not forgive God is far more gracious than man.

This context is the offer of salvation in Christ.

The Lord is contrasting His quality of forgiveness versus men: God desires to forgive if the conditions are met.

God contrasts His quantity of forgiveness: men find it hard to forgive but not God; where sin abounded grace super abounded.

God contrasts the number of offenders we will forgive versus how many He will forgive; God will forgive the sin of every one who comes to Him through Christ. God is never slow to pardon; He abounds in pardon!

The means by which God pardons are above man's thoughts or ways. How God will pardon is way above man's thoughts or ways. God's way is folly to men but it is the wisdom of God!

I hold to this second interpretation. The context starts with a call to everyone (Isaiah 55:1).

Isaiah 55:1 ESV

“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.

What is the Problem?

Ortlund, ...we tend to project our natural expectations about who God is onto him instead of fighting to let the Bible surprise us into what God himself says.

Calvin said, “There is nothing that troubles our consciences more, than when we think that God is like ourselves.”

This really comes out when we read v. 8 in context of the paragraph. Allow me to lead you through that paragraph of though (Isaiah 55:6-9).

Isaiah 55:6–9 ESV

“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.

The first part of this passage tells us what to do. The second part tells us why.

Ortlund calls out in his book this logical progression:

God calls us to seek him, to call on him, and invites even the wicked to return to the Lord.

What will happen when we do this? God will “have compassion on” us (v. 7). The parallelism of Hebrew poetry then gives us another way of saying that God will exercise compassion toward us: “He will abundantly pardon” (v. 7).

How Much Do We Believe the Lord is eager to abundantly pardon?

The problem is we think God is like us

He is petty

He is vindictive

He is quick to judge and slow to forgive

He wants to see proof before He forgives

We struggle here because we migrate towards law, towards legalism, we want order!

Ortlund puts it this way

He is telling us that we cannot view his expressions of his mercy with our old eyes. Our very view of God must change.

This passage brings us to another startling understanding about our God.

Our View of God is off by miles!

We see this clearly in Isaiah 55:9

Isaiah 55:9 ESV

For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.

It is important we understand what “thoughts” are:

This can be a passing mental reflection or a musing but context determines meaning.

This word (mǎ·ḥǎšā·ḇā) more accurately means the content of reasoning and thinking, to think and plan to create something.

We need to put in our Bible that God thoughts are His plans and desires.

Ways refers to a journey, how to get from one place to another, how to accomplish something.

Calvin saw this verse referring to the compassion of God being so different than our thinking, he said “[b]ecause it is difficult to remove terror from trembling minds, Isaiah draws an argument from the nature of God, that he will be ready to pardon and to be reconciled.

This Does Have A Requirement

Perhaps you are saying, Aha, I knew it was too good to be true. Isaiah tells us how we get this compassion given to us in Isaiah 55:3.

Isaiah 55:3 ESV

Incline your ear, and come to me; hear, that your soul may live; and I will make with you an everlasting covenant, my steadfast, sure love for David.

I am preferential to the NKJV that translates this end of the verse, The sure mercies of David. We have this referenced in the New Testament in Acts 13:34.

Acts 13:34 ESV

And as for the fact that he raised him from the dead, no more to return to corruption, he has spoken in this way, “ ‘I will give you the holy and sure blessings of David.’

In this passage Paul is stating how Jesus is the fulfillment of this promise to David, verses David himself.

The requirement of God is simply you come - just like where we started off:

English Standard Version (Chapter 55)

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.

God isn’t like me or you - He is so different that He forgives where we could never forgive. Love Him with you whole heart, soul, and mind.