the Gospel of incomprehensibility

This week as a church we are focusing on the story of Joseph in Genesis 37-50. Of course I call it “the story of Joseph” in a narrow sense, because the story is more about God than about Joseph. Joseph, from all we can tell, is faithful to God through some harrowing trials – being the object of a fratricide conspiracy, being sold to human traffickers (by his brothers), being a slave of a foreign dignitary, being a prisoner in the elite government dungeon. In all of this, though, God’s hand is on Joseph. It is not until the end of the story that we can look back and see how each successive situation, rather than being another step down, was really another step up to an unbelievable and dramatic rescue ending. God had the whole thing in his hand.

The story brings to mind Isaiah 55:8-9 –

“For my thoughts are not your thoughts,

neither are your ways my ways,”

declares the Lord.

“As the heavens are higher than the earth,

so are my ways higher than your ways

and my thoughts than your thoughts.” (NIV)

We often quote these two verses alone, and I think we generally do them justice. The first word, however, is “For.” These verses explain something; there is a context. So we look back to what comes right before them.

Seek the Lord while he may be found;

call on him while he is near.

Let the wicked forsake their ways

and the unrighteous their thoughts.

Let them turn to the Lord, and he will have mercy on them,

and to our God, for he will freely pardon.

There is a call to repent with God’s promise in advance to forgive. The reality of God’s ways and thoughts being higher than our ways and thoughts is really a gospel (good news) message. God’s rescue exceeds our dream of what is possible!

If we back out even further to get a bigger view of the text, we see that Isaiah 55 opens with an invitation to the thirsty and the poor to come and receive amazing blessings at no cost. The needs are clearly more than mere physical needs. God calls those whose hearts are hungry, whose spirits are poor (Matthew 5:3-12) – people with questions and sins and doubts and messy lives – and God promises abundance. We say, “How could that possibly happen? That’s not our way! We can’t even think of something like that!” And then we’re back where this whole musing started – facing a God whose ways and thoughts are not like our ways and thoughts. Now, however, we have those verses firmly rooted in the context of a theology of blessing. That God’s ways and thoughts are higher than ours is good news. It’s not simply that we have an incomprehensible God, but that his plan and power to bless in the face of blinding circumstance are incomprehensible to us.

It’s only in this context of power and incomprehensibility that we can begin to accept the truth of a verse like Romans 8:28 when we can’t even imagine a glimmer of hope (“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose”). God is good, and God is powerful, and God is working to bless in ways that we cannot see or understand – yet.  

So Isaiah 55 can end with a blessing as big as creation itself:

You will go out in joy

and be led forth in peace;

the mountains and hills

will burst into song before you,

and all the trees of the field

will clap their hands.

Instead of the thornbush will grow the juniper,

and instead of briers the myrtle will grow.

This will be for the Lord’s renown,

for an everlasting sign,

that will endure forever.