Juxtaposition

Recently, I've been secretly wishing I had picked up a second major in college. If I could have crammed anything else in to my undergraduate experience, I think I would have thoroughly enjoyed studying English. My religion minor provided heavy doses of reading, analyzing, and writing, but now I wish I could have spent time digging into works that are more commonly read than The Contemporary Quest for Jesus and The Great Divorce. Valuable, of course, but not frequent dinner conversation, to say the least.

What a useful thing to be familiar with the beautiful and redemptive themes authors have employed for centuries, knowingly and unknowingly reflecting to the world various facets of God's character and design for creation. Since one way that God chooses to reveal Himself is through the written word, I can't imagine how illuminating it would be to understand every rich linguistic nuance included in the Bible. And of course, my pride would love to catch every intelligent literature reference that crosses my ears and to throw creative literary devices in to everyday communication just for kicks.

But, I didn't study English in college, so I'll comment on one simple but meaningful literary device I do know that I had a chance to relish in Scripture recently: juxtaposition.  Well, perhaps we should call it Holy Spirit-inspired juxtaposition.

I've been studying Isaiah recently, and a few days ago I did a shallow survey of the book to remember what I had read and find out where I was going. The entire book could be summarized by the distinct juxtaposition of Isaiah's harsh prophecies demanding repentance followed by his aggressive insistence on God's redemptive love for His people. It's easy to get lost in these chapters, because it seems to continuously and dramatically shift from one extreme to the other. No lukewarm here in these pages!

I came across two verses so incredibly striking in their difference that each lent richer, fuller meaning to the other when read consecutively.

9:13, 20 The people have not sought the LORD Almighty…On the right they will devour, but still be hungry, on the left they will eat, but not be satisfied.

Ravenous, insatiable, destructive, wasteful, dissatisfied, greedy.

Even though the context is much weightier, I’m reminded of a time or two I've spent sitting on the coach, watching something terrible on television while mindlessly moving my right hand from a bag of processed something to my empty mouth and back again.  I ate without satisfaction, carelessly devoured without curing my hunger.

When was the last time you experienced this sense of incessant dissatisfaction?  Keep that association with all the feelings that go with it fresh in your mind as you switch gears and read the next verse.

40:31 But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.

Victorious, energetic, refreshed, fearless, persevering, strong.

In contrast, this verse reminds me of the first half marathon I ever ran.  With much surprise, I felt fabulous the entire race.  Steady, strong, and consistent, I finished faster than I guessed I would, and was laughing and enjoying myself with friends minutes after sprinting through the finish line of the 13.1 mile course.  (Don't worry, it's only been downhill for my racing since then).

Likewise, remember the last time you felt a similar mix of steady strength, power, and endurance.

Of course, these associations do not do justice to the exegetic meaning of these verses, but engaging our sensory memory highlights the difference that seeking and hoping in God makes in a life.

The context of the first verse is Isaiah’s confrontation of the Israelite’s wickedness and stubborn refusal to move towards God. 

The second verse follows God’s proclamation to Israel that her sin has been paid for, promising to tenderly care for his people as a shepherd cares for his flock. 

In general, it's good to be cautious before extrapolating any kind of cause and effect prescriptions from Scripture.  Relationships are more complex than a mere cause and effect equation, and it follows that our relationship with God is as well.  Still, it's difficult to deny the strong associations we see within those two verses and in their juxtaposition:

Refusing (or forgetting) to seek God reaps a harvest of destructive dissatisfaction.

Consciously moving our hope to the Lord, or putting all our eggs in "God's basket," so to speak, reaps a bounty of graceful strength.

God mercifully extends grace somewhere between chapters nine and forty, probably many times between chapters nine and forty, and therefore at least one lane of reconciliation’s two-way street is complete.  For the road to actually connect God and His people in full restoration though, the Israelites had to respond.  In verse 31, we see the imperative on hoping in the Lord and accepting God's offer of redemption as our step towards full reconciliation.

My hope is built on nothing less
Than Jesus' blood and righteousness.

Indeed, hope in Christ is what constitutes the world of difference between those two verses and consequently the difference in us and the harvest we reap.


Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. Whoever sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; whoever sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. Galatians 6:7-8