Context

When I was in high school, it was popular for couples to get what was called a Mizpah Coin. It was a coin that was split in half so that each lover could wear one as a necklace. When placed together you could read the Bible verse from Genesis 31 “May the Lord watch between me and thee while we are apart from one another.” It’s a sweet sentiment…until you know the rest of the story.

Jacob had worked many years for Laban in order to get the wife he wanted, Rachel. Laban tricked him after the first seven years and gave him Rachel’s older sister, Leah. Jacob didn’t want Leah, but Laban didn’t want to marry off his youngest daughter first. Jacob worked another seven years to get the wife he wanted in the first place. Now he’s got two wives that are sisters. God blessed Jacob so much that he ended up with a lot of livestock. Laban felt that Jacob had cheated him out of much of the flock. Knowing Laban was mad, Jacob packed his wives and livestock & headed out. His favorite wife stole one of Laban’s golden idols on the way out. When Laban found out that his daughters (and one of his idols) were gone, he took off after Jacob. When he caught up, he accused Jacob of stealing stuff and running away. Jacob and Laban didn’t really care for each other. Genesis records their parting as follows:

So Jacob took a stone and set it up as a pillar. He said to his relatives, “Gather some stones.” So they took stones and piled them in a heap, and they ate there by the heap. Laban called it Jegar Sahadutha, and Jacob called it Galeed.
Laban said, “This heap is a witness between you and me today.” That is why it was called Galeed. It was also called Mizpah, because he said, “May the Lord keep watch between you and me when we are away from each other. If you mistreat my daughters or if you take any wives besides my daughters, even though no one is with us, remember that God is a witness between you and me.”
Laban also said to Jacob, “Here is this heap, and here is this pillar I have set up between you and me. This heap is a witness, and this pillar is a witness, that I will not go past this heap to your side to harm you and that you will not go past this heap and pillar to my side to harm me. May the God of Abraham and the God of Nahor, the God of their father, judge between us.”
[Genesis 31:45-53]

Wow! A little context completely changes the meaning of Mizpah! I keep a pair of Mizpah coins hanging in my office as one reminder of the importance of context.

Another reminder I keep in my office is a cute little statuette of a lion laying down with a lamb. You’ve all heard that scripture, right? It’s about heaven. It’s a part of the beauty of eternity. Except, it’s not. Nowhere in the Bible does it say that the lion will lie down with the lamb. It’s not there, but it’s so often misquoted. Here’s the actual scripture:

The wolf will live with the lamb, the leopard will lie down with the goat, the calf and the lion and the yearling together; and a little child will lead them.
[Isaiah 11:6]

Hmmm…

Here’s one that’s not from the Bible. You’ve all heard this quote, right?
“Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.”

That period doesn’t belong there. The rest of the quote from Oscar Wilde is “…that mediocrity can pay to greatness.”

That’s not quite as fun, is it.

The fact is if we’re willing to ignore context and truth, we can easily find support for what we want to say. This is why I don’t use those nice little daily devotionals. They so often take a single verse from scripture and build an entire page devotion out of it when their devotion has little to do with the actual scripture.

How often have you heard people say, “For where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there…” [Matthew 18:20]. That’s a great one, right? If you’re really wound up you can add some of the other verses around it talking about whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven. That really gets your fire going, right? What about the context? When you look at the rest of Matthew 18, the conversation is about discipline in the church. Take a look at it in context:

“If your brother or sister sins, go and point out their fault, just between the two of you. If they listen to you, you have won them over. But if they will not listen, take one or two others along, so that ‘every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.’ If they still refuse to listen, tell it to the church; and if they refuse to listen even to the church, treat them as you would a pagan or a tax collector.
“Truly I tell you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.
“Again, truly I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything they ask for, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.”
[Matthew 18:15-20]

The context changes this much-quoted verse a lot! This is not a feel-good “yay God” verse. This is serious stuff. It’s telling us that if we agree that a person is refusing to turn away from their sin, they’re out! They’re out of the church! And then that bit about “what you bind on earth will be bound in heaven” is terrifying! There aren’t any warm fuzzies there. This is serious eternal damnation stuff!

Here’s one more while I’m at it. This one just came up recently. This was a devotional given by a pastor. He used 1 Corinthians 10:31 “So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.” His point was that even in the mundane tasks, do it for the glory of God. This is a great message! Look at the verse in context:

If an unbeliever invites you to a meal and you want to go, eat whatever is put before you without raising questions of conscience. But if someone says to you, “This has been offered in sacrifice,” then do not eat it, both for the sake of the one who told you and for the sake of conscience. I am referring to the other person’s conscience, not yours. For why is my freedom being judged by another’s conscience? If I take part in the meal with thankfulness, why am I denounced because of something I thank God for?
So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God. Do not cause anyone to stumble, whether Jews, Greeks or the church of God— even as I try to please everyone in every way. For I am not seeking my own good but the good of many, so that they may be saved.
[1 Corinthians 10:27-33]

I loved the pastor’s point. There are plenty of scriptures encouraging this. It was unnecessary to take this one out of context to make that point. This particular scripture is discussing eating and drinking foods that are considered unholy. Glorify God by choosing to eat or not eat, drink or not drink for the right reasons.

Context is a favorite whipping boy of sit-com TV shows. How many times have you laughed about someone walking in on the middle of a situation or conversation at exactly the wrong time? It’s funny because the person gets the wrong impression of what’s going on because they’ve missed the context.

Look for context. It’s a good rule of thumb in life overall, but specifically look for context in your study of the Bible. If someone quotes a verse (or part of a verse) to you, go look it up. Read the verses around it. You might be surprised at the true meaning. Here’s a good one to start with:

“Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.”
[2 Timothy 2:15 KJV]