The Way of Holiness
W. Carl Ketcherside
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It seems always to be true that you cannot please everyone. In their preface to the 1662 edition of The Book of Common Prayer, the producers wrote: "Although we know it is impossible (in such variety of apprehensions, humours, and interests, as are in the world) to please all; nor can expect that men of factious, peevish and perverse spirits should be satisfied with anything that can be done in this kind by any other than themselves."
This fact inhibits a lot of brethren from taking positions which cut across traditional interpretations. They seek security in silence. Not being frightened by what others may say about me or do to me, I have no hesitancy about speaking out on matters which may become controversial. For that reason I beg leave to disagree with a commonly accepted view of Isaiah 35:8, which the King James Version renders: "And an highway shall be there, and a way, and it shall be called The way of holiness; the unclean shall not pass over it; but it shall be for those; the wayfaring men, though fools shall not err therein."
The last statement is generally understood to teach that God's entire revelation is so clear and lucid that even a traveling man who is not too bright, can grasp it perfectly. I have often had good brethren tell me, "The Bible says that its teaching is so plain that even a fool shall not err therein." Apparently it is not as plain as such folk imply because the Bible does not say that at all. In fact, Peter says there are some things in the scriptures which are so obscure that unlearned, as well as unstable men, are liable to warp and wrest them. It is just not true that God's word is always so plain that "any fool can understand it." I think a lot of brethren misunderstand even this passage.
The statement under consideration, contrary to my earlier and childish sermon outlines, which were borrowed from older brethren who ought to have known better, is not even considering the relative ease of grasping facts which compose divine revelation. It is not saying that the casual nomadic wanderer, even though he may be a nitwit or dullard can be free from error in his understanding.
Instead, the prophet is painting a beautiful word picture of Zion's future when the ransomed and redeemed shall return with joy and gladness, singing as they come. The wilderness and dry land will be glad, and the desert will rejoice and blossom like the crocus. This will be achieved by abundance of water, a symbol of the outpouring of God's grace and mercy. Waters shall break forth in the wilderness and streams burst out in the desert. The burning sand will become a pool and the thirsty ground springs of water. The haunt of jackals will become a swamp. Grass will turn into reeds and rushes in the marsh which will result where once only burning sands prevailed.
In such surroundings returning pil-
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Four kinds of persons and animals will not invade its precincts, or travel over its surface. The unclean shall not pass over it. Fools shall not practice their error upon it. No lion shall be there. No ravenous beast will come upon it. "They shall not be found there, but the redeemed shall walk there." The unclean and fools are contrasted with the ransomed of the Lord.
The New English Version is probably correct in translating: "And there shall be a causeway there which shall be called the Way of Holiness, and the unclean shall not pass along it; it shall become a pilgrim's way, no fool shall trespass on it." I say "probably correct" because the Hebrew at this point is a little obscure, and in itself illustrates the point that we are making.
The term "causeway" is an excellent rendering in the light of the immediate context, and better expresses the thought than highway, which no longer means an elevated route as the word indicates. The causeway leading through the watered plain which once was desert will be designated the Way of Holiness and will be reserved for use by a holy people. Unclean ones will not be able to use it for their immoral practices, and fools will be barred from traversing it to propagate their error.
This example serves to bolster a principle of interpretation which I have followed through the years. Simply stated, it is that any interpretation which relies for its validity upon one version to the exclusion of all others, is probably a faulty one. I rather suspect that the King James Version is responsible for many more errors than most of us are willing to admit. This brings up the question as to what to do with sermon outlines which we have inherited. I never like to recommend the course others should take, but the one I have pursued is the easiest. I threw all of my outlines in the fire. This makes it essential that I take a fresh look at things every time I prepare to speak. And a fresh look frequently means a fresh outlook!