Last month, we started a 3-part series on the attributes of God that are found in Isaiah 40, starting with God’s goodness. If you were here then--and if I did my job right--hopefully, you’ll remember that Isaiah 40 took place at a really frightening point in history for God’s people. The nation of Israel had split into two kingdoms: north and south. The northern kingdom had rebelled against God and been taken into exile. The people of the southern kingdom--Judah--had seen this happen, but it hadn’t been enough to convince them to repent of their sins and turn back to God. Finally, the prophet Isaiah brought the King of Judah a message from God: the southern kingdom would also fall. About a century later, that prophecy would be fulfilled when the Babylonians conquered Jerusalem. The city and the Temple were destroyed, and the people were taken away from their land to live in exile. When they heard this prophecy, i’m sure they were afraid, but Isaiah also brought them a message of comfort from God. In this chapter, God tells his people to find solace not in their circumstances, but in his character. He began by reminding them of his goodness, which we saw was just, merciful, and compassionate. And we were reminded that God’s goodness isn’t just for characters in the Bible, but for each one of us. God shows us his goodness in the everyday kindness of providing for our earthly needs. More importantly, by sending his son, Jesus. Today, we’re going to build on this foundation of God’s goodness, and consider what it means for us to know that God is immutable--or, in other words, unchanging. We’re going to look at verses 6-8 and 21-26 of Isaiah 40. In these passages, we can find comfort in God’s immutability, which makes him completely and incomparably trustworthy.
Before we tackle this passage specifically, I want to zoom out and give an overview about what other parts of the Bible has to say about God’s immutability, and address some questions you might have.
We don’t really have a category in our minds for things that don’t change. Sometimes we think we do, we throw around words like “always” and “never” a lot, but they’re usually exaggerations. We say things like, “My kids always forget to clean up after themselves” or “I’d never eat an entire batch of cookies by myself” but we all know that these types of statements almost always have exceptions. We’re too inconsistent, and, over time, for better or worse, we change. But, God is different from us, and his Word is filled with reminders that he doesn’t change. Psalm 90 verse 2 reminds us that God is “from everlasting to everlasting”; he is eternal. Numbers 23:19 says: “19 God is not man, that he should lie, or a son of man, that he should change his mind. Has he said, and will he not do it? Or has he spoken, and will he not fulfill it?” This reminds us that God doesn’t change his mind or go back on his word the way humans do. And James 1:17 tells us that, in God, there is “no variation or shadow due to change.” He is consistently good and perfect in all possible ways. Everything he is and does is good to the point that it would be wrong for him to ever change. His wisdom and knowledge are perfect, so he would never need to rethink something or change his mind. For God, to change in any way would be to become less than perfect.
Now, if you’ve spent some time in your Bible, you might be able to think of some passage where it seems like God does change his mind or even has regrets. Is the Bible contradicting itself? You can probably guess what my answer to that question is going to be--no, it does not--but let’s look at some examples to understand this a little better.
In the book of Jonah, the people of Nineveh were so evil that God sent Jonah to tell them that they would be destroyed because of their sin. But, when the people heard Jonah’s message, they turned from their sin, and God responded. Jonah 3:10 says, “10 When God saw what they did, how they turned from their evil way, God relented of the disaster that he had said he would do to them, and he did not do it.” Is this an example of God changing his mind? Is he correcting a mistake in his judgment or changing course because he received new information? No. In this example, God’s essence and character did not change. He was responding to the remorse of the Ninevites with mercy and compassion, which is perfectly consistent with his character. He always, rightfully treats unrepentant sin with punishment and a penitent heart with loving compassion. His character and essence do not change, but he alters his actions in response to changing circumstances.
There are also passages in the Bible that speak of God regretting or repenting of something he did, which we might mistake for examples of God changing. This is where the limitations of human language and understanding become a hindrance to our theology. When we describe God’s emotions and say that he is angry, jealous, or regretful, we’ll often conjure up false ideas based on how humans experience these emotions. When humans feel regret it’s often over a choice we made that was sinful or that simply had negative consequences that we didn’t anticipate. But, God is different. We can’t project human feelings and limitations on him. We were created in God’s image, not the other way around. His anger is always righteous and his jealousy is loving, not selfishly possessive. When God repents, he is expressing sorrow over evil but not taking blame for sinful human choices. In Genesis 6, when he looked on sinful humanity and expressed sorrow over creating mankind, he was grieved by the wicked deeds that the people had done, but he was not claiming responsibility for their actions. In 1 Samuel 15, when God said he regretted that he made Saul king over Israel, he wasn’t saying that he made a mistake or that he didn’t anticipate Saul’s poor leadership. In fact, the same chapter later goes on to say in verse 29 that God “...will not lie or have regret, for he is not a man, that he should have regret.” God was expressing sorrow over King Saul’s sinful disobedience and preparing the prophet Samuel to rebuke Saul and go out and anoint David as the next king. He was not saying that he made a mistake in making Saul king.
If you’re having trouble understanding this type of regret, Imagine that you had to confront a friend about a destructive sin in their life. You could approach the conversation in love and kindness, but, if your friend did not receive your words well, and chose to end your friendship because of it, you would probably feel regret. Even if you would do the exact same thing over again because it was a conversation that needed to happen, you would grieve over your friend’s response and the end of your relationship. This isn’t a perfect illustration, but I think it gives us a glimpse of the kind of “sorrow” and “regret” that is expressed in these passages.
To recap: God’s actions sometimes change, but his character is always the same. When the Bible talks about God “regretting” or “repenting,” this is God expressing grief, but not accepting blame or saying that he made a mistake. That was a lot of intro work, but I hope that getting those questions out of the way from the start will help you understand and find hope in God’s immutability. Now, we’ll finally dive into Isaiah 40, starting with verses 6-8:
6 A voice says, “Cry!”
And I said, “What shall I cry?”
All flesh is grass,
and all its beauty is like the flower of the field.
7 The grass withers, the flower fades
when the breath of the Lord blows on it;
surely the people are grass.
8 The grass withers, the flower fades,
but the word of our God will stand forever.
This passage makes me think of my front yard. Every summer, sometime around July or August, the plants and flowers that I optimistically tended in the spring begin to struggle in the heat. Try as I might, I’m not the best about watering the garden every day, so, as the days get warmer, our lawn turns brown and prickly and my roses get dry and crunchy. The life and color that was plentiful in May fades away. By the following spring, new life appears. Bright green blades of grass pop up and fragrant, pink and yellow buds begin to bloom again. All deciduous plants like that have a very limited lifespan. They’re not made to thrive for more than a few months a time. Verses 6-8 of this chapter open with a command to the listener to spread the word: human lives are fleeting, just like the fragile plants in my front yard. Our lifespans have an expiration date. If we’re grass, God is more like an evergreen that stands firm through seasons and centuries. Some evergreens, like Giant Sequoias can live for thousands of years. So, the lifespan of a blade of grass compared to that is nothing. Our lives are miniscule compared to God’s eternal, unchanging existence. We’re so feeble, verse 7 tells us that just a breath from God will destroy us.
Verse 8 tells us that the word of our God will stand forever. During their time of trial, God’s people needed this reminder, just as we do today. They needed to know that they could trust God, even when things around them seemed bleak. Yes, God was going to allow them to be taken into exile because of their rebellion, but he would remain faithful to his promises. He would not allow their punishment to last one minute more or less than what was good and just. Today, believers should expect to endure trials, but we can rest in the knowledge that God will use them to refine us. We also have hope, because we know that we have put our trust in Christ’s death in our place and his resurrection, which have made us a part of God’s family forever. He has restored us and provide a path for us to dwell in his presence forever. God is trustworthy because he does not change.
Later in chapter 40, in verses 21-26, we’re again reminded of God’s immutability:
21 Do you not know? Do you not hear?
Has it not been told you from the beginning?
Have you not understood from the foundations of the earth?
22 It is he who sits above the circle of the earth,
and its inhabitants are like grasshoppers;
who stretches out the heavens like a curtain,
and spreads them like a tent to dwell in;
23 who brings princes to nothing,
and makes the rulers of the earth as emptiness.
24 Scarcely are they planted, scarcely sown,
scarcely has their stem taken root in the earth,
when he blows on them, and they wither,
and the tempest carries them off like stubble.
25 To whom then will you compare me,
that I should be like him? says the Holy One.
26 Lift up your eyes on high and see:
who created these?
He who brings out their host by number,
calling them all by name;
by the greatness of his might
and because he is strong in power,
not one is missing.
It’s like God is saying, “Don’t you remember what I’ve told you? Do you still not get it? I’ve been faithful to you from the beginning, and I always will be.” God will always keep his covenant with his people just as he always has. Because he doesn’t change, he is more reliable than anything else that we could put our hope in. God’s people needed to be reminded of this, and we need these reminders too, don’t we? Intellectually, we may believe that God is taking care of us, but our actions often show the imperfections in our faith. We get into a routine of self-reliance and forget that God is our provider. Or stressful circumstances arise and the cracks in our convictions begin to show. We need to be reminded of God’s faithfulness all the time, just like God’s people did in Isaiah’s time. For them, the ceremonial system of animal sacrifices, feasts, and festivals that were established in the Old Covenant Law was designed to remind them of their need for God, and of his everlasting faithfulness to them in spite of their failures. Through Jesus’ life and death, the Law was fulfilled, and those ceremonial systems were replaced with new sacraments. Now, under the New Covenant, believers are baptized and participate in communion to remind us of the penalty Christ paid for our sin and the eternal hope we have through faith in him. They remind us that we are no longer slaves to our sinful natures, but are set free to obey God. We have traded our guilt and shame for Christ’s perfect, blameless righteousness. We are filled with the Holy Spirit which is making us more like Jesus and enabling us to love and serve others as we have been loved by God.
The imagery that begins at the end of verse 21 is meant to remind us that God is our Creator. He has existed from before the world began. He created the universe and everything in it. To God, the inhabitants of the earth are as powerless as a tiny grasshopper seems to one of us. This passage also revisits the metaphor from verses 6-8, this time comparing human princes to little bits of rubbish that he can easily blow away. We’re also reminded that God made the heavens--the stars and galaxies--so human institutions are like nothing to him. Money, corporations, governments--they’re all temporary. These “princes” that rule over us only stay in power as long as God allows. The other gods that the idolatrous Israelites and their pagan neighbors sinfully worshipped were like nothing to him. The pagans in Babylon and even in Judah probably believed that their idols had defeated the one, true God when Jerusalem was conquered. This passage reminds us that God was always in control of the situation.
As it was for many pagan cultures at that time, the study of astronomy and worship of the heavenly bodies was a major focal point of the Babylonian religion. They believed that the planets that they saw moving in the heavens among the stars were their gods. This passage was a specific reminder to God’s people that it was God who created the stars and planets out of nothing, so they don’t control anything. They are not gods. The one, true God knows each star and planet by name and directs their movements. They dutifully obey him like soldiers snapping to attention before their commander.
We may not venerate princes or planets or worship idols of wood and stone today, but our affections are easily led astray. We put our hope in things that are as fleeting as a blade of grass in my front yard in August. We look for security in our bank accounts or the validation we get from interactions on social media. We trust in doctors to ease our pain and special diets and exercise programs to keep us healthy and active. We think that we’ll finally be happy if this or that circumstance in our life finally changes. We place our hope in self-improvement, believing that if we can just be stronger, smarter, prettier, more spiritual, or more accomplished, that our lives will be better. There is good to be found in all of these things, but, if we devote ourselves to them and put our hope in them, we will only be disappointed. In light of eternity, they are specks of dust.
Our hope is only firm and secure when it is placed in God: the only one who is eternal and unchanging. When we are experiencing times of trial or seasons of joy, we know that he who created all things will provide for us. There isn’t a single need we have that he is not aware of or cannot meet. There is no sorrow or heartbreak that he cannot sustain us through. When we hope in God, we can trust that he will use trials to grow us to maturity in Christ. We also know that he will use times of joy and rest to refresh us as we prepare to face the next obstacle.
Most importantly, we know that God has provided for our greatest need and given us secure hope beyond what we could have ever asked. Jesus Christ, who is God and is also “the same yesterday today and forever” (Hebrews 13:8) is God’s provision for our salvation and eternal joy. 1 Peter 1:3-5 puts it this way: “3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, 5 who by God's power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.” At the cross, Jesus exchanged the punishment we deserved for for the reward that he had earned: righteousness, sonship, and eternal joy in God the Father. Through Christ, we are set free from death to enjoy eternal life that cannot be destroyed, tarnished, or worn down. The effects of sin on the world will be erased. The earth and our bodies will be remade into the perfection that God intended. Sickness, death, and sorrow will end. We will rejoice in the eternal goodness of our Father as the Family of God forever. This is our secure hope.
Now, you might not feel like that is a hope that you can have confidence in. Maybe you aren’t sure what you believe. Or, maybe you think you believe, but you still feel afraid of what awaits after death. If that’s you, I would love to talk you about that tonight, and you can ask anyone else on the women’s ministry team about that as well. We would love to be able to have a conversation with you about that and pray for you.
If you are a believer, I hope that you look forward to being in God’s presence with joyous expectation. It’s easy to get wrapped up in our daily lives and lose sight of what awaits us in eternity. I would challenge you to take stock of what you really trust, what you put your hope in. A practical way to figure it out is to look at how your spend your resources: time and money. That will quickly--and probably painfully--show you exactly what you worship. Are we investing in things that will last? Like building relationships with friends, family, children, and spouses that--by God’s grace--have the potential to last into eternity. I don’t know about you, but I feel like I spend too much time and money worshipping blades of grass, and that needs to change. I need God to transform my desires so I worship him alone. And I need him to change my priorities and my attitude so that I’m investing in eternity, not in specks of dust.
Thankfully, even though God is unchanging, he has provided for our need for change. We don’t have to muster all our self-discipline to earn God’s love by trying hard to break down our idols to worship him alone. On our own, we couldn’t do it anyway. We’d always fall short. But God, in his mercy, has equipped us with the Holy Spirit, who transforms our sin-hardened hearts to soft, responsive ones. We don’t have to feel defeated in our day-to-day struggles to with sin because we know that the Spirit is making us more like Jesus. He is able to change our desires so that we find joy in serving and glorifying God in everything we do. Over time, we will learn to love eternal things, and lose our taste for what is fleeting.
Tonight, my prayer is that the reality of God’s unchanging character would give us hope that brings us comfort and joy and also works in our hearts to transform our thoughts and actions. Let’s pray for that together.
Heavenly Father, thank you for allowing us to come together tonight to be reminded that you are unchanging. We are in awe of your unwavering mercy and compassion toward us. You are perfectly good and consistent in a way that’s hard for us to understand most of the time. We lose sight of who you are and get distracted by lesser gods who try to steal our devotion. Please protect us from temptation and convict us of anything that we’ve been putting our hope in that is not you. Help us to see our idols clearly, and equip us with your Holy Spirit to change our hearts so that we desire to worship you above all else. Change our priorities so that we invest in things that will last. Use our time together to help us to build and grow our relationships with fellow believers who will encourage us with the truth of who you are, and hold us accountable to worshipping you alone. Amen.
