Our reading of the Bible takes us into a
different world, the near Eastern world as it was thou-sands of years ago. In
that world we meet people like; Abraham, Moses, Joshua, David, the prophets,
and John the Baptist and of course Jesus. And, we can also read about the early
beginnings of the church from the Book of Acts and on through the Epistle
letters. It’s all very interesting, but it seems so far away, so long ago. How
can this have any effect or help those of us who live in the age of technology?
The link between the past, the present, and
the future is God! The God of the Bible is the same God of today. I could
sharpen that point even more by saying he is “exactly” the same God. God never
changes. In Malachi 3:6 we read “I the LORD do not change.”
This scripture from the Book of Revelation tells us that God is the “Alpha and
the Omega, the beginning and the end”. “From everlasting to everlasting, He is
God.” So, in our pursuit to know God better, let’s look at some “changeless
factors” concerning God:First, God himself never changes. Created things have a beginning and an end, but not God. This is one of those mysteries that will put you in the nut house if you try to figure it out rather than just accept it. We cannot ask the question “Where did God come from?” because God al-ways existed and it was He who created everything else. God will always exist, He has no end, because God is eternal and in eternity there is no time. That’s all we need to know! God does not grow older. He does not get stronger or weaker. He does not gain or lose power. He does not get any wiser over time. He cannot change for the better because He is already perfect!
In Exodus 3 God told Moses that his name was “I Am”. God did not say “I was” or I will be” but “I Am”. So, if you ask “God, were you in the past?” He would say “I Am”!
God himself, never changes. He is the God of Abraham Isaac, Jacob and Rev. Fred! Just think about the fact that the same God who parted the Red Sea; and went before the Israelites; and totally consumed Elijah’s offering; and healed the sick and gave sight to the blind; and gave boldness and wisdom to the Disciples; the same God who was able to totally and radically transform a man like Saul into the person of Paul; is the God who loves us and cares for us and provides for us and whom we love and serve and worship today! He never changes. He is gracious, compassionate, merciful and forgiving. Yet, he is also holy and just. He does not leave the guilty unpunished.
Second, God’s character never changes. We are ever-changing creations. We change with circumstances. We change with the weather. We change as we grow and mature. We change our mind as often as we change our socks! But, God’s character never changes! Let’s look to Exodus 34 and read some of the changeless character traits that God told Moses:
“Then the LORD came down in the cloud and stood there with him and proclaimed his name, the LORD. And he passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, “The LORD, the LORD, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children and their children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation.”( Exodus 34:5-7 )
How does that make you feel? Meditate on this for a few moments. Note: It would be a good study idea to keep a list and write down something you learn about God as you read Scripture.
Third, God’s Word and His Truth never change. When Joshua was to replace Moses as leader of the Israelites, he had been at Moses’ side for forty years or more, yet, God’s command to him was not to try and remember all the things Moses had said and done; nor to try and be like Moses. He told Joshua to search and constantly study and meditate on the Scriptures. We are ad-monished to do the same today. People change, fashions change, pastors come and go, but the Word of God never changes. God’s Word is truth for all generations. However, all generations have to find the knowledge of God themselves - personally!
Fourth, the power of God never changes. God’s power was displayed in many ways through-out the Old Testament. His power was displayed in and through Jesus in the Gospels. And, His power was displayed through the Holy Spirit in Acts through Revelation, and still is today. Is God out of the miracle working business? I don’t think so. He certainly has done some in my life! I no longer believe in “coincidence.”
From us He requires faith, trust, obedience, and a godly attitude. When that is the case, He will keep his promises and He will provide. God can still do today what He has always done!
Fifth, the purpose of God never changes. Psalm 33:11 tells us; “The plans of the Lord stand firm forever; the purposes of His heart throughout all generations.” What God does in time, He planned for eternity; and all that God planned for eternity, He carries out in time.
All that He has committed himself to do in His Word will be done! His purpose for the world, for his creation, and his purpose for man never changes. “For those God foreknew He predestined to be conformed to the likeness of His Son”. (Romans 8:29) From the very beginning God said; “Let us make man in our image” His purpose hasn’t changed. When man first sinned in the Book of Genesis, the image and character of God was tarnished, and the rest of the Bible is all about God trying to restore His image and His character in man.
Let’s not lose track of what this chapter is all about. It is based on Jeremiah 9:23 which says; “Let not the wise man boast of his wisdom, or the strong man boast of his strength, or the rich man of his riches, but let him who boasts boast of this; that he knows me; says the Lord Almighty”.
One thing I believe is that our view of God has suffered from our failure to capture a sense of His Majesty. The God of contemporary evangelicalism is a very personal God. He is someone with whom we can enjoy intimate fellowship. He is our best friend and closest ally, the one to whom we can bring all of our troubles. We have a great high priest who became flesh and blood so that He can be a perfect mediator between himself and man. But in stressing our closeness to God in all these ways, I think we have lost sight of His majesty.
Isaiah had opportunity to look beyond the visible to the realms of the invisible and see the majesty of our God. He saw God "sitting upon a throne", the symbol of sovereign authority, in charge of everything in heaven and upon the earth. People in countries like older
The word “majesty” when ascribed to God, is not only a declaration of his greatness, but also an invitation to worship. Upon having his vision of God upon the throne, how long do you think it took Isaiah to hit the floor face down? The word “majesty” also has with it a sense of reverent fear or humbleness on our part. I personally feel that when we stop singing the great old hymns of the church, we also stop seeing and feeling the “majesty” of God. We truly need to be reminded often of the omniscience and omnipotence, and the omnipresence of Almighty God.
Please read Isaiah 40:12-31
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