Nothing can destroy God’s eternal Word

Jeremiah 35:1–36:32, Romans 8:18–39, Proverbs 22:17–23:18, Isaiah 40:8

The Gutenberg Museum in Mainz, Germany has many old Bibles that monks painstakingly copied by hand from earlier manuscripts. I wept thinking of their incredible commitment to preserve the Word of God.

Those of us who love the word of God are both dismayed and awed by the following story —

During the last days of Judah before their exile to Babylon, God told Jeremiah to write everything He had said to him so that His people might hear the disaster He intended and turn from evil and be forgiven. Jeremiah did as God asked, using Baruch as his secretary. Since Jeremiah was banned from the house of the Lord, he sent Baruch to read those words in the hearing of the people.

Baruch did this as the people were fasting. Micaiah heard him and told the officials. Baruch was brought before them to read it again. “When they heard all the words, they turned one to another in fear” and asked him who wrote the words. When Baruch told them, they said, “Go and hide, you and Jeremiah, and let no one know where you are.”

Then God’s words were read to the king, and as he heard them, the king cut them off the scroll with a knife and threw them into the fire until the entire scroll was consumed. “Neither the king nor any of his servants who heard all these words was afraid, nor did they tear their garments.” Even when his officials urged him to not burn the scroll, he would not listen.

They were told to seize Baruch and Jeremiah, but the Lord hid them. Then the Lord told Jeremiah: “Take another scroll and write on it all the former words that were in the first scroll, which Jehoiakim the king of Judah has burned.” He must also tell the king his fate. Jeremiah obeyed. (Jeremiah 36:1–32)

The Word of God is the source of all wisdom. Solomon wrote: “Incline your ear, and hear the words of the wise, and apply your heart to my knowledge, for it will be pleasant if you keep them within you, if all of them are ready on your lips. That your trust may be in the Lord, I have made them known to you today, even to you . . . . to make you know what is right and true . . . .” (Proverbs 22:17–21) and “Apply your heart to instruction and your ear to words of knowledge.” (Proverbs 23:12)

The king who burned the words was a fool and suffered as God said he would. There have been many who destroyed copies of the Bible since then, or mocked it, or disregarded it, or let it gather dust in the attic. This disregard for the Word of God remains an insult to our Creator and heavenly Father. Will His patience wear out?

For me, hearing contempt for God’s Word is a form of suffering as well. Jesus lives in me, and He is mocked and cursed. I feel what He feels, but I also know that “The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever.” (Isaiah 40:8) It remains a worldwide best seller and all efforts to destroy it have never been successful.

The Apostle Paul experienced scorn for his faith in Christ, who is the living Word of God, but he said, “I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.” (Romans 8:18)

He also declared incredible truth for those who love God: “. . . all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.” We whom He foreknew are predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, called and justified, and one day to be glorified. (Romans 8:28–30) They can burn the Book but they cannot destroy the eternal life in those who believe it.

Nor can they undo the power of God and His promises: “If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? As it is written, ‘For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.’ No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 8:31–39)

What folly to think that this “old book” should be burned when it is the only old book that makes and fulfills every Word of wisdom written in it.

God’s abundant provision…

A new course starts Monday so to get a head start, I began some of the required reading. One asked that I read the story of Joseph in one sitting, Genesis 37 to 50. Two times as I read, I wept uncontrollably, amazed all over again at the mercy and power of God as He used the injustices that happened to Joseph for good. After being sold into slavery by his brothers, and eventually saving their lives, he said,

Do not fear, for am I in the place of God? As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today. So do not fear; I will provide for you and your little ones… (Genesis 50:18–21)

Today’s devotional is about the grace of God that satisfies His people far beyond our expectations and certainly beyond what we deserve. As the Israelites wandered through the wilderness (and as I wander through life), He supplies all that we need. I am in awe.

He split rocks in the wilderness and gave them drink abundantly as from the deep. He made streams come out of the rock and caused waters to flow down like rivers. (Psalm 78:15–16)

At the beginning of the year, knowing I would be reading and studying theology, I abandoned my usual practice of reading the Bible through during the year. That was not a good idea. It is the source of God’s abundance, His answers and help for all issues and problems. Those who consider it an ancient and irrelevant book have no idea how intensely practical the Bible addresses the stress of modern life.

I belong to a Christian book club and we are reading excellent and edifying books, but nothing can touch and heal my heart like the Word of God. There is no problem, no challenge, no frustration, no sorrow that the Bible misses. It meets every need and never with just a small sip. Instead of shallow waters, God’s Word provides a big gulp, a drink as if from the ocean depths, water that flows like rivers, even water from the Rock, which is Christ.

Its pages are not filled with nice sounding platitudes, or pithy sayings about how to live. Instead, it greatly affirms God’s everlasting love and addresses the greatest needs in human life. There are no shallow or unhelpful guilt trips about my sin either, or do-it-yourself recommendations to fix it. Instead, God offers the amazing story of a Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. After all my ideas and plans dry up and my sin remains, God gives me a drink from the Rock, a drink as abundant as the seas.

And He surprises me. I might go looking for answers, but His answer is never what I assume. I didn’t even know that I needed a strong reminder of His power to use tragedy for good until I read the story of Joseph and was so deeply touched and strengthened in my faith.

The unfolding of your words gives light; it imparts understanding to the simple. (Psalm 119:130)

God’s words are often simple, tender, full of love, but they are also deep and strong, searching my heart and exposing all that needs light and healing. There are people whose words sound good, but their lives do not match. There are people who have little to say and offer even less in their character. But Jesus was never like that. No matter how people  responded to His words, behind those words is the God-man, deeper and unfathomably more than any mind can grasp. He is the Living Word of God and His words will live even when heaven and earth have passed away.

The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever. (Isaiah 40:8)

I can drink all of a cup or read all of a book, but I cannot drain dry a spring fed from the depths. Because the Word of God flows from the depths of this God who became a man, those words are powerful and eternal. They save and strengthen my heart and draw me back again and again for more of their life-lifting, soul-quenching power.

I bow down toward Your holy temple and give thanks to Your name for Your steadfast love and your faithfulness, for You have exalted above all things Your name and Your Word. (Psalm 138:2)

Eternal life

Every Fall, nature reminds me that grass, trees and flowers last for a season. Some will return to life in the spring, but not all and even those will eventually die. Life has limits. All of it is temporary, except that which God has touched for eternity.

The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever. (Isaiah 40:8)

Anything that emanates from God is eternal because He is eternal. As creatures living in time, we try to put the concept of eternity on a line, trying to imagine no beginning or end to that line. However, a better way to describe eternity is that past, present and future are all now. That is, God does not live on a line or continuum or even a circle, but in all of it. For Him, everything is current. 

Immediately my imagination is challenged. There are no parallels for this. What happened yesterday is now; what happens tomorrow is now? I cannot wrap my mind around it. 

As eternity relates to this verse, the Word of God is like that. What He said is always now. That means the commands are always current; the promises He makes never become obsolete. This makes His Word my anchor, my stability in a reckless and dying world.

Today’s devotional reading adds a new thought. It says that the Word of God becomes keener, sharper, fresher the more it is used. While it could never become stale, His Word could be compared to water in a stream. Water that stops flowing gets stagnant. Only the water that rushes over rocks and falls, that keeps moving, retains its freshness. This is true of God’s Word. The more it is allowed to move in my heart, the more my heart is blessed. 

This is because His words never run out, run dry, or become obsolete. They are eternal. Break off a chunk and another is there. Feed on a piece and more is ready for the next feeding. The more that I read and study it, the more His Word blesses and restores my soul. It is indeed the Bread of Life, the Water of Life. It is also my connection with the eternal God.

All this could be said of the Living Word as well. Jesus, the very revelation of God in word and deed, will stand forever. He is eternal for He is also the expression of God in human (rather than written) shape. When my heart feasts on Him and is refreshed by Him, He is not diminished. Even more awaits me, more grace, more understanding, more blessing, more light. I cannot deplete Him because He is my life, my eternal life and my connection with the Father, my eternal God.

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These are lofty thoughts. God, You continually lift me above my ordinary days and set my heart in heavenly places, in eternity. As I gaze at the yellows and oranges outside, and watch the falling leaves, I am reminded that this is not all there is. Life will wind down, but because of Your touch I am being made ready for eternity.