He who was and is and is to come.

Isaiah 65:1-25 from the daily reading in the One Year Bible

“I permitted Myself to be sought by those who did not ask for Me; I permitted Myself to be found by those who did not seek Me. I said, ‘Here am I, here am I,’ To a nation which did not call on My name. ² “I have spread out My hands all day long to a rebellious people, Who walk in the way which is not good, following their own thoughts, ³ A people who continually provoke Me to My face, Offering sacrifices in gardens and burning incense on bricks; ⁴ Who sit among graves and spend the night in secret places; Who eat swine’s flesh, And the broth of unclean meat is in their pots. ⁵ “Who say, ‘Keep to yourself, do not come near me, For I am holier than you!’ These are smoke in My nostrils, A fire that burns all the day. ⁶ “Behold, it is written before Me, I will not keep silent, but I will repay; I will even repay into their bosom, ⁷ Both their own iniquities and the iniquities of their fathers together,” says the Lord. “Because they have burned incense on the mountains And scorned Me on the hills, Therefore I will measure their former work into their bosom.”

⁸ Thus says the Lord, “As the new wine is found in the cluster, And one says, ‘Do not destroy it, for there is benefit in it,’ So I will act on behalf of My servants In order not to destroy all of  them. ⁹ “I will bring forth offspring from Jacob, And an heir of My mountains from Judah; Even My chosen ones shall inherit it, And My servants will dwell there. ¹⁰ “Sharon will be a pasture land for flocks, And the valley of Achor a resting place for herds, For My people who seek Me.
¹¹ “But you who forsake the Lord, Who forget My holy mountain, Who set a table for Fortune,
And who fill cups with mixed wine for Destiny, ¹² I will destine you for the sword, And all of you will bow down to the slaughter. Because I called, but you did not answer; I spoke, but you did not hear. And you did evil in My sight And chose that in which I did not delight.”  Therefore, thus says the Lord God,

“Behold, My servants will eat, but you will be hungry. Behold, My servants will drink, but you will be thirsty. Behold, My servants will rejoice, but you will be put to shame. ¹⁴ “Behold, My servants will shout joyfully with a glad heart, But you will cry out with a heavy heart, And you will wail with a broken spirit. ¹⁵ “You will leave your name for a curse to My chosen ones, And the Lord God will slay you. But My servants will be called by another name. ¹⁶ “Because he who is blessed in the earth Will be blessed by the God of truth; And he who swears in the earth Will swear by the God of truth; Because the former troubles are forgotten, And because they are hidden from My sight!

¹⁷ “For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth; And the former things will not be remembered or come to mind. ¹⁸ “But be glad and rejoice forever in what I create; For behold, I create Jerusalem for rejoicing And her people for gladness. ¹⁹ “I will also rejoice in Jerusalem and be glad in My people; And there will no longer be heard in her The voice of weeping and the sound of crying. ²⁰ “No longer will there be in it an infant who lives but a few days, Or an old man who does not live out his days; For the youth will die at the age of one hundred And the one who does not reach the age of one hundred Will be thought accursed. ²¹ “They will build houses and inhabit them; They will also plant vineyards and eat their fruit. ²² “They will not build and another inhabit, They will not plant and another eat; For as the lifetime of a tree, so will be the days of My people, And My chosen ones will wear out the work of their hands. ²³ “They will not labor in vain, Or bear children for calamity; For they are the offspring of those blessed by the Lord, And their descendants with them. ²⁴ It will also come to pass that before they call, I will answer; and while they are still speaking, I will hear. ²⁵ The wolf and the lamb will graze together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox; and dust will be the serpent’s food. They will do no evil or harm in all My holy mountain,” says the Lord.

Numbers 23:19 says:  God is not a man, that He should lie, or a son of man, that He should change His mind. Does He speak and not act? Does He promise and not fulfill?    Malachi 3:6 says:  "For I, the LORD, do not change.”  Revelation 1:8 says:  "I am the Alpha and the Omega," says the Lord God, "who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty."    God never changes. We have a tendency to look at things from the perspective of grace, through Christ and view it as though because Jesus died for sin, once for all, sin no longer matters. Grace does not mean that God changed His mind about sin. It means that because we are redeemed from our sin God views us as if we had not sinned. The God of the New Testament is the same God as the God of the Old Testament.   

In today’s text it says:   Thus says the Lord, “As the new wine is found in the cluster, And one says, ‘Do not destroy it, for there is benefit in it,’ So I will act on behalf of My servants In order not to destroy all of  them. I will bring forth offspring from Jacob, And an heir of My mountains from Judah; Even My chosen ones shall inherit it, And My servants will dwell there.  Sharon will be a pasture land for flocks, And the valley of Achor a resting place for herds, For My people who seek Me. But you who forsake the Lord, Who forget My holy mountain, Who set a table for Fortune, And who fill cups with mixed wine for Destiny, I will destine you for the sword, And all of you will bow down to the slaughter. Because I called, but you did not answer; I spoke, but you did not hear. And you did evil in My sight And chose that in which I did not delight.”    There is a distinct difference in how God said He would respond to people, based on their response to Him.   In Deuteronomy 30:15-20 God says:  “See, I have set before you today life and prosperity, and death and adversity;  in that I command you today to love the Lord your God, to walk in His ways and to keep His commandments and His statutes and His judgments, that you may live and multiply, and that the Lord your God may bless you in the land where you are entering to possess it. But if your heart turns away and you will not obey, but are drawn away and worship other gods and serve them, I declare to you today that you shall surely perish. You will not prolong your days in the land where you are crossing the Jordan to enter and possess it. I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, the blessing and the curse. So choose life in order that you may live, you and your descendants, by loving the Lord your God, by obeying His voice, and by holding fast to Him; for this is your life and the length of your days.”     Neither God’s opinion of, nor the consequences of sin have changed because we live under the New Covenant in Christ.   In Matthew 7:21-23, Jesus, the very one who died for our sins so that we could be redeemed and reconciled to God says:   “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness.’”   Even under grace, we cannot expect that God will ignore our sin if that is what we choose to continue in and practice. The blessing and the promises of God, still require that we choose to love the Lord our God, to walk in His ways and to keep His commandments and His statutes and His judgments.

God never changes. He is the same yesterday, today and forever. In today’s text it speaks of a future time, also spoken of in Revelation. It says:  behold, I create new heavens and a new earth; And the former things will not be remembered or come to mind.  “But be glad and rejoice forever in what I create; For behold, I create Jerusalem for rejoicing And her people for gladness. I will also rejoice in Jerusalem and be glad in My people; And there will no longer be heard in her The voice of weeping and the sound of crying. No longer will there be in it an infant who lives but a few days, Or an old man who does not live out his days; For the youth will die at the age of one hundred And the one who does not reach the age of one hundred Will be thought accursed. They will build houses and inhabit them; They will also plant vineyards and eat their fruit.  They will not build and another inhabit, They will not plant and another eat; For as the lifetime of a tree, so will be the days of My people, And My chosen ones will wear out the work of their hands. They will not labor in vain, Or bear children for calamity; For they are the offspring of those blessed by the Lord, And their descendants with them. It will also come to pass that before they call, I will answer; and while they are still speaking, I will hear. The wolf and the lamb will graze together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox; and dust will be the serpent’s food. They will do no evil or harm in all My holy mountain,” says the Lord.  Revelation 21:1-8 says:  Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth passed away, and there is no longer any sea. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, made ready as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He will dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them  and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away.” And He who sits on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” And He said, “Write, for these words are faithful and true.” Then He said to me, “It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give to the one who thirsts from the spring of the water of life without cost. He who overcomes will inherit these things, and I will be his God and he will be My son. But for the cowardly and unbelieving and abominable and murderers and immoral persons and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars, their part will be in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.”    There is, there was and there always will be a distinct difference between how God responds to the obedient and the disobedient. There are and will be very different benefits or consequences for those who love Him and do what He desires and those who do not.

Nothing will ever change God’s mind about sin. By grace we can be redeemed from sin, changed from rebellious sinner to obedient child of God. Through grace we are saved, through obedience we receive all the promises of God.

Heavenly Father, Lord Jesus Christ; precious Holy Spirit; thank You that You do not change, that we do not need to try to figure out from day to day what will please You. Thank You for grace and thank You for telling us what we must choose in order to receive all Your blessings and benefits. Thank You that through Christ we are redeemed and by the Holy Spirit we are empowered to walk in obedience.   Amen.