“Our Changeless God in a Changing World”
By Almon Bartholomew
Text: Isaiah 6:1-8: “In the year king Uzziah died I saw also the Lord, sitting upon a throne high and lifted up, and His train filled the temple.
Above it stood the seraphim: each one had six wings; with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly.
And one cried unto one another, and said, Holy. Holy, holy, is the Lord of hosts: the whole earth is full of His glory.
And the posts of the door moved at the sound of the voice of Him that cried, and the house was filled with smoke.
Then said I, Woe is me for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts.
Then flew one of the seraphim unto me, having a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with the tongs from off of the altar.
And he laid it upon my mouth and said, Lo this hath touched thy lips; and thine iniquity is taken away and thy sin is purged.
Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, here am I, send me.”
Our principle text is taken from this chapter in Isaiah. It begins with a significant note of history, the death of one of Israel’s most prominent kings; Uzziah by name. He was morally upright. The nation prospered under his leadership. National pride and international standing rose to new levels of high. Israel emerged from dark depression and oppression during his reign. The realm became militarily secure. Commerce prospered. He received strong popular support. Things were going well. The future looked bright.
Then, the unthinkable happened. This great national leader died and it signaled the strong possibility of decline. A sense of loss, of drift, of insecurity swept the country. Unanswered questions concerning the future begged answers.
The prophet Isaiah was as troubled as anyone else. Something happened that stirred him to a new level of God consciousness. He had been deeply devoted to, and thankful for, an outstanding earthly king. But now he was removed. Super imposed above all of this, he beheld a vision of the Heavenly, the Eternal King. This Monarch of the Universe was still on His throne. Isaiah said, “I saw the Lord, high and lifted up and His train filled the temple”. This Almighty, the unchanging God, was attended by Cherubim and Seraphim. His praise was sung by a choir of angels. The doorposts of His abode, the heavenly temple, shook at the sound of His voice.
The lesson learned by Isaiah must be learned by us today. Kingdoms rise and fall. Empires flourish and then crumble. Emperors, kings, dictators and world leaders march across the stage of history and disappear. Presidents and members of congress come and go at the whim of the people. Stock markets soar and crash. Good health can be a fleeting experience. Life is full of changes, some predictable and some unpredictable. In your working days you never anticipated the life style in which you are now involved. When all else falls or fails, God remains constant. As the dear elderly lady, “Miss Diggs,” who attended our chapel services, whom we knew so well, would sing;
“God is God and He don’t never change;
God is God, and He always will be God.
He’s God of the mighty ocean; He’s God of the raging seas. He’s God of the fiery furnace; sure has been a God to me. He’s up in the pulpit; He’s God back at the door.
He’s God in the Amen corner; He’s God all over the floor.
God is God He don’t never change. God is God, and He always will be God.”
Through all this whirlwind of change, there is but one constant. God in heaven does not change. He declares in Malachi 3:6; “I am the Lord and I change not”. We can utterly depend upon Him!
This was a life changing experience for Isaiah as he made this discovery. While in the presence of a majestic, holy God, the prophet became aware of his own sinful condition and wailed “Woe is me, for I am undone. I am just like the rest of the people”. With that confession a heavenly angel took tongs from the heavenly store and lifted a fiery coal from heaven’s altar, applied it to the prophet’s lips, purging him of his iniquity, cleansing him from all sin. He then drew close enough to this eternal God to listen in on divine family conversation. Eavesdropping is not necessarily a good thing. However, it is a good thing to draw so near to the Lord that we can hear his voice. We would not be punished for that!
Isaiah heard a call from the divine for someone to respond to the call for someone to be sent and communicate the divine message of God’s pleading with erring humanity. He answered the call, and said, “Here am I, send me”. That call for messengers to carry the good news of God’s love and mercy is still being issued. Each one of us here can answer that call and become a blessing right where we are.
It is easy to be caught up in the whirlpool of worldly change. I think of this as I remember how I felt upon hearing of the death of two of our presidents. It was not unlike the prophet Isaiah’s troubled mind. The first was the death of President Roosevelt in March of 1945. As a 15 year old kid delivering the afternoon newspaper, I was told of his passing by one of my customers, Mrs. Nevins on Moss St. in Hudson Falls. World War II was still raging. Who would now lead us? I felt like one on board a ship that had no captain, no helmsman, and no rudder.
Similar feelings returned in November 1963. I had just stepped out of our front door in Mt. Ephraim, NJ when my neighbor across the street shouted over to me, My God, they have just shot the president”. I shouted back and asked,” What president”? Mrs. Jones said, our president”! That same emptiness, the feeling of this can’t be real, flooded my mind. The weekend following the death of President Kennedy was one the most emotionally packed we ever experienced.
In both cases, change came swiftly and unexpectedly. We do not know what changes await our nation, good or bad. The one thing stabilizing this that we are assured of is that God does not change. He is still on his throne. He has not abdicated nor given his scepter to another. We can trust him completely, even though all else around us falls apart. We have a changeless God in a changing world.
This truth has been confirmed through many generations. Moses led Israel for forty years right up to the borders of the Promised Land. Death overtook him. The responsibility for conquering and settling Israel into its new environs fell on the shoulders of Joshua. He needed assurance from God, despite the change in leadership, with the so called “untimely death” of their leader. Would the God of Heaven direct and equip him to fulfill task?
The answer came in Joshua 1:5-8:
“There shall not any man be able to stand before thee all the days of thy life; as I was with Moses, so will I be with thee; I will not fail thee, or forsake thee.
Be strong and of good courage, for unto this people thou shalt divide for an inheritance the land, which I swear unto their fathers to give them.
Only be thou strong and very courageous, that thou mayest observe to do according to all the law, which Moses my servant commanded thee: turn not from it to the right hand or to the left, that thou mayest prosper whithersoever thou goest….
“This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth, but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.” The words are herein emphasized, “I will be with you, I will not fail you, I will not forsake you.” He was promised a prosperous way and success.”
Our Lord was about ready to ascend to heaven. His disciples had been in Jesus care and company for three years. What would happen to them now with His departure? He declared He would not leave them as orphans. He would send another Comforter, the Holy Spirit. His presence would be brought to them through the person and the power of the Holy Spirit. His unchanging presence would abide with them in an ever changing world. That promise of his never failing presence is further supported by the message found in Matthew 28:20. “Lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
James 1:17 states this truth profoundly: “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of Lights, with whom there is no variableness or shadow of turning.” God does not vary from day to day, or year to year or century to century or millennia to millennia. He has no shady side, no dark side to his personality. He is forever the same.
Nothing could be more fitting in concluding this message than to read the 23rd Psalm.
“The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.
He maketh me to lie down in green pastures, he leadeth me beside the still waters.
He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his namesake.
Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil. For thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.
Thou prepares a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; My cup runneth over.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life; and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.”
Lloyd Douglas was the author of that famed book, made into film, “The Robe.” When Lloyd was in college he lived in a boarding house. His room was on the second floor. There was an elderly man who lived below him om first floor. He was confined to a wheel chair. In order to make sure that this older man was cared for every day, Lloyd, on his way to the college, would stop on first floor and knock on his door, then enter in. The conversation would go like this; Lloyd asking, “How are things today?” The aged man would pick up his little metal musical triangle and strike it against the arm of his wheelchair. As it rang out the old man said, “That is middle “C”, it was middle “C” yesterday, it is middle “C” today and it will be be middle “C” tomorrow. The piano here is out of tune. The man next door sings a half note flat. This triangle will always be middle “C”. Friends, no matter what happens, you can depend on Hebrews 13: 8 “Jesus Christ the same, yesterday, today, and forever”. “He don’t never change!)
We have an unchanging God in the midst of a rapidly changing world. It is time for us to eavesdrop on heaven and get first hand word as to what really is going on in heaven and on earth!
The Reverend Almon Bartholomew, former Superintendent, NYAG, with wife Joyce.