The Passing Nature of Humanity and The Enduring Word of God | Isaiah 40:6-8

Isaiah 40:6–8

 A voice said, “Shout!” I asked, “What should I shout?” “Shout that people are like the grass. Their beauty fades as quickly as the flowers in a field. The grass withers and the flowers fade beneath the breath of the Lord. And so it is with people. The grass withers and the flowers fade, but the word of our God stands forever.”

The Passing Nature of Humanity

Human life is fragile and transient. The writer of Ps.103

says a man’s life is like the grass. He blooms like a flower. Someone will say this morning, Pastor, what’s new? I know that when I look at myself. There are things I can not do today that I used to do way back when......

So yes, indeed, people are grass. The plant is of limited duration, and the beauty of the flower is a passing glory. Humanity at its very best is just like grass and the flower of the field.

The Contrast B/W God

Isaiah provides a contrast between people and God. People are temporary; they fail and change over time. Like flowers in the springtime, they are beautiful but fail and die when the weather changes and gets hot in the summer heat. By contrast, God never fails, for His promised Word is guaranteed forever. Through the prophet Isaiah, God was comforting His people to trust and not be afraid because God has the power and the strength to do what He promised.

# 1. Human love is temporary vs God’s steadfast love never ceases. Lamentation 3:22-23

That’s the Word that stands forever.

# 2 Human faithfulness or loyalty vs God’s trustworthiness in relationships -1 John 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness

That’s the Word that stands forever.

# 3 Human commitment vs God’s commitment

“Every good present and every perfect gift comes from above, from the Father who made the sun, moon, and stars. The Father doesn’t change like the shifting shadows produced by the sun and the moon.” - James 1:17

That’s the Word that stands forever.

Why the grass withers and the flower fades?

The grass withered due to the lack of moisture / shortness of life - God give human life and has the sovereign power to take it away. Hebrews 9:27 “And it is appointed for people to die once, and after this judgment.”

In conclusion, 1 Peter 1: 23 says : “You have been born again, not from a seed that can be destroyed, but through God’s everlasting word that can’t be destroyed.

That’s why Scripture says⸥,

“All people are like grass, and all their beauty is like a flower of the field.

The grass dries up and the flower drops off, but the word of the Lord lasts forever.”

This word is the Good News of the Lord Jesus Christ that was told to us all.

He is the living water that can restored moisture to withered life or dried life without God

It is a Living Word Someone wrote : “As God is, so is His word. It is living and powerful. It is real and relevant. It convicts and converts. His word communicates His truth and carries His voice as He speaks to men through it. The word of man is like the nature of man. The word of God is like the nature of God:” -

Amen