The Forever Word
An unnamed psalmist (possibly David?) gave us Psalm 119, the great poem of admiration for the word of God. Among the 176 statements counseling us to honor the word, is verse 89: “Forever, O LORD, your word is firmly fixed in the heavens.”
This is literally true. The heavens we can see were established (“fixed”) by God speaking His word, and making it so. In scripture, “heaven” or “heavens” in both Old Testament Hebrew and New Testament Greek, is just like our usage in English. The “heavens” can refer to the atmosphere, or to the astronomical realm of sun, moon and stars, or to the abode of God. We learn from Genesis 1 that the aspects we can see came into existence by the word of God:
“In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.” (v1)
The atmosphere on the second day: “And God said, ‘Let there be an expanse in the midst of the waters…’ And it was so.” (v6-7)
The heavenly bodies on the fourth day: “And God said, ‘Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens… And let them be for signs and for seasons, and for days and years…’ And it was so.” (v14-15)
The sky was populated on the fifth day: “And God said… ‘Let the birds fly above the earth across the expanse of the heavens.’ ” (v20)
God speaks His word, and it is. All creation proclaims this—and in particular the heavens proclaim it.
The prophet Jeremiah emphasizes the “forever” aspect declared by the psalmist:
“Thus says the LORD, who gives the sun for light by day and the fixed order of the moon and the stars for light by night…” (31:35)
“Thus says the LORD: If I have not established my covenant with day and night and the fixed order of heaven and earth…” (33:25)
The two writers are agreed: God’s word is firmly, eternally fixed in the heavens.
But I haven’t quoted all of what Jeremiah has to say in those two passages. There’s a critical point God is making through His prophet:
Thus says the LORD, who gives the sun for light by day and the fixed order of the moon and the stars for light by night… “If this fixed order departs from before me, declares the LORD, then shall the offspring of Israel cease from being a nation before me forever.” (Jer 31:35-36)
Thus says the LORD: “If I have not established my covenant with day and night and the fixed order of heaven and earth, then I will reject the offspring of Jacob and David my servant and will not choose one of his offspring to rule over the offspring of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. For I will restore their fortunes and will have mercy on them.” (Jer 33:25-26)
We are supposed to consider the permanence of the heavens as a reminder of the permanence of the covenant God made through Abraham and through David. Here are some other passages that spell it out:
O offspring of Abraham, his servant, children of Jacob, his chosen ones! He is the LORD our God; his judgments are in all the earth. He remembers his covenant forever, the word that he commanded, for a thousand generations, the covenant that he made with Abraham, his sworn promise to Isaac, which he confirmed to Jacob as a statute, to Israel as an everlasting covenant, saying, “To you I will give the land of Canaan as your portion for an inheritance.” (Psalm 105:6-11)
And now, O LORD, let the word that you have spoken concerning your servant and concerning his house be established forever, and do as you have spoken, and your name will be established and magnified forever, saying, ‘The LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, is Israel's God,’ and the house of your servant David will be established before you… Now you have been pleased to bless the house of your servant, that it may continue forever before you, for it is you, O LORD, who have blessed, and it is blessed forever.” (1Chronicles 17:23-27)
When God speaks, He means it. His word is not only trustworthy; His word makes it so. Listen to what He says:
For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven and do not return there but water the earth… so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it. (Isaiah 55:10-11)
What else do we know about the word of God? If you haven’t already been thinking it, let me remind you of the first chapter of John’s gospel. John deliberately echoes the Genesis 1 creation account, and applies it:
And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. (John 1:14)
The creative word is also God giving His word—His promises. And those promises came to life, became reality, in Jesus. God is gracious, and God is true, and His Word-made-flesh, His Son, displays those qualities. God’s Word lasts forever—in the creation, in the covenants, in His Son.
Peter quotes Isaiah and expands on what it means for us:
You have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God; for “All flesh is like grass and all its glory like the flower of grass. The grass withers, and the flower falls, but the word of the Lord remains forever.” And this word is the good news that was preached to you. (1 Peter 1:23-25, quoting Isaiah 40:7-8)
Do you see? That everlasting word can also operate in us! The word became flesh in Jesus, but remember the word doesn’t return to God empty, it accomplishes His will. God sent forth His Word-made-flesh, to accomplish a purpose—to save us. Take a moment here, and let the awe of this wash over you. The word that created the heavens, the word that established the eternal covenant, the word that became reality in Jesus, is also the word that is declared to us, and by which we are born again. We too become the word made real. By God’s grace, and by the declaration of His word, we become part of the word firmly fixed, forever.
Love, Paul