WE DON'T CHANGE GOD, GOD CHANGES US

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In Christ, Mark

The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

Then Elihu said:

“Do you think this is just? You say, ‘I am in the right, not God.’ Yet you ask him, ‘What profit is it to me, and what do I gain by not sinning?’

“I would like to reply to you and to your friends with you. Look up at the heavens and see; gaze at the clouds so high above you. If you sin, how does that affect Him? If your sins are many, what does that do to Him? If you are righteous, what do you give to Him, or what does He receive from your hand? Your wickedness only affects humans like yourself, and your righteousness only other people.

“People cry out under a load of oppression; they plead for relief from the arm of the powerful. But no one says, ‘Where is God my Maker, who gives songs in the night, who teaches us more than He teaches the beasts of the earth and makes us wiser than the birds in the sky?’ He does not answer when people cry out because of the arrogance of the wicked. Indeed, God does not listen to their empty plea; the Almighty pays no attention to it. How much less, then, will He listen when you say that you do not see  Him, that your case is before Him and you must wait for Him, and further, that His anger never punishes and He does not take the least notice of wickedness. So Job opens his mouth with empty talk; without knowledge he multiplies words.”

Job 35:1-16

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

 As Job, Chapter 35 opens, we continue to read Elihu’s discourse. Up to now, this young man, who isn’t introduced until after Job and his three friends, Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar have spoken, had been silent allowing his elders to speak first out of respect for them. But once they were finished, Elihu had plenty to say and his words carried much wisdom, proving that the Holy Spirit speaks truth through anyone, young or old.

You’ll recall that Job felt he had lived a good life and thus didn’t deserve the misery and loss he had suffered through. In fact, Job felt that God had made a mistake through it all, wrongly afflicting him. He even went as far to wonder what he or anyone had to gain by not sinning, implying that there was no reward for living in righteous obedience to God, choosing His desires over one’s own. Indeed, Job’s hardship had impacted his psyche, just as it would anyone’s.

But into the scene to address this attitude comes Elihu, empowered by the Holy Spirit to speak words of truth from the Lord into the matter.

He begins by reminding Job about what he had said:

“You say, ‘I am in the right, not God.’ Yet you ask him, ‘What profit is it to me, and what do I gain by not sinning?’ ”

Job saw God as unfair and unjust in His actions, questioning why he was going through the difficult circumstances he was experiencing. After all, he was blameless and had lived a perfectly righteous life in his eyes.

This belief of Job then led him to wonder what he really had to gain by living so righteously. If he had lived so blamelessly and obediently before God and suffered as he was, then why live that way in the first place? There obviously was no profit from righteousness, from living the life God desired. So why not live life to the fullest and chase after all the desires of your heart, no matter if they contradict with God’s wishes or not.

Indeed, Job was being negatively impacted by his troubles. Being in the midst of trial can be a dangerous place for anyone for we can too easily get caught up in our imperfect humanity. As our attitudes change, we lose sight of the One who never changes – the only One who our very present help in times of trouble. (Psalm 46:1)

Job’s not alone in his thinking. In fact, Job would find many today who would probably easily side with his attitude. This is why the scriptures are so important and anyone not invested in their Bible is missing the key to unlocking understanding about life and how we are to live it.

So what truth does Elihu reveal to Job and to us today regarding God?

God cannot be changed.

Look at the next verses after Elihu reminds Job of the words he had spoken:

“I would like to reply to you and to your friends with you. Look up at the heavens and see; gaze at the clouds so high above you. If you sin, how does that affect Him? If your sins are many, what does that do to Him? If you are righteous, what do you give to Him, or what does He receive from your hand? Your wickedness only affects humans like yourself, and your righteousness only other people.

God is God. Nothing we do is going to change Him.

Our sins don’t change His nature. God isn’t to conform Himself to man. Quite to the contrary for man is fully expected to conform to God.

And our righteous acts don’t alter Him. How could we ever reward the One who is the Giver of everything?

No, God doesn’t change. The scriptures further affirm this. Consider these words from a visionary named Balaam as he gives the following words of the Lord to the Moabite king Balak who wanted Balaam to curse Israel:

“God isn't a mere man. He can't lie. He isn't a human being. He doesn't change his mind. He speaks, and then He acts. He makes a promise, and then He keeps it.” Numbers 23:19 (NIRV)

Then God Himself speaks in the Book of Malachi, saying with an authority and validity that only comes from Him, “I the Lord do not change.” (3:6)

Indeed, the Lord doesn’t change. Paul, in his epistle to the Hebrews, further drives the point home as he wrote, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.” (13:8)

Indeed Elihu makes his point clear. God doesn’t change. He was, is, and will be the God who is our Maker – the One who gives songs in the night and teaches us more than He teaches the beasts of the earth, making us wiser than the birds in the sky. The same God who is with us when times are good is with us when times are tough.

He never changes. But unfortunately we can and do.

This is why we need someone on our side who never changes – a constant and consistent source of love and wisdom to guide and lead us – someone who never wavers and is willing to help us get back on the right path when our ways become crooked.

There is only One like this. Our unchanging God.

Thanks be to God that He has patience with us and is always willing to right our respective ships when we begin to list and possibly capsize under the onslaught of life’s many storms. Going back to the Bible, we read these words from the Lord to the prophet Jeremiah after Israel was taken into a 70 year exile by the Babylonians:

“I will change their hearts. Then they will know that I am the Lord. They will be my people. And I will be their God.” Jeremiah 24:7 (NIRV)

Although the people of Israel had changed, defying God, breaking their covenant with Him, and choosing instead to follow their sinful desires, God was still the same God – a God who was willing to save mercifully and love unconditionally. A God who had the power to transform hearts and bring them back to Him.

Is this not good news for us today?

For no matter how we may have gotten off track in our own lives, the God of the Universe that created you and me is ready to change us from the inside out. And we’re fools if we don’t allow Him to do just that – if we don’t allow Him to bring us back to the place where we fully see Him as He is, our unchanging Almighty Lord who is our God.

He never changes but He can change us if we let Him.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

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