The Grass Withers, the Flower Fades

Introduction: God Endures and the Grass Withers

If you have a Bible nearby, please turn with me to the book of Isaiah – To Isaiah, chapter 40, to verses 6 through 8. If you’re using one of our church Bibles, you can find this part of the Bible on page 561. In a few weeks we’ll be starting a new series in 1 Timothy. But for tonight and next week, I want to highlight a couple passages from the prophet Isaiah that give attention the greatness of God and His Word. Tonight we’ll be brought face to face with the enduring significance God’s Word, and how the grass of human strength withers. But before I read our text (Isaiah, Chapter 40, verses 6 through 8), let’s pray and ask God for his help this evening.

[Pray and Read Text]

How Easily Grass Withers

Over the past couple years, as a relatively new home owner, one of the biggest challenges I’ve faced is managing our lawn. And I’m not just talking about keeping up with the mowing and trimming shrubs – although I could probably improve in those things, too. But what I mean is that there are parts of our yard where I’ve had trouble keeping the grass alive. This was never really an issue in the home I grew up in. But I’ve been confronted with the issue here. The grass withers. In some patches, here and there, the turf can’t stand up under the environmental conditions of my yard.

It’s probably due to a combination of issues. There are some parts of our yard that are quite shady, some parts of our yard that get a lot of foot traffic from kids, and some parts of our yard where the soil seems to be pretty light – almost sandy – and so the soil doesn’t hold moisture very well. But in any case, I run into the same issue. The grass springs up with a burst of glory in early spring – but then by mid-July, it hasn’t lasted. The grass has shriveled away.

Of course, the text makes it clear that I’m not the only one who has seen grass dry up. Isaiah saw it, too. Isaiah, here, he was a prophet who spoke on God’s behalf. And he lived well over two thousand years ago, on the Eastern edge of the Mediterranean Sea, in the land Israel. And since the climate there is naturally drier, he was probably confronted with withering grass more than we are.

But as Isaiah considered the fading of plants out on the landscape, the Spirit of God pointed out that grass isn’t the only thing that rapidly shrivels up. The withering grass is a picture of you and me – it’s a picture of human weakness and mortality. Another man of God, named David, was stirred up to write similar words earlier in the Bible, in Psalm 103. But here, Isaiah develops the idea, and he urges us to see how human glory languishes – how temporary it is, how it fades away. But he doesn’t stop there. Isaiah goes on to describe how divine glory lasts.

So these will be my two main points as we work through our text this evening. First, human glory languishes – meaning that it dries up, it fails, it fades away. And then we’ll get to our second point, divine glory lasts.

Human Glory Languishes

So first, human glory languishes.

In verse 6, Isaiah introduces this section of text in an interesting way. He explains that, “A voice says, “Cry” – there’s a voice telling him to cry out, to call loudly, to proclaim a message. Isaiah doesn’t tell us where this audible voice is coming from. But it’s pretty clear from the context that the voice speaking here was God’s voice. And this otherworldly voice tells Isaiah that there’s something he should cry out. There’s some sort of public announcement that needs to be made.

So Isaiah responds in a sensible way. He asks, “What shall I cry? God, what do you want people to hear?” And if you were to stop for a moment, and imagine all the different responses God might give – what would you expect him to say?

I think there are some people who think about God in a very flat, one-dimensional way. And they might assume that God is just angry, and that all he wants to do is accuse us or condemn us for the evil things we’ve done. On the flipside, some people might imagine that God’s only function is to be some sort of supernatural cheerleader, who claims that we’re perfect and wonderful just the way we are. But God thinks and interacts with us in a way that’s deeper, and more dynamic than either of those simplistic options. He speaks to us with real world wisdom, and he invites us to engage with reality in a meaningful way.

And here in Isaiah 40, in particular, God wants to make sure that you and I are aware of our human limitations. We’re supposed to see, here, that human glory languishes. It fails and fades. And there are three aspects of this languishing that he wants us ponder.

First, God points out to us that human glory languishes universally – meaning that it affects everyone. You’ll see this in our text, there in the middle of verse 6. God says, “All flesh is grass, and all its beauty is like the flower of the field.” God isn’t just talking about Isaiah, or the Israelites who lived in those days. He isn’t just speaking about Americans, or about the people here at Fellowship Reformed Church in Mt Pleasant. No, God is talking about everyone. Every last person on earth is faced with dryness, disease, decay, death. All flesh is grass.

And we need to make sure this actually hits us. I’m not an exception to God’s statement, here. And you aren’t either. You might think of yourself as being strong enough to figure out life on your own, smart enough, good enough. But here’s a reality check – and remember, this is from God. He’s insisting that you are withering grass. Your abilities probably aren’t nearly as great as you think they are – as a creature, you have severe limitations, and a mortal lifespan. All our glory and beauty is momentary. Human glory languishes universally.

Of course, in addition to this, God wants us to know that human glory languishes abruptly. We can identify several senses in which this is true. Human reputations can be quickly lost. Human beauty may be quickly spoiled by injuries. People in positions of power can lose their jobs and their influence quite suddenly.

But we can also point out here, that great human accomplishments also have a way of quickly losing their luster. The pleasure we feel from a good exam score, or a productive day of work – that pleasure is fleeting. It really doesn’t give lasting satisfaction. And this is true for all of us – I’m sure you’ve experienced this in different ways. When you get a dazzling new gift on Christmas morning, when your team unexpectedly wins a sporting event at the last possible moment, when you hit some sort of milestone in life like graduation day or a retirement party, it’s glorious, right? These are human experiences that come with fresh excitement. The grass seems lush, and green. And yet, many times the celebration just lasts for a few hours. And then you wake up the next morning, and the beauty of what you experienced is gone. The grass withers. It no longer satisfies. The glory has shriveled up into nothing. “All flesh is grass, and all all its beauty is like the flower of the field. The grass withers, the flower fades…” Human glory languishes abruptly.

But there’s another sense in which human glory languishes abruptly. Our text speaks to the shortness of human life. Our health, our strength, our heartbeat – it can all be lost at the drop of a hat. Within a very short span of time, green grass can dry out. And flowers can shrivel under the scorching heat of summer. And you and I are supposed to understand – that’s a picture of us. In the blink of an eye, kings are laid in their tombs. CEOs have heart attacks. Bodybuilders become lifeless corpses. It can happen so fast.

And I think we know that this is true. And yet it’s hard for us to accept it – to actually be impacted by the shortness of life and smallness of our human glory, especially when we still feel like we’re in the prime of life. Because when our youthfulness still feels fresh, and the grass still looks green, we can easily fool ourselves into thinking that God must be speaking to someone else here. We might imagine that we still have plenty of time to grow up – plenty of time to get serious about God, or to make up for lost opportunities.

But, you see, that just isn’t the case. Certainly we can’t count on it. You know that you’re alive and well now. But who knows about tomorrow? Who knows about 5 seconds from now? We can’t count on human glory or strength to last – because it won’t. Human glory languishes abruptly.

But there’s a third thing to consider, about the frailness of human glory. God’s Word also indicates here that human glory languishes ultimately.

Ultimately – when your life comes to an end – it won’t matter how nice your car was, or how many followers you had on Instagram, or how much weight you were able to bench press. Chasing after careers and money and entertainment and romance and popularity – none of these things will actually bring you greater worth or importance in an ultimate sense.

And we also should keep in mind that human power and effort isn’t able to make us right with God. We ourselves can’t undo the wrongs that we’ve done against God. We can’t earn or accomplish our way into heaven, by relying on our flimsy, somewhat-good deeds, or our prayers, or the promises we’ve made to God. Human glory and strength – it’s not enough – the grass withers. Parents can’t save the day for us. Faithful pastors can’t put us on good terms with God. Political saviors can’t bring us into paradise. Isaiah insists that we can’t put our trust in the glory of man, at all. Because it’s a mirage in the desert. It’s a water droplet of dew that’s evaporating under the morning sunlight. It doesn’t ultimately last.

Think about the greatest awards you’ve received in life – the biggest achievements you’ve made for yourself. And keep things in perspective here: who’s going to remember what you did in a hundred years? How many kings and emperors from world history can you name? And of that relatively small number of people – how many of their accomplishments are you aware of? Human fame, earthly renown – it doesn’t last.

Isaiah simply wants us to view reality rightly. As human beings, we aren’t nearly as glorious as we think we are. Our human hearts are affected by sin. We wander from the good paths God has marked out. We make bad judgment calls. We struggle with fear and anxiety. We often don’t know what course of action we should take. We are often blinded by pride, deceived by temptation, and unable to control our passions. We aren’t glorious. Rather, our flesh is weak. It’s failing. And this should drive us to our knees, to admit, we can’t stand by our own strength! We can’t come to God, by our own credentials! If there’s going to be any hope for the dead grass – for creatures like us – if there’s going to be any hope of resurrection from the dead, and everlasting peace with God, someone vastly more glorious than us must bring the solution.

Divine Glory Lasts

And so Isaiah helps us in this, in verses 7 and 8. He emphasizes that God’s glory lasts. This is my second main point. God’s glory lasts. And Isaiah shows that God is greater than us, and more worthy of our trust, in three ways.

First, he points out the power of God’s breath in verse 7. Isaiah tells us that “the grass withers, the flower fades when the breath of the LORD blows on it; surely the people are grass.”

This might seem like a strange statement at first. But Isaiah’s point here is to show us how great the contrast is between the strength of God, and the fragile condition of his creatures. Because the greatest emperors and military commanders of the world – remember, they’re described here as grass. Their time is limited. In the grand scheme of things, under heaven, the power of these people is limited. And as the LORD stoops down to look at the armies, and tanks, and weapons of mankind – God isn’t threatened by them. He isn’t concerned that somehow the ragings of the nations will undo his plan.

Instead, Isaiah tells us that all that it takes is a breath from God, and the grass withers. Simply a quick little puff of air, and the earth shakes, castles collapse, the great ones of the earth are undone. The power of God is something to be feared and trembled at – especially for people who aren’t at peace with him. The fierce winds of a category 5 hurricane, the eruptions of a volcano, the magnitude of a 9.1 earthquake – all these things would cause the bravest of men to panic. But the power of God is greater. He breaths – he blows on the grass – and it shrivels.

And yet, the power of God is also something to be comforted by. Because God, by his power, has made a way for wrongdoers like you and I to be cleansed from our sins. God has sent Jesus Christ to be a Savior for us who’s stronger than sin, stronger than the devil, stronger than death. And when you trust in Jesus, to take away your sin, and to make you right with God – then the power of God is no longer directed against you, in order to judge or condemn you. Instead, God’s power is now for you – to protect you, to provide for you. If the Lord is able to overturn nations and kingdoms simply with a breath, then consider how secure you are, if you’re being held in the safety of God’s hands. The enduring glory of God is seen here in the power of his breath.

But we also see his glory in the permanence of his Word. We see this in verse 8: “The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever.” This means, for one thing, that God’s decrees will stand forever. Whatever God plans – whatever God decides must come to pass – it will. Enemies against Christianity won’t be able to shut down God’s work in the world. The devil can’t mess God up. But what God has decreed, he will do, and all that he does, it will succeed. And this will always be the case. The Word of our God will stand forever.

Of course, this also relates to God’s promises. It applies to early promises in the Bible – like the promise in Genesis 3:15, that God would send an offspring of the woman to crush the head of the serpent – a promise that’s talking about Jesus. And it also applies to late promises in the Bible – like the promises in Revelation 21:3-4, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them and they will be his people. And God himself will be their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall their be mourning, nor crying, nor pain, anymore, for the former things have passed away.” For all these promises in Scripture – from beginning to end – they’re firm. They’re binding. They are solid bedrock, that our faith can rest upon. “The Word of our God will stand forever.”

But the permanence and greatness of God’s Word – it also relates to his word of affirmation – his words of acquittal. When God sets his love on a sinner, and makes him clean in Christ – when he speaks, and declares that that person is right with heaven – then that’s a firm statement. It’s gloriously unchangeable. Because God himself – the King of the Universe – is speaking. And the Word of our God – it’s certain. It stands.

It’s so tempting for us to live for the applause and approval of other people. But we have to prioritize here – who’s voice are we ultimately going to be concerned about? The glory of flesh will fade, right? The in-crowd isn’t going to last. Popularity and acceptance in this life – it’s just a faint mist. But when God speaks to give his approval, and to accept a person – it’s binding. It’s enduring. The Word of our God will stand forever. Won’t you live for his approval, more than anyone else’s? It should be a no-brainer.

But God’s greatness is seen, not only in the power of his breath, or the permanence of his word, but also in the preciousness of his glory. Because Isaiah’s message here isn’t, “You are weak, God is Almighty – therefore despair, and prepare to be destroyed.” That’s not what he’s saying here. Instead, Isaiah is inviting us to turn our hearts away from lesser things (from grass that withers), in order to gain something better. Turn from self-reliance, turn from fleshly self-indulgence, turn away from worldly-minded ambitions – and turn to God.

Are you struggling with grief right now? Don’t carry it alone. Pour out your heart to God. Are you confused about life? Admit that you don’t have the answers, and learn to be directed by God’s Word here. Are you fearful? Be comforted by God’s power. Are you self-confident, self-absorbed, and self-assured – be humbled here before the majesty of the Great One. In every phase of life, in every situation, what we need is a better view of our lowness, and a bigger view of God.

And God, in his glorious grace, welcomes us to draw near. In light of what Christ has done, to suffer the payment we deserved for our sins – God urges us to come in faith, and to walk in faith. He urges us to put aside our fascination with the trinkets that the world is chasing after. And he invites us to know Him, through His Word, and to be near to Him, and to find hope from him forever. It’s a precious reality – that God doesn’t shut us out of his glory. But he calls us in.

So don’t set your heart on things that are passing away. Don’t rely on the strength of grass that withers. But anchor your life in the certainty that God’s approval is better than anyone else’s, God’s promises are surer than all others, and God’s glory is the fountainhead of eternal joy. Let’s pray: