Numbers 23:19 - God is not a man, that He should lie...

God is not a man, that he should lie, nor a son of man, that he should change his mind. Does he speak and then not act? Does he promise and not fulfill?

God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good?

God is not a man, that He should lie, Nor a son of man, that He should repent; Has He said, and will He not do it? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?

Numbers 23:19

Commentary

This is from the story of the prophet Balaam, who was hired by King Balak to curse the people of Israel. Instead of a curse, God would give Balaam a blessing for Israel each time he tried. Eventually King Balak was faced with a dilemma: he could either hold on to his plans or surrender them to what God was doing in his generation. Thousands of years later Jesus would put it this way: The Kingdom of heaven is here. God is on the move. We must learn to die to our plans and follow Him. This has been the clarion call of God to humanity from Genesis to Revelations. He does not change His mind.

Today's commentary by:
Dave Whitehead, Senior Pastor, Grace NYC

James 2:23 - Abraham was called God's friend

And the scripture was fulfilled that says, "Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness," and he was called God's friend.

And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God.

and the Scripture was fulfilled which says, "AND ABRAHAM BELIEVED GOD, AND IT WAS RECKONED TO HIM AS RIGHTEOUSNESS," and he was called the friend of God.

James 2:23

Commentary

We are a people of words. We think in words. When we expand our vocabulary we expand our understanding. So it shouldn't seem odd that part of God's judgment will be the very words that we have used. Hitler used words to move a nation toward war; Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. used words to inspire a nation toward reconciliation. What we say is very important. Words are so important that the apostle John called Jesus the Word of God that became flesh. Therefore we need to value and weigh the words that we speak.

Today's commentary by:
Dave Whitehead, Senior Pastor, Grace NYC