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? Numbers 23:19
One of my uncles took all of his bills and receipts from the family farm operation to an accountant, to have the accountant file his income tax return. After reviewing all of the information, the accountant explained to my uncle how he could receive a substantial reduction in the tax he owed if he submitted his claim in a certain way. My uncle shook his head. The accountant’s suggestion didn’t sound quite right to him, and he would willingly pay the full tax. My uncle’s refusal to be anything but absolutely honest was learned from his father, my grandfather. Honest to a fault, my grandfather, when he began receiving the old age pension, insisted on putting in a full week’s work every week, because nobody was ever going to accuse Charlie Langille of living off the government. As honest as they were, those Langille men still did not come up to the honesty of the God they worshipped.
While we insist that our God can do anything, we agree that one thing He cannot do is tell a lie. That is in contrast to the testament of the Scriptures that say all men (including women, boys, and girls) are liars (Psalm 116:11). None of us need go back very far in time to when we told a lie, or misrepresented something in an untruthful way. As Christians, we recognize that being truthful is being Christ-like. And we do our best. But even our best is nothing like the the truth that comes from God. That is why we can put such absolute faith in the Word of God. Anything in the Bible that has to do with science or nature – including creation – is totally accurate. So is the history that the Bible tells; no earthly historian has proven a word of the Bible inaccurate, and you know that many have tried. So when it comes to truths regard God Himself, we can be perfectly content with what the Scriptures reveal. To paraphrase the inscription on American coins, ‘In God’s Word we trust’.
A corollary to the truth that God cannot lie is the truth that God cannot break a promise. That is contained in the words of our text: ‘hath He said, and shall He not do it?’ That is so important when we consider all of the great promises that God has given us! Has He promised us eternal life? He must and will keep that promise. Has he promised to never leave nor forsake us? He must and will keep that promise. Has He promised to supply all our needs? He must and will keep that promise. Like me, you have received specific precious promises from the Word of God during your Christian experience. God must and will keep every one of those promises. In fact, I challenge you to tell of a single promise God has made to you that He has failed to make good.
Our text contains a wealth of comfort for us as God’s children. We can rest without any reservation in the greatness of His honesty and His guarantees. – Jim MacIntosh