17 It is easier for heaven and earth to disappear than for the least stroke of a pen to drop out of the Law.
There are some things that are permanent and some that are temporary. The heavens and the earth are temporary. God’s person and character as proclaimed in the Scriptures are permanent. This verse talks about the least stroke of a pen. In English we might understand this by considering the difference between the letters E and F. Just the bottom line distinguishes these two letters. Hebrew has several letters that are almost the same except for a small stroke of the pen. God’s revelation is never going to change. Because He is God, and it is His revelation, He ensures its integrity. He makes sure His message gets through. Since heaven and earth are a temporary structure in which and through which He is demonstrating His glory, when they disappear He will still be the same. His person and character never change. Creation gives us general revelation. His Word gives us specific, personal revelation of God. He is not simply the Creator God, but the God who intervened in history in multiple, personal ways. Those interventions are recorded in the Scriptures. When we read these accounts we can learn of those interventions and of the person and character of the Intervener. And that ability of the Word to convey will never stop. Heaven and earth will stop before the Word loses its power. The next verse is an illustration of this principle. Adultery will always be outside of God’s plan. It is amazing that He uses this illustration of the permanence of God’s Law. Adultery was a problem 2000 years ago, just as it is today. People still want to rewrite God’s standards to meet their own selfish needs. But the standards never change.
The Arnold Journey 