Grass That Withers

In the dry climate of Israel, green grass and wildflowers spring up after the rains and then vanish within weeks under the hot wind. Scripture uses this as its plainest picture of human frailty: 'All flesh is grass... The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand for ever.' The psalmist says man's days are as grass, James warns the rich that they will pass away 'as the flower of the grass,' and Peter quotes Isaiah to show that the gospel is the word that endures. Jesus turned the same image into comfort: if God so clothes the grass of the field, he will much more clothe his children.

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Strongest connections in Scripture

Isaiah 40 1 Peter 1

Key Passages

All Flesh Is Grass

Isaiah 40:6-8

Human strength fades as quickly as grass, but God's word stands for ever.

T⁶he voice said, Cry. And he said, What shall I cry? All flesh is grass, and all the goodliness thereof is as the flower of the field:

⁷ The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: because the spirit of the LORD bloweth upon it: surely the people is grass. ⁸ The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand for ever.

The Word Endureth For Ever

1 Peter 1:23-25

Peter quotes Isaiah to show that believers are born again through God's living, lasting word.

B²³eing born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever.

²⁴ For all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away: ²⁵ But the word of the Lord endureth for ever. And this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you.