Return to the Lord
Who Does Not Change
Grace to you and peace from God our
Father, and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.
So far, we have focused on our
Lord’s faithfulness, our Lord’s promises, our Lord’s
work for us, and His desire that we return to Him and receive these gifts from
His hand. Those are wonderful things. But all these words and promises, all
this work, all of this would be of no use and no value to us, were it not for the
fact that our God does not change. What good would be a God who speaks a word to
us, but later takes it back? What good would it be if He says He will do something
for us, but later changes His mind? You cannot count on a God like that. That
is a God you cannot know, a God who is one way today and tomorrow may be quite
different. Such a God says one thing today, but tomorrow He may speak something
completely different. Which is real? Which is true? You could not know.
The good news for us is that God is not like that. When He
speaks, it is true and sure. What He promises, He will do. You can count on Him
and know Him. That is exactly what we need. We need a
God we can depend on in an undependable world. We need a God who is steadfast in a world of change. And Malachi reassures us
that this perfectly describes our God.
Malachi was the next-to-last of the Old
Testament prophets. John the Baptist was officially the last, for he is the
last prophet leading to Jesus. But after Malachi, there would be scriptural silence
from God for some 400 years, before God would speak again:
first through John, but then, even more importantly, through God in the flesh,
our Lord Jesus. That fact makes these words of Malachi even more
important, because the people would cling to those words during that 400 years
of seeming silence. God does not change. His Word and promises don’t change. He
says to you, “Return to me, and I
will return to you.”
At the time of Malachi,
Israel was no
longer giving tithes.
It’s not that God needs what we give Him; the truth is, tithes and
contributions are for our benefit. It’s not that we give so that God will give
more. Instead, we give to acknowledge that our Father has given us everything, and this is our response. We give because we believe that
God will provide for our every need. We give to loosen our grip on the things
of this world. We give so that we cling by faith to
our God. Failing to give shows us that not all is right with us in our hearts; it
says that we do not trust in Him to provide as we should. Malachi is pointing
out not just a behavior problem, but a heart problem
and a faith problem. With these words from Malachi,
God is calling Israel
back to faith. God wants His children to believe in Him and trust
His goodness as their loving Father.
“Try me in this,” God says. Test Him,
and see if He will not provide. This is who God is. If
they give, they will not lack. The widow made a loaf for the prophet Elijah
from the last of her flour and oil, but the flour and oil did not run out.
Jesus provided food for groups of 4,000 and 5,000 men who gave of their time to
listen to His Word, who trusted that “man
does not live by bread alone.” He does this, not because Israel was so
faithful and good, but because God is love.
Satan is always tempting us to
unbelief, to doubt the goodness and love of our Father in heaven. The devil
wants us to turn away from our loving God. But God cries out, “Return!” Return in repentance for your unbelief.
Return, believing in His promises. See how God feeds the birds and clothes the
flowers. They preach to you of the goodness and love of your Father. If He
cares for them, will He not much more care for you? Of course He will. He always
has, and He always will.
This doesn’t mean life will be easy.
Sin is still in this world, wreaking its havoc, just as it did in the Garden. But
it has an end, when our Lord returns and sets us free from sin and death. Our
bodies are transformed for everlasting life. We have that promise, too, which
God will not change. In the midst of a world of change, of changing bodies, of
changing people, we have a changeless God. We have a faithful Father you can
count on. Return to Him, and He will return to you. In the name of the Father
and of the Son (+) and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
The peace of God which
passes all understanding will keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus
always. Amen.
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