'I am the Lord, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not
consumed.' MALACHI iii. 6.
The scriptural revelations of the divine Name are always the basis of
intensely practical admonition. The Bible does not think it worth while
to proclaim the Name of God without building on the proclamation
promises or commandments. There is no 'mere theology' in Scripture; and
it does not speak of 'attributes,' nor give dry abstractions of
infinitude, eternity, omniscience, unchangeableness, but lays stress on
the personality of God, which is so apt to escape us in these abstract
conceptions, and thus teaches us to think of this personal God our
Father, as infinite, eternal, knowing all things, and never changing.
There is all the difference in our attitude towards the very same truth
if we think of the unchangeableness of God, or if we think that our
Father God is unchangeable. In our text the thought of Him as unchanging
comes into view as the foundation of the continuance of the unfaithful
sons of Jacob in their privileges and in their very lives. 'I am the
Lord,' Jehovah, the Self-existent, the Eternal whose being is not under
the limitations of succession and time. 'Because I am Jehovah, I change
not'; and because Jehovah changes not, therefore our finite and mortal
selves abide, and our infinite and sinful selves are still the objects
of His steadfast love.
Let us consider, first, the unchangeable God, and second, the unchanging
God as the foundation of our changeful lives.