Malachi 3:6

“For I am the LORD, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed.” Malachi 3:6 KJV

“now therefore let me alone, that my wrath may wax hot against them, and that I may consume them: and I will make of thee a great nation. And Moses besought the LORD his God, and said, LORD, why doth thy wrath wax hot against thy people, which thou hast brought forth out of the land of Egypt with great power, and with a mighty hand? Wherefore should the Egyptians speak, and say, For mischief did he bring them out, to slay them in the mountains, and to consume them from the face of the earth? Turn from thy fierce wrath, and repent of this evil against thy people. Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, thy servants, to whom thou swarest by thine own self, and saidst unto them, I will multiply your seed as the stars of heaven, and all this land that I have spoken of will I give unto your seed, and they shall inherit it for ever. And the LORD repented of the evil which he thought to do unto his people.” Exodus 32:10-14 KJV

The first verse I was led to by my word study Rabbitt hole, Exodus 32:10, brings into question the two main points of our verse from Malachi. Does God change, or is he able to change? And what does this verse mean by “not consumed”?

Change: Hebrew word šānâ pronounced “shaw-naw” means to repeat, do again, change, or alter.

Consume: Hebrew word Kālâ pronounced “kaw-law” means to consume, end, fail, be complete, or be at an end.

“My son, fear thou the LORD and the king: And meddle not with them that are given to change:” Proverbs 24:21 KJV

Do you believe that God repented of His “evil which he thought to do unto his people”? Can God do evil?

The first aspect is, has or can God change?. The second aspect of Malachi 3:6 is the word consumed, which used in the verse from Exodus seemingly means destroy. However another meaning of the word is “left” or to be finished, completed or done with. What if God changed and was done with the sons of Jacob? Could God change his mind on who His chosen people are and move on? Back to the verse from Exodus it seems as if He almost did. God was ready to consume or destroy Israel and make a new nation thru Moses but God altered His decision back to what was the original design, so did God change?

There’s times when we may go back on things we’ve said, and those times are usually labelled as “moments of weakness”. Does God have a weakness? Can God be vulnerable enough to say something He doesn’t mean and have to actually repent? Or does He simply display his ability to make a point more profound? That He can change, God is after all God and if His mind “changes” who would know? His understanding is beyond ours and His meaning so deep that who would be able to decipher if He actually changed what he meant all along? Who would actually stand to make such a claim anyway?

Back to the point that could be made so profound through the verse from Exodus. This exchange occurred after Moses was on the mount with God longer than the people of Israel’s patience, they changed their mind about God and made a Golden Calf to worship. They left their God, who parted a sea to bring them out of bondage, and decided to worship a golden baby cow.

Now, if God chose Israel to be His people but they instead chose to serve a cow, Can God be blamed for creating a new nation? Is that repaying evil for evil, or is that allowing free will? If God created a new nation through Moses who is an Israelite, wouldn’t this new nation continue to be Israel? What is potentially changing? Seems that God is cutting off a branch that chose to serve another.

Back to our verse in focus for today, Malachi 3:6. “For I am the LORD, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed.”

I believe that this verse is saying that God doesn’t change therefore He will not leave or forsake the sons of Jacob. It doesn’t have to do with consume through wrath. When I hear this consumed I picture being consumed by sin. That if God exited and the only true light is gone, then darkness will consume. “And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.” John 1:5 KJV. Before being saved by Christ I can remember being consumed by such darkness, that at times, felt there wasn’t an end to the abyss. The thoughts I had, but what stopped me from the almost unthinkable? God. Even when I didn’t know Him, He was there keeping me from utter, endless darkness.

“Even from the days of your fathers ye are gone away from mine ordinances, and have not kept them. Return unto me, and I will return unto you, saith the LORD of hosts. But ye said, Wherein shall we return?” Malachi 3:7 KJV

God doesn’t change and he will never leave us. “There shall not any man be able to stand before thee all the days of thy life: as I was with Moses, so I will be with thee: I will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.” Joshua 1:5 KJV.

“That which is, already has been; that which is to be, already has been; and God seeks what has been driven away.” Ecclesiastes 3:15 ESV. God will provide and all He asks of us is to follow Him.

“For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 8:38-39 ESV

How often I think of something I have done and how God can’t forgive me. Or that because of x I could lose my salvation. I believe that through this verse it may be shown that the only way one can lose their salvation is if they choose to stop following Christ. You could even build a golden cow and start worshipping it for a time (not a get out of jail free card or an excuse to go rumspringa) but as long as one repents, God is unchanging and there for whoever freely chooses to return to Him.

Father, Thank you for your steadfast love and mercy. Thank you for being the unchanging God, our Rock, our Savior that whosoever chooses to believe in thee shall not perish but have everlasting life. Thank you for your word and all the unchanging promises that bring encouragement, hope and joy. In Jesus name I pray, Amen.