Never Changing
“I the Lord do not change” (Malachi 3:6).
I am struggling with God’s immutability today. Immutability is a fancy word that means “unchangeable,” or “unalterable.”
Last night I wondered, if God is immutable, Why, over time, have we thrown out parts of the Bible?
I have company in from San Antonio; two Christian sisters who I serve in ministry with, so in an effort to be a good hostess, I thought it would be fun to go hear a Messianic Jewish speaker from Tel Aviv. Both are interested in Israel. The problem was we were running very late, and I was wondering if it was even worth it to go. But a verse from Matthew 5:37 kept echoing in my mind. “But let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No,’ ‘No.’” It had been a plan for a few days. I said we were going to go, so I thought, Lets try.
As it turned out, we missed his talk, and made it just in time for the question and answer period. It was still great to hear about some of the evangelical work going on in Israel. But then, when making a reference to a particular difference between the Orthodox and non-Orthodox Jews about the Sabbath, the speaker referred to an Old Testament verse in 1 Kings as passé. That bothered me because in a passing comment, he dismissed a passage in the Bible. Was the verse not immutable I wondered?
This issue of immutability has been a struggle for me lately, and I am attempting to get to the bottom of it.
I realize some of the Old Testament laws are no longer in effect. For example, we don’t have to take sacrifices to the temple, because Jesus became our perfect sacrifice, an unblemished lamb that took away the sins of the world (1 Peter 1:19). However, I am curious about some of the other commandments. Didn’t Jesus say in Matthew 5:17 he didn’t come to abolish the law, but to fulfill it?
So I’ve been studying in the Jewish Torah, and I’m currently buried in Leviticus. Leviticus is not like reading the Psalms. It is tedious, and full of God’s specific laws established for his people. I can only take small doses at a time. Often times, in Leviticus, there is a law where God says, “It is a law for all time.” Doesn’t “all time” mean “all time?” All time for some of us can change, but God is immutable. So if this is a law for all time, and God is immutable, then why do we disregard it?
I don’t know the answer to that. I am still trying to figure it out myself, and while I was anxious to complete my reading of Leviticus, I now plan to go back through it, and document all of the laws in Leviticus God stamped as “valid for eternity.” I want to understand if I need to make some changes.
You may think, “If God is immutable, then why even pray?” He’s made up his mind already, right? But when we say God is unalterable, we are talking about his character, his attributes, and his eternal promises and commandments. It doesn’t mean he never changes his mind, so keep praying!
There are plenty of examples in the Bible about a change of God’s heart.
In Exodus, when the Lord wanted to destroy the Israelites after they bowed down to an idol cast in the shape of a calf, Moses talked him out of it.
In Jonah, when the people of Nineveh repented of their evil ways, the word says, God “relented and did not bring on them the destruction he had threatened.”
One of God’s immutable characteristics is that he is merciful, and that’s why he turns from wrath. His mercy never changes, and for that, I am very thankful.
So I will get back to you after I work my way through all 613 Levitical laws, and have more answers. But I want to leave you with what I do know, some of God’s immutable attributes you can count on, along with Scripture references to verify them.
- God loves us (Romans 8:37-39), (Romans 5:8), (Zephaniah 3:17), (1 John 4:7-8).
- God is holy (Psalm 22:3), (Isaiah 6:3), (Revelation 4:8).
- God is sovereign (Psalm 115:3), (Proverbs 16:9), (2 Chronicles 20:6), (Romans 8:28).
- God is faithful (Deuteronomy 7:9) (Psalm 36:5) (Psalm 119:90) (2 Thessalonians 3:3)
- God is wise (Job 12:13), (Psalm 147:5), (Romans 11:33), (Romans 16:25-27)
- God is all-knowing (Matthew 11:27), (Job 37:16) (Isaiah 55:9).
- God is eternal (Deuteronomy 33:27), (Psalm 48:14), (Revelation 1:8).
I am praising you O LORD today for your immutable characteristics, and for continuing to reveal more about your nature to us. Thank you that you are a God we can always count on, and that you will never leave us or forsake us. I am grateful that some things never change.
“In the beginning, you laid the foundations of the earth, and the heavens are the work of your hands. They will perish, but you remain; they will all wear out like a garment. Like clothing you will change them and they will be discarded. But you remain the same, and your years will never end” (Psalm 102:25-27). LBW