God's Faithfulness and our Unfaithfulness
Malachi 3v6-8a
13th August 2021
Malachi 3v6-8a
"I the Lord do not change. So you, O descendants of Jacob, are not destroyed.
Ever since the time of your forefathers you have turned away from my decrees and have not kept them.
Return to me, and I will return to you," says the Lord Almighty.
"But you ask, 'How are we to return?'"
God begins this section of the book of Malachi by saying "I the Lord do not change." You and I blow hot and cold in our love for God, but His love for us is eternal. You might think God loves you less than He used to, but you'd be wrong. And God is always perfectly just. You and I do the right thing sometimes, and we do the wrong thing sometimes, but God always does what is right. You might feel like He's let you down, but He hasn't. He's perfect, and unchanging.
And God says the only reason why the Jews had not been destroyed was His unchanging character. He hadn't saved them because they were good, because they weren't. He hadn't saved them because He needed them, because God doesn't need any of us. And they weren't able to save themselves. He saved them because He loved them, despite their weakness and sin.
From the time they arrived in the Promised Land, nearly 1,000 years before Malachi prophesied, they'd always been surrounded by hostile nations. Philistines, Moabites, Edomites, Arameans, Assyrians and Babylonians had tried to destroy them. Their army had often fought bravely, but their soldiers were too few to protect them. God protected them. And when their sins had grown so great that God allowed them to be taken captive and transported to Babylon, only God could free them and bring them back.
And the only reason we're saved is the grace and mercy of God. We could never save ourselves from the kingdom of darkness. Only the blood of the Son of God could pay for our sins. Only the Holy Spirit of God could purify our hearts. Only God can keep us from harm.
We try to earn a living. We try to save for retirement. We try to live healthy lives. We take vaccines. We do what we can to protect ourselves. But only God keeps us safe. The only security on planet earth is the security that comes from knowing that God loves us and protects us from evil.
God says, "Ever since the time of your forefathers you have turned away from my decrees and have not kept them". Time and time again, God sent prophets to call His chosen people back to holy lives. They never listened for long. They continued to lead sinful lives. They ignored God's decrees.
And many Christians or, at least, people who claim to be Christians, continue to ignore God's laws, and live their lives however they want to.
God said to them, and God is saying to us, "Return to me, and I will return to you". My dear brother or sister, will you repent now. Will you live as the Bible teaches, not as the world around us teaches? Will you put God first, and not your own pleasures and your own safety? Will you accept in your heart that God's decrees are right and good? Will you agree with the writer of Psalm 199, which says:
Psalm 199:1-5
Blessed are they whose ways are blameless, who walk according to the law of the Lord.
Blessed are they who keep his statutes and seek him with all their heart.
They do no wrong; they walk in his ways.
You have laid down precepts that are to be fully obeyed.
Oh, that my ways were steadfast in obeying your decrees!
If not now, when? Why not return to him today? He promises that if you will return to Him, then He will return to you.
God says, "But you ask, 'How are we to return?'" which could be translated, "What do we need to repent of?" How very like ourselves. We like to think that we're good Christians, that other people need to repent but we don't. Or we're prepared to admit that we do things wrong, a bit, and we shrug our shoulders, and we think "But doesn't everybody?" and we get on with our lives, unchanged. Let me ask you, when was the last time you repented of something specific? When did you last go to God and apologise for your behaviour?
When God calls us to repentance, He always has a specific sin in mind, and so it is here. He asks: "Will a mere mortal rob God? Yet you rob me." And the people reply "How do we rob you?" and God says, "In tithes and offerings."
We'll think about that next time but, this week, will you ask yourself if there is any specific sin that God is speaking to you about right now. And will you respond to Him in repentance and faith? If you do this, you will experience afresh the fulness of God's blessing.