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NASB | Malachi 3:6 "For I, the LORD, do not change; therefore you, O sons of Jacob, are not consumed. |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | Malachi 3:6 "For I am the LORD, I do not change [but remain faithful to My covenant with you]; that is why you, O sons of Jacob, have not come to an end. |
Bible Question:
I agree, with confidence, that the Lord is "the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow." This is a refrain through scripture, in praise passages or teaching passages. Yes, in narrative passages, we sometimes get another impression. I think of Moses on the mountain, petitioning on behalf of the Israelites, and God yeilding to his request for mercy. Or Abraham having a similar conversation with God about Sodom. Now, was God playing games with these two, or did God's mind change? I can see a consistent principle of character running through both of these, which runs through the whole canon, of just wrath being overcome by compassion... so maybe there isn't a change on the grand scheme but somehow, on the small scheme, God's mind changed? God's heart is shown as very complex --- such as in Hosea 11, wanting to violently purge the people, but having such a tender love that the violence is impossible. Is this an anthropomorphic moment, reading a human father's complexity into the heart of God -- or is God's heart really torn in these ways? Immutably torn? |
Bible Answer: Hi JRM, If you agree, with confidence, that the Lord is "the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow," then why can you not accept the truth that God's qualities and personalities characterized throughout the Bible, including qualities shown conversing with Moses and Abraham, do not change? Did Moses' petition change God's mind? Yes, He surely did. How do I know that? Because the Bible tells me so. Did God listen to Abraham's plea? Yes, He did. That is just one of His qualities, not all. Why can we not accept that it is one of His many aspects of His personalities; that will not be changed because you know His is unchanging God. iktoose |