Malachi Chapter Three, Irrevocable Promises

 

God promised Israel a kingdom, a king, and peace from their enemies. He promised the Messiah to lead them, heal them, and save them. God does not lie or change His mind. Israel is not set aside, because God is unchanging in His purpose and person. What He has said, He will do. Allegorizing the passages that belong strictly to Israel concerning their covenant promises through Abraham and David is blasphemous. The church is not Israel, 1 Corinthians 10:32. Otherwise Paul’s fervent plea for his kinsmen by blood (Romans 9:3) makes no sense. “Brethren (fellow Christians) my heart’s desire and prayer to God for Israel is that they may be saved,” Romans 10:1. The Holy Spirit answers in the affirmative a little later: “And so all Israel will be saved,” Romans 11:26. The fact that he is not speaking about the church is clear because the apostle adds, “Concerning the gospel they are enemies for your sake, but concerning the election they are beloved for the sake of the fathers. For the gifts and calling of God are irrevocable,” Romans 11:28, 29.

This is wonderful news! National Israel’s history with the Lord is not finished, as most of Revelation attests. There we find the historical summation of an unchanging God dealing with His errant firstborn, as He pours out His wrath upon an unbelieving, Christ rejecting world. If so for Israel, equally so for us, born again Christians sealed by the Holy Spirit of promise. “For God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ,” 1 Thessalonians 5:9. The phrase “the wrath of God,” is used in one form or another 10 times in Revelation. This Tribulation, the Time of Jacob’s Trouble, will be to make Israel ready for her Messiah and King, and to pour out God’s pent up wrath upon “this generation” to the uttermost. Since we are “kept by the power of God,” (1 Peter 1:5), and cannot be separated from God’s love by any created thing (that would include us, since we are created, Romans 8:39) our salvation cannot be lost.

 

Salvation is a gift, John 4:10. “For by grace you have been saved, through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works,” Ephesians 2:8.”But the free gift is not like the offense…the gift by the grace of God…the gift is not like that which came through the one who sinned…but the free gift which came from many offenses resulted in justification…much more those who receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness…so through one Man’s righteous act the free gift came to all men, resulting in justification of life…the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord,” Romans 5:15-18, 6:23. And, as we read above, God’s gifts are “irrevocable.” Irrevocable can also mean, “binding, permanent, irreversible.” Teaching the false doctrine of falling away grievously impugns God’s saving power and His willingness to do so. It leaves salvation in man’s hands, teaching ultimately that we are the savior. But eternal life describes a state of being. Once saved we currently possess a quality that God describes as “eternal,” also defined as, “everlasting, undying, unending, ceaseless.” Eternal life that can be forfeit on our terms is not eternal, and God would be proved a liar, of which we have learned He is not, since He does not change. “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever,” Hebrews 13:8. “Forever” is the same state of being that the nature of our rebirth is described as. Israel will never be forsaken of God, and the believer will never fall away because, “the eternal God is your refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms,” Deuteronomy 33:27.

 

What God says will hold fast despite the misgivings of men. There is an amazing, comforting, beautiful truth in this simple, single verse. The Uncreated Creator, Yahweh of Hosts, King of Israel, Jesus Christ, our great God and Redeemer changes not, and therefore His children are not consumed. The very reason all things consist and persist lies in His unchanging, unfaltering, unfailing nature. We are kept by the power of God, as is creation itself, Colossians 1:17, Hebrews 1:3, 2 Peter 3:7. Our Lord’s revelation is progressive, not reactive. It is untroubled by time’s changes. Nor does it seek to conform itself to what is currently en vogue or held in esteem by men. Praise the unchanging God whose perfect ways and saving power gave us life in His name! Israel’s God speaks to their deliverance from utter destruction because He is. No more explanation is needed. Meditate on the name and person of God, and simply enjoy the adoption we have been freely given in Christ’s name. His purpose for Israel stands, Malachi reminds the Jews. The nation will receive what has been promised; God will do it, and it will be done perfectly. In this confidence the Jews may rest. He may come near for judgment, but He will be nearer still to the contrite and the faithful. The Messianic Kingdom, we are told in no uncertain terms, is to come without doubt. Jacob cannot be consumed because God has promised the fathers.