I am the LORD, I change not.

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

Think about the changing fortunes of Israel through the ages. Time and time again, the tiny family of Abraham and Isaac and Jacob was on the brink of extinction. Famine almost did them in, but God sent Joseph into Egypt to preserve the family. Then came years of Egyptian slavery, followed by the wholescale murder of their baby boys. But God sent Moses and delivered them. During the times of the judges, the nation was beset by chaos both political and moral, and yet they emerged from it stronger than ever with David, a man after God's own heart, at the helm. Then the nation divided, and first the northern tribes followed by the southern apostatized and were sent into captivity. It seemed over. But it was not. They came back and rebuilt, awaiting the coming Messiah. It was at this point in their history that Malachi wrote these famous words.

And of course, the story didn't end there. Malachi prophesied that the Messiah would come, and he did come. Jesus came and accomplished redemption from sin upon the cross, was raised from the dead, and is now seated at the right hand of the Majesty on high, awaiting his triumphant return. The final deliverance from death has been absolutely secured.

What is to explain the stability of Israel and of God's people from every nation and in every age, despite all the tremendous internal and external pressures that could so easily lead to their disintegration? The answer is in our text: though we change and our circumstances change and the people around us change, God does not change, and in that alone rests the stability of God's loving plan and good purpose for his people.

In what ways does God not change? He does not change in his essence, whereas we are forever changing - the person I am today is in many ways different from the person I was even 10 years ago. But God, in all his attributes: his self-existence, his omnipotence and omnipresence and omniscience, his holiness and justice and goodness and grace and love, these are the same and his years will have no end. Though my plans are forever morphing and changing, he does not change in his plans or purposes for he knows the end from the beginning. All things therefore work for the good of those who love him and are called according to his purpose.

It is true today as well. We are ending the year 2022 and entering into the year 2023. We have seen many changes over the past year, some of them good and some bad. Perhaps you have faced some particularly changing times recently. My friend, there is only one place for you to look. Do not look to yourself or to your circumstances. You might be able to change those, but therein lies the problem: these things are always changeable. You might change them for the better but there is never any certainty that they will not change again for the worse. This is no sure foundation upon which to rest your soul and life and future. Only God changes not.

Christ is a rock, more sure than Gibraltar. He is the same yesterday, today, and forever. To place your confidence in anything or anyone else is insanity. More than that, it is wicked. Let us therefore entrust ourselves to him as our Lord and Savior, as our Prophet who teaches us the truth, as our Priest who purges our sin, and as our King who rules and defends us from all his and our enemies. Thank God he changes not!