At that time the Lord said to me, “Hew for yourself two tablets of stone like the first, and come up to Me on the mountain and make yourself an ark of wood. And I will write on the tablets the words that were on the first tablets, which you broke; and you shall put them in the ark.” (Deuteronomy 10:1-2)
In the Scripture it is written, “For I am the Lord, I do not change” (Malachi 3:6). The writer of Hebrews echoed this truth when he said of the Messiah, “(He) is the same yesterday, today, and forever” (Hebrews 13:8). Considering the eternal nature of our God, it must also be true that His Word never changes; as He is eternal, so too is His Word. So then, it only makes sense that when Moses carved the second pair of stone tablets, the words God wrote upon them were no different that those written upon the first set. Though the former had been broken to reflect Israel’s infidelity, the words written on the second pair — the renewed covenant if you will — were the same words originally given to the people.
God had changed His mind about destroying them, but He had no intention of altering or destroying His Word. In other words, He didn’t change His mind about what He expected from them. Acting as mediator, Moses, stood in the gap on their behalf and provoked God to extend mercy and forgiveness but the terms of the covenant were the same. In the same manner, our Mediator, came to renew the covenant that had been broken. By that I mean to say, Messiah did not come to start a new religion but to renew what God had intended and initiated from the beginning. In short, God’s expectation of how His people should live hasn’t changed. Therefore, having been born again, it is our responsibility to conform our lives to His Will.
It is written, “Forever, O Lord, Your word is settled in heaven. Your faithfulness endures to all generations” (Psalm 119:89-90). Therefore, let us not think that we can twist and contort God’s eternal Word into what we want it to say — we simply don’t have that authority. Frankly, we should be forever grateful that He doesn’t change and that, for all time, His Word remains true. For it is through His Word that His mercy and compassion — which is extended to a thousand generations — is revealed to us. And because of His great mercy, manifested through the suffering of His Son, we have the opportunity to change and become the children of God. So then, let us gives thanks for His Word and His faithfulness to us and to our household.
Blessings and Shalom,
Bill
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