Malachi 3:6

For I [am] the Lord,.... Or Jehovah; a name peculiar to the most High, and so a proof of the deity of Christ, who here speaks; and is expressive of his being; of his self-existence; of his purity and

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

This introduceth the final and full confirmation of what hath been foretold in the verses before, the God of judgment will come, &c. I change not: as he loved righteousness, and hath purposed to defend and reward it, yea, hath promised it shall be well with the righteous, so he now loveth righteousness, and purposeth to deal well with them that love and practise it; these may rejoice, I change not. And so on the other hand, I do, as I ever did, hate wickedness, and will, as I have threatened, punish it; I change not, my mind toward the things or persons that are wicked is the same. Therefore ye sons of Jacob; either taken for all the natural branches of Jacob, or taken for such as are the sons of Jacob according to the faith, who did indeed fear God. Are not consumed; since the same hatred of sin and resolution to punish is accompanied with the same longsuffering and patience, that you, sons of Jacob by nature, (but not by imitation,) who have provoked me, and deserve to be destroyed, might yet have time to repent and amend, since my long-suffering changeth not, you are not yet consumed in your sins. So for the good, though they are oppressed and suffer, yet not consumed, for God changeth not, he now doth love as he ever hath loved them, and preserveth them. In brief, God is the same in his wisdom to order the rewards of good and bad in fittest season, and therefore neither the one or other are consumed, but both preserved to the season appointeth of God, the just Judge, and then each shall be dealt with according to what they are.

Malachi 3:6 For I [am] the LORD, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed.Ver. 6. For I am the Lord, I change not] I am Jehovah. This is God’ s proper and incommunicable name. It imports three things: 1. That God is of himself. This Plato acknowledged, calling God τοον, and τοονοντως. Julius Scaliger, by a wonderful word, calleth God αυταυτον, One that hath his being or existence of himself, before the world was, Isaiah 44:6 2. That he giveth being to all things else, for in him they both are and consist. He sustains all, both in respect of being, excellences, and operations, Hebrews 1:8. The greatest excellences in us do as much depend upon God as the effigies in the glass upon the presence of the face that causeth it. 3. That he giveth being to his word, effecting whatsoever he speaketh. Hence, when either some special mercy is promised, or some extraordinary judgment threatened, the name of Jehovah is affixed. See Exodus 6:3 Isaiah 45:2-3 Ezekiel 5:17. The ancient Jewish doctors make this distinction between Elohim and Jehovah. By Elohim, say they, is signified Middah din, a quality or property of judgment. By Jehovah, middath Rachamim, a quality or property of mercy. And hereunto they apply that text, Psalms 56:10, In God (Elohim) I will praise the word, in Jehovah I will praise the word; that is, sive iure agat mecum, sive ex aequo et bono, whether he deal strictly with me, or graciously, I will praise him howsoever. But this distinction, as it holds not always; so not here. For, to show the certainty of the judgment denounced Malachi 3:5, is this subjoined, "I am Jehovah," &c. And if Jehovah come of Hovah (which signifies contrition or destruction), as Hieronymus from Oleastro will have it, what can be more suitable to the prophet’ s purpose? it is somewhat like that in Isaiah 13:6, Shod shall come from Shaddai, destruction from the Almighty, or from the destroyer, as some interpret God’ s name, Shaddai. I change not] I am neither false nor fickle, to say and unsay, to alter my mind, or to eat my word, Psalms 89:34. The eternity of Israel cannot lie, nor repent, said Samuel to Saul (and it was heavy tidings to him, as Ahijah said to Jeroboam’ s wife, I come unto thee with heavy tidings); for he is not a man that he should repent, 1 Samuel 15:29. Men are mutable, and there is no hold to be taken of what they say. Of many it may be said, as Tertullian of the peacock, all in changeable colours; as often changed as moved. Italians all, as Aeneas Sylvius said of Italy, Novitate quadam nihil habet stabile, there is no taking their words. Of a certain pope and his nephew the story is told, that the one never spake as he thought, the other never performed what he spake.

(6) For I am the Lord, I change not.—Better, For I Jehovah change not. Because it is the Eternal’s unchangeable will that the sons of Jacob, His chosen people, should not perish as a nation, He will purify them by the eradication of the wicked among them, that the remnant (the superior part; see Note on Malachi 2:15) may return to their allegiance. (Comp. Romans 11) Ewald renders the words: For I, the LORD, have not changed: hut ye sons of Jacob, have ye not altered? But the last verb does not mean “to alter;” and, moreover, the former translation is exactly in accordance with the wording of the prayer in Ezra 9:14-15.

Verse 6. I am the Lord, I change not] The new dispensation of grace and goodness, which is now about to be introduced, is not the effect of any change in my counsels; it is, on the contrary, the fulfilment of my everlasting purposes; as is also the throwing aside of the Mosaic ritual, which was only intended to introduce the great and glorious Gospel of my Son. And because of this ancient covenant, ye Jews are not totally consumed; but ye are now, and shall be still, preserved as a distinct people-monuments both of my justice and mercy.

6. For I am the Lord, I change not] Rather: For I, the Lord, change not: therefore (lit. and) ye, sons of Jacob, are not consumed. The unchangeableness of Him, whose name, Jehovah, “I am,” is the exponent of His nature, is appealed to as the ground (“for”) of His dealings with Israel. He changes not in His promises and purposes of grace (Romans 11:29); therefore, in spite of their rebellions and provocations, the sons of Jacob are still preserved. It is the same argument that is expanded in Psalms 89:28-37.

I am the Lord, I change not - , better, more concisely, “I, the Lord I change not - . The proper name of God, “He who Is,” involves His unchangeableness.

THE OF TITHES AND , Malachi 3:6-12.Malachi 3:6 is somewhat obscure; therefore it is difficult to trace the exact relation of this section to the one preceding.