Mad Cause God Won't Change

A lot of professing Christians are actually mad at God because He won't change (Malachi 3:6).  I know it sounds silly, but they actually want God to be like a no good man who lies to you; and they get angry when confronted with the fact that He is not.

The Lord lays out for us clearly in His word who He is, what He will accept and what He will not. Yet, people keep on their own way, doing what they want to do, expecting that somehow in the end it is going to be different than what God says. They don't want to be told what to do by God and falsely believe that He will accept their strange offerings in place of their obedience.  For some reason - their life experiences, feelings of self-entitlement, head knowledge, hardships, religious works, etc. - they believe that He will make an exception for them.  He won't.

God will honor all of His promises, whether seemingly good or bad.  We cannot malign His righteousness because of His faithfulness in keeping His word.  Yet that is exactly what people are doing when they look upon Him to change His word.  He is not some joker who is stringing you along, but His word is true. Otherwise, we would not be able to trust in Him in any matter.

"Again, David gathered together all the chosen men of Israel, thirty thousand. And David arose, and went with all the people that were with him from Baale of Judah, to bring up from thence the ark of God, whose name is called by the name of the LORD of hosts that dwelleth between the cherubims. And they set the ark of God upon a new cart, and brought it out of the house of Abinadab that was in Gibeah: and Uzzah and Ahio, the sons of Abinadab, drave the new cart. And they brought it out of the house of Abinadab which was at Gibeah, accompanying the ark of God: and Ahio went before the ark. And David and all the house of Israel played before the LORD on all manner of instruments made of fir wood, even on harps, and on psalteries, and on timbrels, and on cornets, and on cymbals.
And when they came to Nachon's threshingfloor, Uzzah put forth his hand to the ark of God, and took hold of it; for the oxen shook it. And the anger of the LORD was kindled against Uzzah; and God smote him there for his error; and there he died by the ark of God. 

And David was displeased, because the LORD had made a breach upon Uzzah: and he called the name of the place Perezuzzah to this day. And David was afraid of the LORD that day, and said, How shall the ark of the LORD come to me? So David would not remove the ark of the LORD unto him into the city of David: but David carried it aside into the house of Obededom the Gittite.

And the ark of the LORD continued in the house of Obededom the Gittite three months: and the LORD blessed Obededom, and all his household. And it was told king David, saying, The LORD hath blessed the house of Obededom, and all that pertaineth unto him, because of the ark of God. So David went and brought up the ark of God from the house of Obededom into the city of David with gladness. And it was so, that when they that bare the ark of the LORD had gone six paces, he sacrificed oxen and fatlings. And David danced before the LORD with all his might; and David was girded with a linen ephod. So David and all the house of Israel brought up the ark of the LORD with shouting, and with the sound of the trumpet." II Samuel 6:1-15

When seeking to bring the ark of the covenant back to Jerusalem, David and his men placed the ark upon a cart and began to bring it forth.  There came a time when Uzzah reached out to steady the ark as it was shaken.  God in his anger then killed Uzzah on the spot, for it was forbidden that he should touch it.  However, look at David's response: he was displeased with what God had done.  As such, David backed away from God's presence, choosing to leave the ark in the house of Obededom instead.

Up until that point, there was plenty that David and his men had done wrong in transporting the ark (Exodus 25:12-15; Numbers 3:30-31, 4:4-14, 7:9).  The Lord did not respond right away because He is longsuffering, however when we start to desecrate the holiness of God, He must respond. Yet even if God had not waited to address their wrongdoing, His judgment would have still been righteous. God's commandments were known by the people, including the consequences of touching the ark.

How many times have we blamed God and judged Him unrighteous because of circumstances or because of His word? How many times have we felt that He should make an exception for our mother, our brother, our friend, or even ourselves? Maybe such perspectives have even caused you to back away from the Lord, as David did.

The fear came in for David because he was confronted with the reality that God says what He means and means what He says.  God is not going to adjust His commands to accomodate our feelings or even our good intentions.  Yet, in focusing on that one situation, David forgot all the ways in which God's hand had rested upon him.  He became blind to the fact that God had protected them all along that journey, even while they pursued the wrong path.  David didn't remember that God is always working around us to keep us from evil, many times in ways of which we are never aware.

God is serious about what He says and He expects our obedience.  If this causes us to back away from Him, then it is we who will lose out in the end. David remembered this when he heard how the household of Obededom was being blessed. Therefore, he returned to retrieve the ark and bring it back to the city with great rejoicing.

Our God is never unjust and even what may seem as His harshest judgments are righteous.  He loves us and is longsuffering, working all things our for our good...but He expects our obedience. We must remember that there is both goodness and severity in God (Romans 11:2).  He is faithful in all things and we can take Him at His word.   If we are at odds with God in any area, it is we who must change.