By Ezekiel Kimosop
INTRODUCTION
This article was written in response to a claim by a Facebook friend who denied that God changes His mind.
He had argued that there was a theological tension of sorts between the account of Hezekiah's restoration (Isaiah 38:1-8) and God's compassion on the wicked Ninevites [who repented in response to the preaching of prophet Jonah] (Jonah 3:1-10) on the one hand and other Scripture passages that, in his view, reveal that God does not change His mind. He cited 1 Samuel 15:29 and Numbers 23:19 as evidence that God does not change His mind.
In this article, I have sought to demonstrate that even though God makes absolute determination in some cases, there's explicit evidence in the Bible that He changes His mind in certain circumstances.
Let me now address the two Scripture texts that were cited in defense of what the writer refers to as "tensions" between them and the previous passages that we engaged.
1 Samuel 15:29 (NIV) says "He who is the Glory of Israel does not lie or change his mind; for he is not a human being, that he should change his mind.”
The NKJV says "And also the Strength of Israel will not lie nor relent. For He is not a man, that He should relent.”
The YLT says "and also, the Pre-eminence of Israel doth not lie nor repent, for He [is] not a man to be penitent.'"
CONTEXT
This text lies in the passage of 1 Samuel 15:10-35 where God proclaimed His rejection of Saul as king. Saul had disobeyed God by failing to destroy the Amalekites and all the war spoils as commanded by God.
Let us now examine the text in context.
1 Samuel 15:29 (NKJV) says "And also the Strength of Israel will not lie nor relent. For He is not a man, that He should relent.”
We learn from the plain reading of this text that God is faithful to stand by His divine counsel. This truth is affirmed in James 1:17.
The text aptly and concisely conveys God's mind on His resoluteness in rejecting Saul. God had completely settled the fate of Saul and in the next chapter of 1 Samuel 16, God restrained Samuel from continuing to intercede or mourn for Saul. He was commanded to anoint his replacement immediately (1 Samuel 16:1).
Bible scholars say that it took more than a decade before Saul was killed in the Battle of Jezreel, paving way for David to take over the throne (cf.1 Samuel 31; 2 Samuel 2:1-7).
Does 1 Samuel 15:29, when read in context, suggest that God never changes His mind at all? Does this text present some contradiction of sorts when read together with the passages of Isaiah 38:1-8 and Jonah 3:1-10?
I will briefly hold my response as we examine the second text presented by the Facebook friend.
Numbers 23:19 (NKJV) says "God is not a man, that He should lie,
Nor a son of man, that He should repent.
Has He said, and will He not do?
Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?"
ANALYSIS
Numbers 23:19 lies on the wider passage of Numbers 23:13-26 which is dedicated to the second prophecy of Balaam.
In the first prophecy recorded in Numbers 22:41-23:12, Balak prepared burnt offering on the altar of Baal in the hope that God would permit Balaam to curse the children of Israel. God commanded Balaam to bless them instead.
In the second prophecy of Numbers 23:13-26, which is the context of our text, the scene of sacrifice was changed but the results were the same. God stood His ground, so to speak.
Then comes the text of Numbers 23:19 as an affirmation of what God had previously declared. It reads:
"God is not a man, that He should lie,
Nor a son of man, that He should repent.
Has He said, and will He not do?
Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?"
This Scripture is similar in nearly all aspects to 1 Samuel 15:29.
We can conclude that God had determined to bless Israel (and indeed had blessed them) and would not accede to the plea by Balak, the heathen Moabite king to curse them.
We should bear in mind that:
1) The petition by Balak was actuated by malice. No harm had been caused to him by the pilgrim nation of Israel whose only fault was to pass through Moab on their way to the Promised Land. The Moabite people failed to show a human face to the people of Israel whose lineage historically intertwined with theirs (cf. Genesis 19:30-38).
2) Even if there was a legitimate cause that warranted Balak's petition, God was the final arbiter. His verdict had been given in Israel's favor.
3) God cannot be worshipped on the altar of Baal, a Moabite deity. This is an abomination to the God of Israel!
4) We learn from other sections of Scripture that Balaam's ministry was motivated by gain and that he was responsible for leading the people of God into apostasy.
Balaam is described in Revelation 2:14 as the man who "...taught Balak to put a stumbling block before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed to idols, and to commit sexual immorality."
For this reason, Balaam was killed during the battle of Midian in Numbers 31 (cf. Joshua 13:22).
In Deuteronomy 23:1-8, God commanded that Ammonites and Moabites would be excluded from the assembly of God's people even to the 10th generation (cf. Nehemiah 13:2). This was a resolute command.
However, we learn from the Book of Ruth that God permitted a Moabite woman to intermarry with Boaz and she became the great grandmother of David. The rest is history.
CONCLUSION
Does 1 Samuel 15:29 and Numbers 23:19 affirm that God never changes His mind?
Is this claim consistent with the revelation of Scripture read in context and in whole?
Are there circumstances recorded in Scripture that demonstrate that God changed His mind when a passionate petition was made to Him?
My view is that each of these texts should be understood in their respective contexts. If in studying the teachings of Scripture we arrive at conflicting positions concerning God's revelation that cannot be hermeneutically resolved, it would be an act of wisdom to allow for divine resolution.
Now looking at the two cases cited by my Facebook friend, we can deduce, in the first case of 1 Samuel 15:29, that God had made up His mind concerning the rejection of Saul and nothing, not even the petition of His prophet, would change His mind. This, in my view, is what the writer of Scripture sought to project in this context.
Notice the import of the statement of 1 Samuel 15:35 that says "....Nevertheless Samuel mourned for Saul, and the Lord regretted that He had made Saul king over Israel."
Turning to the second text of Numbers 23:19, we can conclude that God had determined to bless Israel in keeping with His covenant with Abraham (Genesis 15). Balak's petition, by whatever merit, therefore fell flat.
Genesis 15:18-21 says "On the same day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying:
“To your descendants I have given this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the River Euphrates— the Kenites, the Kenezzites, the Kadmonites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Rephaim, the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Girgashites, and the Jebusites.”
Having said as much, there's however evidence in Scripture that God does change His mind in circumstances where His compassionate heart is touched.
The cases of Hezekiah (Isaiah 38:1-8) and the Ninevites (Jonah 3:1-10) are just but some of the examples.
There are dozens other cases in Scripture that affirm this truth.
For instance, when God sought to destroy the rebellious children of Israel under His righteous anger, Moses successfully pleaded with Him and His wrath subsided (Exodus 32:10-14).
When David numbered the children of Israel in disobedience, God punished Israel, resulting in the death of 70,000 souls (2 Samuel 24:15). When David erected an altar at the threshing floor of Arunah and offered burnt offering, God's wrath was appeased. 2 Samuel 24:25 says "And David built there an altar to the Lord, and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings. So the Lord heeded the prayers for the land, and the plague was withdrawn from Israel."
God heart was touched by David's prayers and He withdrew the plague.
2 Chronicles 7:14 is perhaps another classic Scripture that reveals that true repentance touches God's heart.
Is there tension or conflict between the two sets of Scriptures that we have evaluated? Apparently none! In circumstances where God makes up His mind on a given issue, Scripture is explicit. Where God changed His mind following a petition, this again is plainly outlined in the relevant passages.
If God would never change His mind concerning our circumstances then our prayers are in vain. Nineveh would have been brought down to ashes; Hezekiah would have lost his 15 years of grace and Israel would have been destroyed in the wilderness for their rebellion.
Only in a deterministic worldview is God portrayed as a monster deity who is without compassion, uncaring, unreachable and robotically manipulates His creatures.
The truth is that God's sovereignty cannot be detached from His moral nature that is revealed in His word. His loving grace and mercy sustains us and the eternal hope for His covenant people stands on this truth. God's sovereignty cannot be obscured or diminished by His change of mind. It is affirmed by His unfailing grace.
Shalom
© Ezekiel Kimosop July 2020
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