Hello everyone and welcome back to Deeper Waters as we continue our dive into the ocean of truth. I’d like to take the time to respond to a question that came in on the wall. I don’t often do this. This blog is just one aspect of ministry after all and I’d really like to see interaction with those who post on here amongst themselves someday, but that is in the future when this expands. The question was asked by Jwarrend on my stance on God changing his mind. After all, it seems pretty clear from Scripture that he does change his mind doesn’t it?
Well, not so fast.
In Numbers for instance, we find that Balaam implores of God as to whether he should go with the men of Balak to curse Israel. Eventually, God lets him go, but the incident with the donkey shows he isn’t exactly pleased with this. It is later on that Balaam aware of what happened anyway says the following in 23:19.
God is not a man, that he should lie,
nor a son of man, that he should change his mind.
Does he speak and then not act?
Does he promise and not fulfill?
Let’s go to another example. What about 1 Samuel 15? In describing the conquest of the Amalekites, we find the following:
“I am grieved that I have made Saul king, because he has turned away from me and has not carried out my instructions.” Samuel was troubled, and he cried out to the LORD all that night.
Yet what do verses 28 and 29 have to say about this?
Samuel said to him, “The LORD has torn the kingdom of Israel from you today and has given it to one of your neighbors—to one better than you. 29 He who is the Glory of Israel does not lie or change his mind; for he is not a man, that he should change his mind.”
Here’s the point I want you readers to see. The clash is intended! How do we know what to take as literal however and what to take as metaphorical? What’s going on in these passages? Has God changed his mind or not?
An analogy of this would be to see numerous passages that describe a body of God. They speak of his hands and his eyes and his arm and his ears and several other body parts. However, when we read those, we know that those are not literal descriptions. God is not physical as is shown all throughout Scripture due to him being spirit.
However, he is described in this way because this is the way we understand things. When we hear about the eyes of the Lord going throughout the land, we understand it to mean that God is searching. When we hear about the arm of the Lord, we understand it to mean his power. We understand visions are meant to capture his glory. He does not have a body as described in visions, but that body is meant to show his grandeur for us.
I take the descriptions of God changing his mind to be the same way. God does not literally change his mind, but he describes it in that way so we can understand him. We know what it’s like to grieve over something. I do not believe God is literally doing this, but he is acting like one who is grieved.
Jwarrend also gave an analogy to use of his changing his relation to God. I thought this was an excellent one and I’ll just put it here.
“My solution to this question is to posit that God, rather than being atemporal, is in fact omni-temporal — He is dynamically involved in all moments of time simultaneously. So when God says, in year X, “I will not bless Jeff with my favor, because He is not a believer”, that can be true, and when He says in year Y (Y>X) “Jeff WILL receive my favor because now he IS a believer”, that’s also true, and there’s no incompatibility. Because my status changed in God’s eyes, God’s will towards me changed as well. But God’s goodness — His desire that I become a believer, His arrangement of circumstances in my life to bring about my belief, His offer of salvation extended to me as a free gift — were always constant, because His nature is constant.”
I find this to be an excellent description. God does not change in relation to us. We change in relation to him. The same fire that melts wax also hardens clay. This has also been a view of the after-death. The love of God that believers experience as joyful and bliss are, to those who want nothing to do with God, experienced as wrath and judgment.
Thus, I do agree. God’s will never did change. It is we who are changing in relation to the changeless God.
So thanks for the question and dear readers, if you support what is going on here, remember that I look for help from people like you. I welcome your donations but if you cannot do that, I appreciate your prayers.
We shall continue tomorrow.
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