Contents
:
1.
The Unchanging Nature of God
2.
The One Thing that makes God Change
3.
Various other Examples
4.
Examples of Those who failed to repent & received the judgement
5.
Examples of those who DID repent and live
Conclusions
1.
The Unchanging Nature of God
Our starting premise is that God is an unchanging
God. In Himself, in His personality, in the way He responds or works
with His created world, He is unchanging. That is why the Bible teaches
that He is a “faithful” God because He will not change His ways.
This is why again and again we find the statement that
God will not change His mind:
Num
23:19 God is not a man that he should lie,
nor a son of man that he should change his mind.
1
Sam 15:29 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.
Psa
110:4 The
Lord has sworn and will not change his mind
The
sense or idea being conveyed here is that God is not like man who, by
whim or fancy, may change his mind. When God makes a decision He makes
it in the awareness of ALL the facts and in the light of His perfect
wisdom and totally holy and pure nature. If the facts don't change,
God will not change His decision.
2.
The One Thing that makes God Change
Although God will not change if the facts of a situation
remain unchanged, when man repents and changes, then God will also often
change what He said previously, simply to fit the now prevailing facts.
In that sense REPENTANCE is the one thing that causes God to make a
fresh statement that is contrary to His previous statement.
As one dictionary puts it, “God is described as repenting
(using Hebrew naham which always has the strong sense of changing mind
in it), in the sense that he changed his attitude to a people because
of a change within the people.”
2.1
An Example : Relenting in respect of destroying Israel
Exo
32:14 Then
the Lord relented (old versions, ‘repented' meaning changed his mind)
and did not bring the disaster he had threatened .
The circumstances here were that while Moses
was on Sinai, Aaron and the people had worshipped the golden calf.
God then threatened to destroy them (32:10) but Moses interceded and
gave Him reasons not to. The Lord then changed His mind.
We need to be quite clear about this: God made a statement, “Now
leave me alone so that my anger may burn against them and that I may
destroy them”.
The Lord indicates that if He was left to it, He would simply
destroy Israel for what they have just done. That is one option open
to Him. We should not, therefore, see it as a direct statement of definite
and unchangeable intent, although at first sight it appears that. What
God is looking for, is Moses response. He is hoping that Moses will
respond in a righteous way.
When Moses, as the representative of this people, answers, he
gives the right responses. As one commentator puts it, “We are
not to think of Moses as altering God's purposes towards Israel by this
prayer, but as carrying it out; Moses was never more like God than in
such moments, for he shared God's mind and loving purpose”. What we
are saying here is that God makes a statement of intent which perhaps
can be seen by the (careful) observer as being an option. It does not
mean that He is definite in that intent, although the undiscerning observer
may think that.
2.2
A General Principle
Ezek
33:13-15 “If
I tell the righteous man that he will surely live, but then he trusts
in his righteousness and does evil, none of the righteous things that
he has done will be remembered; he will die for the evil he has done.
And if I say to the wicked man, ‘You will surely die', but then he turns
away from his sin and does what is just and right - if he gives back
….and does no evil, he will surely live; he will not die.”
(Also Ezek 18)
We should note various things here. First,
God may say something, but the opposite is then seen to happen, e.g.
righteous will live, he then dies. Second, we should observe why that
happens. It is simply because the person has changed and his change
brings about a change in response in God. The originally righteous man
can incur the wrath of God, when he has turned from his righteousness,
and the originally wicked man can be spared the declared wrath of God
when he has repented.
2.3
The Principle Stated Again
Jer
18:6-10 . "Like
clay in the hand of the potter, so are you in my hand, O house of Israel.
If at any time I announce that a nation or kingdom is to be uprooted,
torn down and destroyed, and if that nation I warned repents
of its evil, then I will relent and not inflict on it the disaster
I had planned. And if at another time I announce that a nation or kingdom
is to be built up and planted, and if it does evil in my sight
and does not obey me, then I will reconsider the good I had
intended to do for it.
Here it is again: God may declare a word of destruction
but if the people repent, then the Lord will change that word and not
act against them.
2.4
A Second Example : Grieving Over Saul
1
Sam 15:10,11 “Then
the word of the Lord came to Samuel: “I am grieved (repent in older
versions) that I have made Saul king, because he has turned away from
me and has not carried out my instructions”.
1
Sam 15:23 “Because
you have rejected the word of the Lord, the Lord has rejected you”
The circumstances here are that God had chosen
Saul, Saul had been disobedient and God rejected him. Again we must
be quite clear about this for it raises another significant point about
how God moves.
First,
God chose Saul (1 Sam 9:16,17).
Second,
God knows everything, even the future, yet when He speaks He speaks
as in the present, as if He only knows the present. If we had heard
the prophecy, we might have thought this was God only decreeing good
for Saul, but He simply said that Saul will deliver Israel and rule
over them. He did not say he would do it successfully until the end
of his life. The lesson is that we need to listen carefully to prophecy
and not go beyond what God has said.
The
third thing to note is that the reason for God rejecting Saul (going
back on his appointing), was that Saul had not lived up to the responsibilities
of that office and thus disqualified himself.
2.5
A Third Example: The overturning of Ninevah
Jonah
3:4 Jonah
started into the city. He proclaimed: “Forty days and Ninevah will be
overturned”
Jon
3:10 When
God saw all they did and how they turned from their evil ways he had
compassion (repented, older versions) and did not bring on them the
destruction he had threatened
The verses are quite clear. God proclaimed
destruction for Ninevah. That was the simple and straight forward word
that came, they would be destroyed. But then the king speaks, “Who knows,
God may yet relent and with compassion turn from his fierce anger so
that we will not perish”. And that is what happened, God “changed his
mind” and did not destroy them. Why? Because the people repented. They
changed and therefore God changed what would happen.
Note again and again here, that when God speaks He speaks
in the present, to address the situation as it is, “Ninevah will
be overturned”. We can try to spiritualise “overturned” and make
it mean morally but both Jonah (the prophet!) and the people believed
it meant physical destruction, for surely that was what God would have
done if they had not repented.
3.
Various Other Examples
There are various other examples
where God relents, or changes his mind, in response to change in his
people:
3.1
Gen 6:6-7
The
LORD was grieved that he had made man on the earth, and his heart was
filled with pain. So the LORD said, "I will wipe mankind, whom
I have created
Note here that God who knows all things, must
have known what would happen and therefore you would think this wouldn't
come as a surprise to Him as it seems to do. Again, it is a case of
God who lives in the present, as the “I AM”.
3.2
2 Sam 24:16
When
the angel stretched out his hand to destroy Jerusalem, the LORD was
grieved because of the calamity and said to the angel who was afflicting
the people, "Enough! Withdraw your hand."
Here God intervenes after He has sent out
the destroying angel and withdraws the command to stop it going any
further. Also 1Ch 21:15
3.3
Ps 106:44-46
But
he took note of their distress when he heard their cry; for their sake
he remembered his covenant and out of his great love he relented. He
caused them to be pitied by all who held them captive.
Their cry affected His heart and he relented.
3.4
Jer 26:2, 3 .
Tell
them everything I command you; do not omit a word. Perhaps they will
listen and each will turn from his evil way. Then I will relent and
not bring on them the disaster I was planning because of the evil they
have done.
The intent was that the word would bring
conviction, the people would repent, and God would thus not need to
bring judgement.
3.5
Joel 2:13,14
Rend
your heart and not your garments. Return to the LORD your God, for he
is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love,
and he relents from sending calamity. Who knows? He may turn and have
pity and leave behind a blessing
Again the Lord offers to change His judgement
if they change their mind
3.6
Am 7:1-6
This
is what the Sovereign LORD showed me: He was preparing swarms of locusts
after the king's share had been harvested and just as the second crop
was coming up. When they had stripped the land clean, I cried out, "Sovereign
LORD, forgive! How can Jacob survive? He is so small!" So the LORD
relented. "This will not happen," the LORD said. This is what
the Sovereign LORD showed me: The Sovereign LORD was calling for judgment
by fire; it dried up the great deep and devoured the land. Then I cried
out, "Sovereign LORD, I beg you, stop! How can Jacob survive? He
is so small!" So the LORD relented. "This will not happen
either," the Sovereign LORD said.
We have here a sense of prophetic intent,
and it is only when the prophet pleads that the Lord relents and says
He won't do it.
3.7
Ezek 18:30-32
"Therefore, O house of Israel, I will judge you, each one according
to his ways, declares the Sovereign LORD. Repent! Turn away from all
your offenses; then sin will not be your downfall. Rid yourselves of
all the offenses you have committed, and get a new heart and a new spirit.
Why will you die, O house of Israel? For I take no pleasure in the death
of anyone, declares the Sovereign LORD. Repent and live!
Declaration of intent - but a way
out. God will change His mind, if…….
4.
Examples of Those who failed to repent & received the judgement
4.1
Moses
Num 20:9-12 Harshly and with
self-centredness Moses struck the rock instead of commanding it, and
thus forfeited his right to enter the promised land. Surely he
could have sought God for forgiveness, but didn't. Thus he died
on a mountain. Yet see that he didn't forfeit his right to a place
in heaven, for he appears on the mount of transfiguration with Jesus.
4.2
Jephthah
Judges 11:30-39 Jephthah made
a foolish vow. When his daughter appeared he could have
sought God's forgiveness for it (and received it) or he could have offered
his life instead (as Moses did on the mountain) and received God's commendation.
Instead he foolishly went ahead and took the life of his daughter. As
God said elsewhere he is not blessed by the death of a person.
4.3
Young prophet
1 Kings 13 The young
prophet allowed himself to be led astray by an older prophet. When he
was told what would happen, he did not repent and turn to God for forgiveness.
Thus he was killed by a lion.
5.
Examples of those who DID repent and live
5.1
Abimelech
Gen 20 He took Abraham's wife
and was told by God, “You are as good as dead” v.3 and warned that if
he did not return her he would die, v.7. He repented and
lived.
5.2
Moses
Exo 4:24 The Lord was “about
to kill” Moses when his wife intervened and did for him what he ought
to have done (i.e. be circumcised). When this was done
the Lord didn't kill him.
5.3
King Jeroboam
1 Kings 13:4-6 The king stretched
out his hand against the prophet and it became leprous.
When he cried out in repentance and the prophet prayed for him his hand
was healed.
5.4
King Hezekiah
2 Kings 20:1-6 God clearly
decreed “You are going to die, you will not recover”. Hezekiah repented
and God brought the word that He would extend his life by 15 years.
CONCLUSIONS
•
God makes decrees.
•
Those decrees can be changed by the response of men and women to them.
•
God does not want to bring death as judgement and although He will
decree it, yet He will also “change His mind” and not bring it about
when that person repents.
•
When God speaks, even though He knows the future, He speaks as in
the present, and when things turn out badly, He almost seems surprised
and grieves over the outcome.