Does God change his mind?

Post by **_Micah** » Tue May 02, 2006 2:33 pm

..or are they one of the following options:

Are these versus just examples of God testing our faithfulness?
Are they just emphasizing the relationship we can have with him through prayer by petitioning?
In the case of 2nd Kings, Is God showing us what happens when we don't accept his will to begin with? Meaning that Hezekiah ended up having a wicked son because he lived longer than he should have.

Just curious on everyones thoughts on this subject.

2 Kings 20:1-5

1 In those days Hezekiah became mortally ill And Isaiah the prophet the son of Amoz came to him and said to him, "Thus says the LORD, 'Set your house in order, for you shall die and not live.'"

2 Then he turned his face to the wall and prayed to the LORD, saying,

3 "Remember now, O LORD, I beseech You, how I have walked before You in truth and with a whole heart and have done what is good in Your sight " And Hezekiah wept bitterly.

4 Before Isaiah had gone out of the middle court, the word of the LORD came to him, saying,

5 "Return and say to Hezekiah the leader of My people, 'Thus says the LORD, the God of your father David, "I have heard your prayer, I have seen your tears; behold, I will heal you. On the third day you shall go up to the house of the LORD. "

Here is another passage:

Genesis 18:23-26

23 Abraham came near and said, "Will You indeed sweep away the righteous with the wicked?

24 "Suppose there are fifty righteous within the city; will You indeed sweep it away and not spare the place for the sake of the fifty righteous who are in it?

25 "Far be it from You to do such a thing, to slay the righteous with the wicked, so that the righteous and the wicked are treated alike. Far be it from You! Shall not the Judge of all the earth deal justly?"

26 So the LORD said, "If I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city, then I will spare the whole place on their account."

Post by **_djeaton** » Tue May 02, 2006 2:50 pm

I think the story of Jonah is another good example of this. God said he was going to destroy the city. Jonah warned them. They repented, and God spared them. There are other verses that refer to God "repenting". One page that discusses this is http://www.gotquestions.org/God-change-mind.html.
D.

Post by **_Micah** » Wed May 03, 2006 11:09 am

Good article, but to me the verses listed are really referring to God's character never changing which I don't disagree with. Now the verses I posted don't show God "repenting", but it appears to show that God is capable of being convinced to change his mind (within his own will of course). So, I was wondering if that is the message being given or the other questions I posed.

Post by **_djeaton** » Wed May 03, 2006 11:26 am

I think the point was that God doesn't "change his mind" about what it right or wrong for example. His character would not allow that. Where you see him "relenting", "repenting", "changing his mind" or whatever else it is called seems to be associated with judgements against sin. It is within His perogative to have some flexibility there. When "mitigating circumstances" are presented, He may choose to apply a lighter sentence. Our actions/reactions can appeal to His mercy. We are not "changing" God or anything about Him if we ask for His mercy versus his righteous judgement. That is why I don't like the phrase "changing" His mind. My God is the same yesterday, today, and forever.
D.

Post by **_Micah** » Wed May 03, 2006 11:38 am

djeaton wrote:I think the point was that God doesn't "change his mind" about what it right or wrong for example. His character would not allow that. Where you see him "relenting", "repenting", "changing his mind" or whatever else it is called seems to be associated with judgements against sin. It is within His perogative to have some flexibility there. When "mitigating circumstances" are presented, He may choose to apply a lighter sentence. Our actions/reactions can appeal to His mercy. We are not "changing" God or anything about Him if we ask for His mercy versus his righteous judgement. That is why I don't like the phrase "changing" His mind. My God is the same yesterday, today, and forever.
D.

However, I am not saying that God changes his mind which conflicts with his own character, but it appears he can change his mind within his character. Do you think someone can change their mind on something without conflicting with who they are? I agree that God would never change his mind to something that would conflict with his own character, but these verses appear to at least show that he can change his mind within his own character.

Post by **_Paidion** » Wed May 03, 2006 1:48 pm

Perhaps it is not so much that God "changes His mind" (a very HUMAN thing to do), but that God responds appropriately to the decisions of humanity.

Some think that God predetermines all events, which, if true, would make Him the author of evil.

When God sees the mess man has made of things, He sometimes regrets a prior decision of His. For example, when He saw all the evil in the world prior to His sending the flood, He said, "I am sorry I made man."

When the Hebrews insisted on having a king like the other nations, God finally permitted it, and even told them whom to choose. But He said, "You wouldn't have me to rule over you." And He also warned them of the consequences of their choice. It goes to show that God is not a God of force. He wants people to learn from their mistakes.