The story of Jonah makes me wonder. Nineveh repents, and God relents.
There are a few other places in Scripture where God seems to shift course, or at least, to respond to human choices.
Is that just how it appears from our perspective? Or is God more responsive than we sometimes think?
No agenda here, just thinking aloud and curious how others read it.
" Do you think God ever changes His mind?
No, I don’t. A changed mind is an imperfection, and God is not imperfect.
God does, at times, change the perceived course of the world, or diverts the trajectory of a society, or alters the path of man’s waywardness. God, at times, interjects His righteousness into a process that looks as though it is surely heading toward unrighteousness. God often proclaims “unless” statements; ultimatums that prophecy positive or negative outcomes that are dependent on men’s choices, but those are given to us to make sense within the framework of time and chance in which we reside; a framework of which God is outside.
The fact that God is the full expression of perfection, and says of Himself, “I the Lord do not change” (Malachi 3:6) We know “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever” (Hebrews 13:8); and “God is the “Father of lights” with whom there is “no variation or shadow due to change” (James 1:17). These, and other expressions of God’s word lead us to understand the immutability of God, and the impossibility of Him ever changing His mind.
Numbers 23:19:
"God is not a man, that he should lie, or a son of man, that he should change his mind. Has he said, and will he not do it? Or has he spoken, and will he not fulfill it
In His word
KP
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This is an interesting question. I wouldn’t say that God changes his mind. I do think, though, because humans have freewill, that God sometimes responds in a different way based on our actions. I’m thinking particularly of the story of the Gentile woman who asked Jesus to heal her daughter. He initially told her that his mission was for the Jews, to which she said, “Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table" (Matt. 15:27). Then, because of her faith and this argument, Jesus heals her daughter. I don’t think this woman changed Jesus’ mind, per se, but I do think her words and belief affected how Jesus responded.
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God was angry and told Moses that he was going to wipe out Israel and make a new nation out of him. Moses talked him out of it.
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After much reflection on Scripture, @ellenvera, I have come to the conclusion that God is always full of love and justice. He responds with each characteristic to human actions that cause his love or justice to be applied. He in love sent Jonah to preach in Nineveh and turned from his justice to his love in response to their repentance.
Didn’t Moses also remind God of His steadfast, faithful nature? I’m sorry, I’m really tired but this is interesting
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God does not change His mind in the way we do, because He is perfect in wisdom, knowledge, and purpose.
- “God is not a man, that He should lie, or a son of man, that He should change His mind.” — Numbers 23:19
- “I the Lord do not change.” — Malachi 3:6
- “But the plans of the LORD stand firm forever, the purposes of his heart through all generations.” — Psalm 33:11
God never changes in character, promises, or ultimate plan.
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Ah, but he did allow that whole generation to die in the desert without entering the promised land, @timf, thus fulfilling his justice in a different way than in an immediate extermination.