REPORT: Does God repent?

webby · Oct 10, 2001

Does God repent?
by Robert T. Hill
Repent, nacham, in the Old Testament
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A man called in to our radio program, Biblical Answers, and said an anthropomorphism was used in Genesis 6:5,6 when the Bible says that God repented. When I asked him, "Then, what did God mean when He inspired Moses to write that He repented." The silence was deafening. That is the question. What did God mean? When I asked him again, he said, "What about Numbers 23:19, "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?" Notice, he did not answer the question, and it appears that he could not answer the question about Genesis 6:5,6. Let us read Genesis 6:5-7.
Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. 6 And the Lord repented [it repented the LORD] that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart. 7 So the Lord said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth, both man and beast, creeping thing and birds of the air, for I repent that I have made them."
Why didnt he want to answer the question? What does the Bible show the meaning of this word is? Lets look repent, when it refers to man. The Hebrew word nachavm,[<a href="#footnote1">1</a>] as it is used here, means repent or change your mind. Lets look at the references which use it with men. I will use italics to show the translation of nachavm.
Ex 13:17 Then it came to pass, when Pharaoh had let the people go, that God did not lead them by way of the land of the Philistines, although that was near; for God said, Lest perhaps the people change their minds when they see war, and return to Egypt.
Job 42:6 Therefore I abhor myself and repent in dust and ashes.
Jer 8:6 I listened and heard, but they do not speak aright. No man repented of his wickedness, saying, what have I done? Everyone turned to his own course, as the horse rushes into the battle.
Jer 31:19 Surely, after my turning, I repented; And after I was instructed, I struck myself on the thigh; I was ashamed, yes, even humiliated, because I bore the reproach of my youth. 20 Is Ephraim My dear son? Is he a pleasant child? For though I spoke against him, I earnestly remember him still; Therefore My heart yearns for him; I will surely have mercy on him, says the Lord.
From these passages it is clear that the word means a change of mind or heart. Mans repentance seems to arise from fear, conviction of sin, shame, or abhorrence of himself.
Now lets look at the passages that show that God does repent. Repent as it refers to God.
Gen 6:4-9 There were giants on the earth in those days, and also afterward, when the sons of God came in to the daughters of men and they bore children to them. Those were the mighty men who were of old, men of renown. 5 Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. 6 And the Lord repented [it repented the LORD] that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart. 7 So the Lord said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth, both man and beast, creeping thing and birds of the air, for I repent that I have made them. 8 But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord. 9 This is the genealogy of Noah. Noah was a just man, perfect in his generations. Noah walked with God.
Ex 32:9-14 And the Lord said to Moses, I have seen this people, and indeed it is a stiff-necked people! 10 Now therefore, let Me alone, that My wrath may burn hot against them and I may consume them. And I will make of you a great nation. 11 Then Moses pleaded with the Lord his God, and said: Lord, why does Your wrath burn hot against Your people whom You have brought out of the land of Egypt with great power and with a mighty hand? 12 Why should the Egyptians speak, and say, `He brought them out to harm them, to kill them in the mountains, and to consume them from the face of the earth? Turn from Your fierce wrath, and repent from this harm to Your people. 13 Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, Your servants, to whom You swore by Your own self, and said to them, I will multiply your descendants as the stars of heaven; and all this land that I have spoken of I give to your descendants, and they shall inherit it forever. 14 So the Lord repented from the harm which He said He would do to His people.
Judges 2:18-21 And when the Lord raised up judges for them, the Lord was with the judge and delivered them out of the hand of their enemies all the days of the judge; for the Lord repented because of their groaning because of those who oppressed them and harassed them. 19 And it came to pass, when the judge was dead, that they reverted and behaved more corruptly than their fathers, by following other gods, to serve them and bow down to them. They did not cease from their own doings nor from their stubborn way. 20 Then the anger of the Lord was hot against Israel; and He said, Because this nation has transgressed My covenant which I commanded their fathers, and has not heeded My voice, 21 I also will no longer drive out before them any of the nations which Joshua left when he died,
1 Sa 15:11-29,35 I repent that I have set up Saul as king, for he has turned back from following Me, and has not performed My commandments. And it grieved Samuel, and he cried out to the Lord all night. 12 So when Samuel rose early in the morning to meet Saul, it was told Samuel, saying, Saul went to Carmel, and indeed, he set up a monument for himself; and he has gone on around, passed by, and gone down to Gilgal. 13 Then Samuel went to Saul, and Saul said to him, Blessed are you of the Lord! I have performed the commandment of the Lord. 14 But Samuel said, What then is this bleating of the sheep in my ears, and the lowing of the oxen which I hear? 15 And Saul said, They have brought them from the Amalekites; for the people spared the best of the sheep and the oxen, to sacrifice to the Lord your God; and the rest we have utterly destroyed. 16 Then Samuel said to Saul, Be quiet! And I will tell you what the Lord said to me last night. And he said to him, Speak on. 17 So Samuel said, When you were little in your own eyes, were you not head of the tribes of Israel? And did not the Lord anoint you king over Israel? 18 Now the Lord sent you on a mission, and said, `Go, and utterly destroy the sinners, the Amalekites, and fight against them until they are consumed. 19 Why then did you not obey the voice of the Lord? Why did you swoop down on the spoil, and do evil in the sight of the Lord? 20 And Saul said to Samuel, But I have obeyed the voice of the Lord, and gone on the mission on which the Lord sent me, and brought back Agag king of Amalek; I have utterly destroyed the Amalekites. 21 But the people took of the plunder, sheep and oxen, the best of the things which should have been utterly destroyed, to sacrifice to the Lord your God in Gilgal. 22 Then Samuel said: Has the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, As in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, And to heed than the fat of rams. 23 For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, And stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, He also has rejected you from being king. 24 Then Saul said to Samuel, I have sinned, for I have transgressed the commandment of the Lord and your words, because I feared the people and obeyed their voice. 25 Now therefore, please pardon my sin, and return with me, that I may worship the Lord. 26 But Samuel said to Saul, I will not return with you, for you have rejected the word of the Lord, and the Lord has rejected you from being king over Israel. 27 And as Samuel turned around to go away, Saul seized the edge of his robe, and it tore. 28 So Samuel said to him, The Lord has torn the kingdom of Israel from you today, and has given it to a neighbor of yours, who is better than you. 29 And also the Strength of Israel will not lie nor repent. For He is not a man, that He should repent. 35 And Samuel went no more to see Saul until the day of his death. Nevertheless Samuel mourned for Saul, and the Lord repented that He had made Saul king over Israel.
2 Sa 24:1,9-16 Again the anger of the Lord was aroused against Israel, and He moved David against them to say, Go, number Israel and Judah. [See 1 Ch 21:1 below.] 9 Then Joab gave the sum of the number of the people to the king. And there were in Israel eight hundred thousand valiant men who drew the sword, and the men of Judah were five hundred thousand men. 10 And Davids heart condemned him after he had numbered the people. So David said to the Lord, I have sinned greatly in what I have done; but now, I pray, O Lord, take away the iniquity of Your servant, for I have done very foolishly. 11 Now when David arose in the morning, the word of the Lord came to the prophet Gad, Davids seer, saying, 12 Go and tell David, Thus says the Lord: I offer you three things; choose one of them for yourself, that I may do it to you. 13 So Gad came to David and told him; and he said to him, Shall seven years of famine come to you in your land? Or shall you flee three months before your enemies, while they pursue you? Or shall there be three days plague in your land? Now consider and see what answer I should take back to Him who sent me. 14 And David said to Gad, I am in great distress. Please let us fall into the hand of the Lord, for His mercies are great; but do not let me fall into the hand of man. 15 So the Lord sent a plague upon Israel from the morning till the appointed time. From Dan to Beersheba seventy thousand men of the people died. 16 And when the angel stretched out His hand over Jerusalem to destroy it, the Lord repented from the destruction, and said to the angel who was destroying the people, It is enough; now restrain your hand. And the angel of the Lord was by the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite.
1 Ch 21:1,15 Now Satan stood up against Israel, and moved David to number Israel. 15 And God sent an angel to Jerusalem to destroy it. As he was destroying, the Lord looked and repented of the disaster, and said to the angel who was destroying, It is enough; now restrain your hand. And the angel of the Lord stood by the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite.
Psa 90:13 Return, O Lord! How long? And [repent concerning] Your servants.
Psa 106:45 And for their sake He remembered His covenant and repented according to the multitude of His mercies.
Jer 4:28 For this shall the earth mourn and the heavens above be black because I have spoken. I have purposed and will not repent, nor will I turn back from it.
Jer 15:6 You have forsaken Me, says the Lord, You have gone backward. Therefore I will stretch out My hand against you and destroy you; I am weary of repenting!
Jer 18:7-12 The instant I speak concerning a nation and concerning a kingdom, to pluck up, to pull down, and to destroy it, 8 if that nation against whom I have spoken turns from its evil, I will repent of the disaster that I thought to bring upon it. 9 And the instant I speak concerning a nation and concerning a kingdom, to build and to plant it, 10 if it does evil in My sight so that it does not obey My voice, then I will repent concerning the good with which I said I would benefit it. 11 Now therefore, speak to the men of Judah and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, saying, Thus says the Lord: Behold, I am fashioning a disaster and devising a plan against you. Return now every one from his evil way, and make your ways and your doings good. 12 And they said, That is hopeless! So we will walk according to our own plans, and we will every one obey the dictates of his evil heart.
Jer 20:16 And let that man be like the cities Which the Lord overthrew, and did not repent; Let him hear the cry in the morning And the shouting at noon,
Jer 26:2,3,13,18 Thus says the Lord: Stand in the court of the Lords house, and speak to all the cities of Judah, which come to worship in the Lords house, all the words that I command you to speak to them. Do not diminish a word. 3 Perhaps everyone will listen and turn from his evil way, that I may repent concerning the calamity which I purpose to bring on them because of the evil of their doings. 13 Now therefore, amend your ways and your doings, and obey the voice of the Lord your God; then the Lord will repent concerning the doom that He has pronounced against you. 18 Micah of Moresheth prophesied in the days of Hezekiah king of Judah, and spoke to all the people of Judah, saying, Thus says the Lord of hosts: Zion shall be plowed like a field, Jerusalem shall become heaps of ruins, and the mountain of the temple like the bare hills of the forest. 19 Did Hezekiah king of Judah and all Judah ever put him to death? Did he not fear the Lord and seek the Lords favor? And the Lord repented concerning the doom which He had pronounced against them. But we are doing great evil against ourselves.
Jer 42:10 If you will still remain in this land, then I will build you and not pull you down, and I will plant you and not pluck you up. For I repent concerning the disaster that I have brought upon you.
Ezek 24:14 I, the Lord, have spoken it; It shall come to pass, and I will do it; I will not hold back, Nor will I spare, Nor will I repent; According to your ways And according to your deeds They will judge you, Says the Lord God.
Joel 2:11-14 The Lord gives voice before His army, For His camp is very great; For strong is the One who executes His word. For the day of the Lord is great and very terrible; Who can endure it? 12 Now, therefore, says the Lord, Turn to Me with all your heart, With fasting, with weeping, and with mourning. 13 So rend your heart, and not your garments; Return to the Lord your God, For He is gracious and merciful, Slow to anger, and of great kindness; And He repents from doing harm. 14 Who knows if He will turn and repent, And leave a blessing behind Him A grain offering and a drink offering For the Lord your God?
Amos 7:1-6 Thus the Lord God showed me: Behold, He formed locust swarms at the beginning of the late crop; indeed it was the late crop after the kings mowings. 2 And so it was, when they had finished eating the grass of the land, that I said: O Lord God, forgive, I pray! Oh, that Jacob may stand, For he is small! 3 So the Lord repented concerning this. It shall not be, said the Lord. 4 Thus the Lord God showed me: Behold, the Lord God called for conflict by fire, and it consumed the great deep and devoured the territory. 5 Then I said: O Lord God, cease, I pray! Oh, that Jacob may stand, For he is small! 6 So the Lord repented concerning this. This also shall not be, said the Lord God.
Jon 3:6-4:2 Then word came to the king of Nineveh; and he arose from his throne and laid aside his robe, covered himself with sackcloth and sat in ashes. 7 And he caused it to be proclaimed and published throughout Nineveh by the decree of the king and his nobles, saying, Let neither man nor beast, herd nor flock, taste anything; do not let them eat, or drink water. 8 But let man and beast be covered with sackcloth, and cry mightily to God; yes, let every one turn from his evil way and from the violence that is in his hands. 9 Who can tell if God will turn and repent, and turn away from His fierce anger, so that we may not perish? 10 Then God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; and God repented from the disaster that He had said He would bring upon them, and He did not do it. 4:1 But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he became angry. 2 So he prayed to the Lord, and said, Ah, Lord, was not this what I said when I was still in my country? Therefore I fled previously to Tarshish; for I know that You are a gracious and merciful God, slow to anger and abundant in lovingkindness, One who repents from doing harm.
Zec 8:14,15 For thus says the Lord of hosts: Just as I determined to punish you when your fathers provoked Me to wrath, says the Lord of hosts, and I would not repent, 15 so again in these days I am determined to do good to Jerusalem and to the house of Judah.
From these passages it seems even clearer that the word means a change of mind or heart. However, God changes His mind because of mercy, compassion, or righteous judgment.
Well, then, why didnt the caller to our program want to answer my question? He didnt want to answer it because the Bible shows God is immutable, unchanging, in His character, love, mercy, but He is not immutable in the sense of the theologians who have based their theology on the Greek philosophy which states that God is outside of time. For instance, that pagan philosopher, Plato himself (Died 347 BC), explained it this way in, "A dialogue between Socrates and Adeimantus."
Is it not true that to be altered and moved by something else happens least to things that are in the best condition . . . that the healthiest and strongest is least altered. . . . would be least disturbed and altered by any external affection . . . least liable to be changed by time and other influences. . . It is universally true then, that that which is in the best state . . . admits least alteration by something else. . . Then does he (God) change himself for the better and to something fairer, or for the worse and to something uglier than himself? It must necessarily . . . be for the worse if he is changed . . . the gods themselves are incapable of change. . . . Then God is altogether simple and true in deed and word, and neither changes himself . . . .
Now again, if God didnt mean that He repented, what did He mean?
As we have seen, God used the word nachavm for His own actions at least twenty-six times. Every time it is used of God, it is in a context of changing His mind or purpose in punishing or rewarding a person or group of people. The use of this word was so appalling to Augustine, the creator of what we call Calvinism, that he wrote about it in his book, On the Morals of the Catholic Church. Augustine explained away the doctrines of the Old Testament that he thought were so absurd. He strongly disagreed with the literal interpretation of the Old Testament. Here is what he wrote about our twenty-six passages:
We do not worship a God who repents, or is envious, or needy . . . . These and such like are the silly notions . . . the fancies of old women or of children . . . and . . . those by whom these passages are literally understood. . . . And should any one suppose that anything in Gods substance or nature can suffer change or conversion, he will be held guilty of wild profanity.[<a href="#footnote2">2</a>]
With this philosophical bias of Plato and Augustine in mind, I want to respond to some of the passages that are used to answer "the silly notions . . . the fancies of old women or of children . . . and . . . those by whom these passages are literally understood."; the passages that Calvinists say show God doesnt change at all.
In Numbers 23:19 it 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?" What does this mean? Does this contradict the many portions of Scripture that say God does repent? When the caller turned here instead of answering my question about God repenting in Genesis 6:5-7, why didnt he think the Numbers passage was an anthropomorphism as well? In order to find out what is going on here, lets look at the context.
In Num 22, Balak, the king of the Moabites, was afraid when he saw what Israel had done to the Amorites, 1-4. So he sent messengers to his homeland in Mesopotamia to have the soothsayer,[<a href="#footnote3">3</a>] Balaam, come and curse Israel, 5-11. But God told Balaam not to go, 12-14. So King Balak tried again, promising great honor to Balaam, 15-17. Then Balaam said he could not go "beyond the word of the Lord my God". I might add that his heart was not really sincere in following Yahweh, for 2 Peter 2:15,16 says "They have forsaken the right way and gone astray, following the way of Balaam the son of Beor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness; 16 but he was rebuked for his iniquity: a dumb donkey speaking with a mans voice restrained the madness of the prophet." And Jude 11 says, "Woe to them! For they have gone in the way of Cain, have run greedily in the error of Balaam for profit, and perished in the rebellion of Korah." He then told them to stick around and hed see what the Lord would say to him, 18,19.
God let Balaam go to Balak, but He ordered him to say only what He told him. According to Keil & Delitzsch,
From the use of the participle holaych instead of the imperfect, with which it is not interchangeable, it is evident, on the one hand, that the anger of God was not excited by the fact that Balaam went with the elders of Moab, but by his behaviour.
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Further,
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. . . that the occurrence which followed did not take place at the commencement, but rather towards the close of the journey. As it was a longing for wages and honour that had induced the soothsayer to undertake the journey, the nearer he came to his destination,
we can see, the more his mind was on the money and honors
. . . that he was in danger of casting to the winds the condition which had been imposed upon him by God."[<a href="#footnote4">4</a>]
Thats why "the Angel of Yahweh took His stand in the way as an adversary against him" (v. 22). After Balaams encounter, verse 35 says, "Then the Angel of the Lord said to Balaam, Go with the men, but only the word that I speak to you, that you shall speak." So King Balak welcomed Balaam, but Balaam had gotten the message. He told the king he could only speak what God put in his mouth 36-39.
So Balak offered oxen and sheep to Yahweh, to have God look favorable on him, that is, to bribe Him. So he took Balaam up "to the high places of Baal" for a better view, so he could see the Israelites to better curse them. 40-41 Balaam also got into the act by telling him to "build seven altars for me here". Balaam wanted to bribe Yahweh also for he said, "perhaps the Lord will come to meet me". Yahweh did, 23:1-6 but He caused Balaam to bless Israel 7-10. Balak got angry, 11-13. Then, in verses 14-18 it says,
So he brought him to the field of Zophim, to the top of Pisgah, and built seven altars, and offered a bull and a ram on each altar 15 And he said to Balak, Stand here by your burnt offering while I meet the Lord over there 16 Then the Lord met Balaam, and put a word in his mouth, and said, Go back to Balak, and thus you shall speak 17 So he came to him, and there he was, standing by his burnt offering, and the princes of Moab were with him And Balak said to him, What has the Lord spoken? 18 Then he took up his oracle and said: Rise up, Balak, and hear! Listen to me, son of Zippor!
Now we must realize this is the third time Balak has offered sacrifices to Yahweh, trying to bribe Him to curse Israel. God has gotten fed up with this stuff. Your trying to bribe me? Dont you know who I am? Well, lets read what God put in Balaams mouth. He caused Balaam to prophesy that wonderful statement, Numbers 23:19,20.
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? 20 Behold, I have received a command to bless; He has blessed, and I cannot reverse it.
From this, we can see that God would not lie. He has already blessed Israel twice. Now, just because they sacrifice all these sacrifices, is that going to change God? He is not like a man who can be bribed. Every man may have his price, but our wonderful God isnt swayed by bribes. In certain cases, He wont repent.
Another example which shows He wouldnt repent is in 1 Samuel 15. In this situation, God told King Saul to attack the Amelikites for what they did to Israel when Israel came up from Egypt. He told him in verse 3, to
. . . utterly destroy all that they have, and do not spare them. But kill both man and woman, infant and nursing child, ox and sheep, camel and donkey.
Saul did what God said. He attacked the Amalekites, but he also disobeyed God. Lets read what he did in verses 8 and 9.
He also took Agag king of the Amalekites alive, and utterly destroyed all the people with the edge of the sword. 9 But Saul and the people spared Agag and the best of the sheep, the oxen, the fatlings, the lambs, and all that was good, and were unwilling to utterly destroy them. But everything despised and worthless, that they utterly destroyed.
So, what did God do? He repented, was sorry, changed His mind in regard to King Saul. Verse 11 says, "I repent that I have set up Saul as king, for he has turned back from following Me, and has not performed My commandments."
The next day Samuel went to Saul. When Saul saw him, he said in verse 13-29,
"Blessed are you of the Lord! I have performed the commandment of the Lord." But Samuel got right to the point. 14 But Samuel said, "What then is this bleating of the sheep in my ears, and the lowing of the oxen which I hear?" 15 And Saul said, "They have brought them from the Amalekites; for the people spared the best of the sheep and the oxen, to sacrifice to the Lord your God; and the rest we have utterly destroyed." 16 Then Samuel said to Saul, "Be quiet! And I will tell you what the Lord said to me last night." And he said to him, "Speak on." 17 So Samuel said, 18 "Now the Lord sent you on a mission, and said, Go, and utterly destroy the sinners, the Amalekites, and fight against them until they are consumed. 19 Why then did you not obey the voice of the Lord? Why did you swoop down on the spoil, and do evil in the sight of the Lord?" 20 And Saul said to Samuel, "But I have obeyed the voice of the Lord, and gone on the mission on which the Lord sent me, and brought back Agag king of Amalek; I have utterly destroyed the Amalekites. 21 "But the people took of the plunder, sheep and oxen, the best of the things which should have been utterly destroyed, to sacrifice to the Lord your God in Gilgal." 22 Then Samuel said: "Has the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice and to heed than the fat of rams. 23 For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, He also has rejected you from being king." 24 Then Saul said to Samuel, "I have sinned, for I have transgressed the commandment of the Lord and your words, because I feared the people and obeyed their voice. 25 Now therefore, please pardon my sin, and return with me, that I may worship the Lord." 26 But Samuel said to Saul, "I will not return with you, for you have rejected the word of the Lord, and the Lord has rejected you from being king over Israel." 27 And as Samuel turned around to go away, Saul seized the edge of his robe, and it tore. 28 So Samuel said to him, "The Lord has torn the kingdom of Israel from you today, and has given it to a neighbor of yours, who is better than you. 29 And also the Strength of Israel will not lie nor repent. For He is not a man, that He should repent."
God would not repent of this specific statement. Why? Verse 23 again, "Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, He also has rejected you from being king." God would not repent of this, probably because Saul was not truly repentant. Then verse 35 repeats Gods repentance in making Saul king to begin with, 35 "And Samuel went no more to see Saul until the day of his death. Nevertheless Samuel mourned for Saul, and the Lord repented that He had made Saul king over Israel."
Psalm 110:4 is another passage which says God would not repent. "The Lord has sworn and will not repent. You are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek." When God swears, it is unchangeable just as His counsel is. Thats why the two are combined in Hebrews 6:17,18,
Thus God, determining to show more abundantly to the heirs of promise the immutability of His counsel, confirmed it by an oath, 18 that by two immutable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we might have strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold of the hope set before us.
Therefore, we can see that Christs priesthood was absolute. Nothing could change that. God does not repent of a sworn oath.
The next passage is Malachi 3:6 "For I am the Lord, I do not change; Therefore you are not consumed, O sons of Jacob." Remember, immutability means unchanging. There are some portions of Scripture which say God does not change. First, "I do not change" are the words lo shaniti not nacham. This passage shows Gods trustworthiness. He is not going to go back on His promise to David even though Davids people have become so corrupt. Thats what Psalm 132:10,11 shows, "For Your servant Davids sake, do not turn away the face of Your Anointed. The Lord has sworn in truth to David. He will not turn [yashuv] from it: I will set upon your throne the fruit of your body." This passage in Malachi, then, is made because of Gods specific promise to David.
Psalm 89 is the most comprehensive in showing Gods faithfulness to David as shown in Malachi. Please read these parts of Psalm 89.
2 For I have said, "Mercy shall be built up forever; Your faithfulness You shall establish in the very heavens. 3 I have made a covenant [unconditional] with My chosen, I have sworn to My servant David: 4 Your seed I will establish forever, and build up your throne to all generations." Selah 5 And the heavens will praise Your wonders, O Lord; Your faithfulness also in the assembly of the saints. 20 I have found My servant David; With My holy oil I have anointed him, 21 With whom My hand shall be established; Also My arm shall strengthen him. 24 But My faithfulness and My mercy shall be with him, and in My name his horn shall be exalted. 27 Also I will make him My firstborn, the highest of the kings of the earth. 28 My mercy I will keep for him forever, and My covenant shall stand firm with him. 29 His seed also I will make to endure forever, and his throne as the days of heaven. 30 If his sons forsake My law and do not walk in My judgments, 31 if they break My statutes and do not keep My commandments, 32 then I will punish their transgression with the rod, and their iniquity with stripes. 33 Nevertheless My lovingkindness I will not utterly take from him, nor allow My faithfulness to fail. 34 My covenant I will not break, nor alter the word that has gone out of My lips. 35 Once I have sworn by My holiness; I will not lie to David: 36 His seed shall endure forever, and his throne as the sun before Me; 37 It shall be established forever like the moon, Even like the faithful witness in the sky." Selah.
Finally, in Jeremiah 33:17,20-22, the Lord said,
For thus says the Lord: David shall never lack a man to sit on the throne of the house of Israel. 20 Thus says the Lord: If you can break My covenant with the day and My covenant with the night, so that there will not be day and night in their season, 21 then My covenant may also be broken with David My servant, so that he shall not have a son to reign on his throne, and with the Levites, the priests, My ministers. 22 As the host of heaven cannot be numbered, nor the sand of the sea measured, so will I multiply the descendants of David My servant and the Levites who minister to Me.
This should be enough to show that God made a specific, unconditional promise to David. He will not go back on His covenant with David. Thats what it means in Malachi 3:6 when He said "I will not change."
I believe I have shown that God repented or changed His mind in many portions of Scripture. This is not a change in His character, but usually a change in His stated actions toward man. Our God is a God of mercy, love, compassion and passion. What a wonderful God is He!




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[1] <a name="footnote1"></a>Strongs, 5162 {naw-kham v} a primitive root; TWOT, 1344; AV - comfort 57, repent 41, comforter 9, ease 1; 108 times 1) to be sorry, console oneself, repent, regret, comfort, be comforted 1a) (Niphal) 1a1) to be sorry, be moved to pity, have compassion 1a2) to be sorry, rue, suffer grief, repent 1a3) to comfort oneself, be comforted 1a4) to comfort oneself, ease oneself 1b) (Piel) to comfort, console 1c) (Pual) to be comforted, be consoled 1d) (Hithpael) 1d1) to be sorry, have compassion 1d2) to rue, repent of 1d3) to comfort oneself, be comforted 1d4) to ease oneself.
[2] <a name="footnote2"></a>Oats, W.J., "On the Morals of the Catholic Church," Basic Writings of Saint Augustine, New York: Random House Publishers, 1948, p. 327.
[3] <a name="footnote3"></a>Soothsaying is forbidden for Israel in Deu 18:10,12 "There shall not be found among you anyone who makes his son or his daughter pass through the fire, or one who practices witchcraft, or a soothsayer, or one who interprets omens, or a sorcerer, . . . 12 For all who do these things are an abomination to the Lord". Num 24:1 "Now when Balaam saw that it pleased the Lord to bless Israel, he did not go as at other times, to seek to use sorcery"
[4] <a name="footnote4"></a>Associated Publishers and Authors, n.d., p. 883.

Freak · Dec 3, 2003

:down:

drbrumley · Dec 3, 2003

ahhhhhhhh, we knew that was coming.

Mr. 5020 · Dec 3, 2003

Knight and webmaster are one in the same, right?

Freak · Dec 3, 2003

Originally posted by drbrumley
ahhhhhhhh, we knew that was coming.

drbrumley · Dec 3, 2003

Originally posted by Freak

In reference to your :down:

drbrumley · Dec 3, 2003

In which I say :down:

Freak · Dec 3, 2003

Originally posted by drbrumley
In which I say :up:

Thanks.

the Sibbie · Dec 3, 2003

Ha. Nice one Freak.

drbrumley · Dec 3, 2003

Thats funny. Love ya Freak (even though your wrong)

Freak · Dec 3, 2003

Originally posted by drbrumley
Thats funny. Love ya Freak (even though your wrong)

:angel:

Lucky · Dec 10, 2003

Originally posted by Mr. 5020
Knight and webmaster are one in the same, right?

You do catch on rather quickly.

NOT!

I mean, how long did it take you to figure that out? A year? :chuckle:

ShadowMaid · Mar 24, 2005

Wow! This looks old, but it looks good. :up:

Cbm45 · Oct 6, 2005

Very interesting article on the idea of God repenting. Its strange how many time it says he but at the same time says he never will. If I agree with it or not it is still a well written article by someone who done some research.

REPORT: Does God repent?

webby

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Freak

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