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Does God Change His Mind? – Part 2
This is the second post of a series called Does God Change His Mind. Click Here to read the first installment.
Yesterday, I explained that God cannot change His mind because He is both Omniscient and Omnipotent. Since He knows everything that will happen and has the ability to make anything happen, there is no reason for God ever to change His mind about anything.
What about when we read about God changing His mind in the Bible? He decides not to do something He said He would or He does something He said He would not. For example:
- He spared the Ninevites after they repented
- He let Hezekiah live 15 more years after He had told him he would die
Did God Change His Mind with the Ninevites?
When God saw their deeds, that they turned from their wicked way, then God relented concerning the calamity which He had declared He would bring upon them. And He did not do it. – Jonah 3:10
It does not mean God changed His mind when He does not do something He said He would. Instead, it means something or someone has changed, so God has acted accordingly. In the case of Ninevah, God’s mind hasn’t changed, the Ninevites have.
The Ninevites repented when God promised to destroy them. Had God destroyed them after they repented, God would not have been righteous, merciful, gracious or good. When He spared the Ninevites, His attributes were preserved and He was all these things.
“But didn’t God change His mind?” This would be true if God had already decided He would destroy the Ninevites regardless of situation. However, God only decided He would wipe them out if they continued in their wickedness. They repented. God didn’t destroy them.
The lesson here is that God did not change His mind. The promise He made to destroy was conditional. If the Ninevites did not repent, He would destroy them. Since they did repent, He spared them.
Did God Change His Mind with Hezekiah?
Go and say to Hezekiah, ‘Thus says the LORD, the God of your father David, “I have heard your prayer, I have seen your tears; behold, I will add fifteen years to your life.”’ – Isaiah 38:5
What about Hezekiah? God told him he would die but then gave him 15 additional years. Didn’t God change His mind here? Again, no. God knew that Hezekiah would live another 15 years.
Hezekiah had a pride problem. We see it when he showed off the Temple and the armory to the Babylonians (Isaiah 39:1-2). God attempts to bring Hezekiah to repentance. Hezekiah had incurred a near-death sickness. God used that to bring Hezekiah to his knees, to humble himself and bring him to prayer. He allowed Hezekiah to believe he was going to die.
However, Hezekiah does humble himself and puts his life into God’s hands in prayer. As soon as he does, God has Isaiah return to give Hezekiah the good news that he actually won’t die but will live for another 15 years. God knew Hezekiah would humble himself and live 15 more years. He never changed His mind.
Imagine you own an ice cream store. You catch an employee taking some for himself. He assumes you are going to fire him but you like him. Though you are angry about this, you do not intend to fire him. He pleads with you not to let him go and you shake your head but you don’t say anything. After he’s done apologizing and promising never to do it again, you tell him you will let him stay. You never changed your mind, but you accomplished your goal of getting him to change his attitude.
Your Turn
Do you think God changed His mind in either of these examples? Do you have other examples when God seemed to change His mind? Let me know your thoughts or questions in the comments below.
To read part three of this series, click here.
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