I was recently reading a great old book by R. A. Torrey titled,
DIFFICULTIES IN THE BIBLE, in which he address the question: Does God
repent? . . .
“Another
'apparent' contradiction of the Scriptures of which much is made and
which has puzzled a great many believers is this:
We read in Malachi
3:6, 'For I am the Lord, I change not'; and in James 1:17, 'Every good
gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the
Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of
turning'; and 1st Samuel 15:29, 'And also the strength of Israel will
not lie nor repent: for He is not a man that he should repent.'
But in apparently flat contradiction of these we read in Jonah 3:10,
'And God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; and
God repented of the evil that He had said that He would do unto
them, and He did it not'; and in Genesis 6:6, 'And it repented the
Lord, that He had made man on the earth, and it grieved Him at His
heart.' Here it not only says, 'it repented God,' but 'it grieved Him at
His heart.' Now this appears like a flat contradiction. What is the
explanation?
The explanation is that what the
first set of passages says is absolutely true, that God is absolutely
unchangeable, He is 'the same yesterday, and today and forever' (Hebrews
13:8). But the second class of passages is also true, for if God does
remain the same in character, infinitely hating sin and absolutely
unchangeable in His purpose to visit sin with judgment, then if any city
or any person changes in attitude toward sin, God must necessarily
change in His attitude toward that person or city. If God remains the
same, if His attitude toward sin and righteousness is unchanging, then
must His dealings with men change as they turn from sin to repentance.
His character remains ever the same, but His dealings with men change as
they change from the position that is hateful to His unchanging hatred
of sin to one that is pleasing to His unchanging love of righteousness.”
SOURCE: R.A. Torrey, DIFFICULTIES IN THE
BIBLE, pgs. 86,87; copyright 1907, Fleming H. Revell Company,
Moody Press.
The fact that God does repent, which you just
learned from Pastor Rueben Torrey, means that repentance DOESN'T mean what
most people have been misled to think it means! To “REPENT” does not mean to
turn away from sins, for how can a perfect and sinless God turn away from
His sins? Obviously that is not even possible. God never sins. James
1:13-15, “Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for
God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man:
But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and
enticed. Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when
it is finished, bringeth forth death.” That is a very important Bible
doctrine to remember—God is incapable of committing sin, and He never tempts
any human being to commit sin!
The rebellious Old Testament Jews committed horrible
sins, claiming that they were doing God's will...
Jeremiah 7:8-11, “Behold, ye
trust in lying words, that cannot profit. Will ye steal, murder, and
commit adultery, and swear falsely, and burn incense unto Baal, and walk
after other gods whom ye know not; And come and stand before me in this
house, which is called by my name, and say, We are delivered to do all
these abominations? Is this house, which is called by my name, become a
den of robbers in your eyes? Behold, even I have seen it, saith the
LORD.”
People haven't changed one bit in 2,600 years! One
of the greatest reproaches upon the United States was the invasion and
conquering of the sovereign nation of Iraq (2002-2011). American and British
soldiers murdered 1,455,590 Iraqi citizens during the conflict, stealing
Iraq's trillions of dollars in natural resources (oil), and replacing their
government with a new crony.
That is why we know that ungodly Hollywood movies
which blaspheme the perfect Savior; such as, THE LAST TEMPTATION OF
CHRIST and JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR and THE DAVINCI CODE
(which all portray Jesus as a sinner and deceiver) are clearly Satanic and a
wicked lie. The Bible says that GOD CANNOT BE TEMPTED WITH EVIL. So it was
only as a man that Christ was tempted, but since He didn't have a sinful
nature inherited from Adam (since Jesus had no earthly father), in ways that
we cannot understand the Lord was able to overcome every temptation, without
ever sinning even once. As human beings with a sin nature, it is IMPOSSIBLE
for you or I to always live above sin. At any given time we can resist, but
we won't always succeed because we are sinners by both nature and choice.
Hence, Jesus was in fact tempted to commit sin, and
He must have been fully capable of committing sin, otherwise how could He
have been legitimately tempted? God cannot be tempted because God is
incapable of sinning. So if Jesus was tempted, He must have been capable of
sinning as a man, if He chose to do so. Adam didn't have a sin nature before
he sinned, but he wilfully chose to commit sin, which opened the floodgate
of sin and death upon the world (Romans 5:12). John 16:33, “These things
I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye
shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have
overcome the world.”
GOD DOES REPENT! That simply means that GOD CHANGES
HIS MIND SOMETIMES! And that is encouraging, because it means that we have
the ability to persuade God through prayer. Philippians 4:6-7, “Be
careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with
thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God,
which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through
Christ Jesus.” Isn't that beautiful? I admit have often worried
needlessly about things, when the Scripture plainly commands us to PRAY
ABOUT EVERYTHING, casting our cares upon Him (1st Peter 5:7) and making our
requests known unto the Lord (as we just read). A “supplication” is an
ongoing prayer request. ...
Oh what peace we
often forfeit,
Oh what needless pain we bear;
all because we do not carry,
everything to God in prayer.
I sometimes pray and get frustrated that God doesn't
seem to be listening to me. But then I learn about poor people in Africa and
India living in squalor—surviving in inhuman conditions, drinking the same
water that animals defecate in, lacking proper health care, vulnerable to
kidnapping and rape and abuse at the hands of tyrant thugs—and then I
quickly realize how blessed I am of God to live in America, and to have safe
and tasty food, a solid roof over my head that doesn't leak, an actual floor
beneath me, having spending money for things I need, many great restaurants
to go to, and most of all knowing 100% that my name is written in the Lamb's
Book Of Life in Heaven! GOD IS SO GOOD!!! Praise Him all ye lands, for the
Lord is good and His mercy is abundant! What a wonderful Savior!!!
Chapter 1 — God's
Mind Can Be Changed
Genesis
6:6-7, "And it repented the LORD that he had made man on the earth, and
it grieved him at his heart. And the LORD said, I will destroy man whom
I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the
creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I
have made them."
Jonah 3:10,
"And God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; and God
repented of the evil, that he had said that he would do unto them; and
he did it not."
Joel
2:12-14, "Therefore also now, saith the LORD, turn ye even to me with
all your heart, and with fasting, and with weeping, and with mourning:
And rend your heart, and not your garments, and turn unto the LORD your
God: for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great
kindness, and repenteth him of the evil. Who knoweth if he will return
and repent, and leave a blessing behind him; even a meat offering and a
drink offering unto the LORD your God?"
The wickedness of man became great
upon the earth until every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only
evil continually. This is not the purpose that God had for His creation.
He created us for His glory and that He may enjoy fellowship with us,
wanting us to offer Him voluntarily love. He equipped us with a will so we
could choose to love and fellowship with Him. Now man has failed and failed
miserably. His thoughts are wicked, his deeds are wicked, and God is
grieved, for God CAN be grieved. Ephesians 4:30-32, "And grieve not the
holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption. Let
all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put
away from you, with all malice: And be ye kind one to another,
tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath
forgiven you." Here we find that bitterness grieves God, wrath grieves
God, anger grieves God, clamour grieves God, evil speaking grieves God,
malice grieves God. As God looked at the race He had made, He was so
grieved that He changed His mind and wished that He had not made man.
Genesis 6:6-7, "And it repented the LORD that he had made man on the earth,
and it grieved him at his heart. And the LORD said, I will destroy man whom
I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the
creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have
made them." Notice the word "repented" in verse 6 and the
word "repenteth" in verse 7. This word means "a change of
mind." This is not a doctrinal dissertation about the flood; it is simply
an effort to establish the fact that God does, on occasion, change His mind,
and that mind can be changed by man's behavior and, thank God, by man's
requests and prayers.
There is a wonderful story in
Exodus 32. Moses had been to Mount Sinai. As he returned from the
mount, he found the people had made a golden calf and were worshipping it.
God was displeased and wanted to destroy them. Exodus 32:7-10, "And the
LORD said unto Moses, Go, get thee down; for thy people, which thou
broughtest out of the land of Egypt, have corrupted themselves: They have
turned aside quickly out of the way which I commanded them: they have made
them a molten calf, and have worshipped it, and have sacrificed thereunto,
and said, These be thy gods, O Israel, which have brought thee up out of the
land of Egypt. And the LORD said unto Moses, I have seen this people, and,
behold, it is a stiffnecked people: Now therefore let me alone, that my
wrath may wax hot against them, and that I may consume them: and I will make
of thee a great nation." Notice the words that God spoke to Moses in
verse 10, "Now therefore let me alone, that my wrath may wax hot against
them." Here is the omnipotent God talking to Moses, one of His
creatures, and saying, "Let Me alone, so I can punish My people." God
wanted to do it, but interestingly enough He had made it so that Moses had
veto power and actually could prevent God from consuming His people.
God did change His mind concerning
consuming His people. Exodus 32:11-14, "And Moses besought the LORD his
God, and said, LORD, why doth thy wrath wax hot against thy people, which
thou hast brought forth out of the land of Egypt with great power, and with
a mighty hand? Wherefore should the Egyptians speak, and say, For mischief
did he bring them out, to slay them in the mountains, and to consume them
from the face of the earth? Turn from thy fierce wrath, and repent of this
evil against thy people. Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, thy servants,
to whom thou swarest by thine own self, and saidst unto them, I will
multiply your seed as the stars of heaven, and all this land that I have
spoken of will I give unto your seed, and they shall inherit it for ever.
And the LORD repented of the evil which he thought to do unto his people."
In verse 11 Moses explains to God that it was He Who had brought the
people out of Egypt with a great power and mighty hand. Then in verse 12
he beseeches God to change His mind. He uses the words, "Repent of this
evil against Thy people." Now Moses was not telling God to repent of a
sin. The word "evil" there means that God was about to inflict punishment
or consummation upon His people and Moses was asking Him to turn from His
fierce wrath and change His mind.
Then in verse 13 he tells
God of the promises He made to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob concerning
multiplying their seed and making of them a great nation.
These are arguments that Moses
used in his appeal to God to change His mind. In other words, he is saying,
"Lord, You brought the people out, and the Egyptian people are going to
speak evil of You if you consume the people." Then he said, "Don't forget
the promises You made to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob." With these arguments he
appealed to God not to go through with His consuming of Israel.
In verse 14 we read, "And
the LORD repented of the evil which he thought to do unto his people."
Once again, God changed His mind. It is very important that this truth be
emphasized, for it was through prayer to God that Moses interceded for the
people, and God changed His mind concerning their destruction.
God changed His mind concerning
the destruction of Ninevah. The Word of the Lord had come unto Jonah the
second time, telling him to go to Ninevah and preach. Jonah 3:1-2, "And
the word of the LORD came unto Jonah the second time, saying, Arise, go unto
Nineveh, that great city, and preach unto it the preaching that I bid thee."
Jonah had learned his lesson and he did go to Ninevah to preach. A great
revival followed and the entire city repented. Jonah 3:5-8, "So the
people of Nineveh believed God, and proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth,
from the greatest of them even to the least of them. For word came unto the
king of Nineveh, and he arose from his throne, and he laid his robe from
him, and covered him with sackcloth, and sat in ashes. And he caused it to
be proclaimed and published through Nineveh by the decree of the king and
his nobles, saying, Let neither man nor beast, herd nor flock, taste any
thing: let them not feed, nor drink water: But let man and beast be covered
with sackcloth, and cry mightily unto God: yea, let them turn every one from
his evil way, and from the violence that is in their hands."
The people were led to believe
that though Jonah had preached that God was going to destroy the city in
forty days, perhaps God would change His mind, and not destroy the city.
They felt that their repentance and their putting on of sackcloth and
sitting in ashes might convince God to change His mind. This possibility is
mentioned in Jonah 3:9, "Who can tell if God will turn and repent, and
turn away from his fierce anger, that we perish not?" God did see their
works and God did change His mind. In Jonah 3:10, notice especially the
words, "And God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way;
and God repented of the evil, that he had said that he would do unto them;
and he did it not."
Jonah had come to Ninevah
preaching the message that God gave him, that God was going to overthrow
Ninevah in forty days, but because the people got right with God, God
changed His mind and did not destroy Ninevah as Jonah had preached. This
changing of God's mind is so evident, for the Scripture tells us that Jonah
was not happy with God's decision to change His mind. Had not Jonah
preached that God was going to destroy the city in forty days? Now God is
not going to destroy the city, and Jonah is upset about it! Jonah 4:1,
"But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he was very angry."
Now the secret to this entire
story is found in Jonah 3:8, "But let man and beast be covered with
sackcloth, and cry mightily unto God." There is the prayer. God
changed His mind concerning Ninevah because of the prayers of Ninevah. Once
again we come back to the main point of this chapter. Prayer can change the
mind of God!
God changed His mind concerning
Judah in the days of Joel. Joel 2:12-14, "Therefore also now, saith the
LORD, turn ye even to me with all your heart, and with fasting, and with
weeping, and with mourning: And rend your heart, and not your garments, and
turn unto the LORD your God: for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger,
and of great kindness, and repenteth him of the evil. Who knoweth if he will
return and repent, and leave a blessing behind him; even a meat offering and
a drink offering unto the LORD your God?" The judgment of God had been
pronounced upon the people. However, the message came that God was a
merciful God and that if the people would repent and turn to Him, He would
change His mind and bless them. In fact, in verse 14 the word "repent"
is used which means "to change one's mind." Of course, over and over again
in the Scriptures God withholds His judgment upon His people because of
repentance, prayer, fasting and revival.
God changed His mind concerning
Ephraim, but Ephraim got so far from God and so idolatrous that God decided
just to leave him alone! Hosea 4:17, "Ephraim is joined to idols: let
him alone." Later on in Hosea God begins to muse and meditate about
Ephraim. Hosea 11:1-4, "When Israel was a child, then I loved him, and
called my son out of Egypt. As they called them, so they went from them:
they sacrificed unto Baalim, and burned incense to graven images. I taught
Ephraim also to go, taking them by their arms; but they knew not that I
healed them. I drew them with cords of a man, with bands of love: and I was
to them as they that take off the yoke on their jaws, and I laid meat unto
them." Here God remembers Ephraim's childhood; that is, when Ephraim
was a young tribe. He remembers how He helped Ephraim struggle in the early
days. He likens that to teaching Ephraim to walk. He remembers how He
healed them, how He loved them, how He protected them. Bear in mind that in
Hosea 4:17 He had said, "Ephraim is joined to idols: let him alone."
But after thinking, meditating and remembering, God comes to the place where
He feels He simply cannot give Ephraim up. Hosea 11:8, "How shall I give
thee up, Ephraim? how shall I deliver thee, Israel? how shall I make thee as
Admah? how shall I set thee as Zeboim? mine heart is turned within me, my
repentings are kindled together." How beautiful are those words,
"How shall I give thee up, Ephraim?" God is saying that He lost His
patience with Ephraim and then He got to thinking about it and changed His
mind. He will not give Ephraim up after all. The last line of verse 8
explains this when God says, "My repentings are kindled together."
God is saying once again, "I am changing My mind."
God repented often concerning His
people. Jeremiah 15:6, "Thou hast forsaken me, saith the LORD, thou art
gone backward: therefore will I stretch out my hand against thee, and
destroy thee; I am weary with repenting." That means that God had
changed His mind so much about His people that He is getting a little weary
of it. Again the point is stressed. God can, does and will change His mind
in response to repentance and sincere prayer from His people.
In the third miracle in the second
judgment of God upon Pharaoh, when God was using His wrath to unpry the
hands of Pharaoh from His people that they might leave the land and be free,
God had sent the frogs on the land. Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron and
asked them if they could persuade God to take the frogs away. Exodus 8:8,
"Then Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron, and said, Intreat the LORD,
that he may take away the frogs from me, and from my people; and I will let
the people go, that they may do sacrifice unto the LORD." Moses did
come to God with Aaron and ask God to remove the frogs. Exodus 8:12-13,
" And Moses and Aaron went out from Pharaoh: and Moses cried unto the LORD
because of the frogs which he had brought against Pharaoh. And the LORD did
according to the word of Moses; and the frogs died out of the houses, out of
the villages, and out of the fields." The key statement here is in
verse 13, "And the LORD did according to the word of Moses." Notice the
power of prayer. Notice how God is influenced by the prayers of Moses.
This same thing is repeated
concerning the thunderings and hail. Exodus 9:27,28,33, "And Pharaoh
sent, and called for Moses and Aaron, and said unto them, I have sinned this
time: the LORD is righteous, and I and my people are wicked. Intreat the
LORD (for it is enough) that there be no more mighty thunderings and hail;
and I will let you go, and ye shall stay no longer. And Moses went out of
the city from Pharaoh, and spread abroad his hands unto the LORD: and the
thunders and hail ceased, and the rain was not poured upon the earth."
The same thing is done concerning
the locusts in Exodus 10:16-19, " Then Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron
in haste; and he said, I have sinned against the LORD your God, and against
you. Now therefore forgive, I pray thee, my sin only this once, and intreat
the LORD your God, that he may take away from me this death only. And he
went out from Pharaoh, and intreated the LORD. And the LORD turned a mighty
strong west wind, which took away the locusts, and cast them into the Red
sea; there remained not one locust in all the coasts of Egypt." On each
of these occasions Moses came to God and persuaded God to take certain
action. In response to Moses' request, God did take this action.
In the case of Abimelech and his
family, God healed them that they might bear children because Abraham prayed
to God. Genesis 20:17-18, "So Abraham prayed unto God: and God healed
Abimelech, and his wife, and his maidservants; and they bare children. For
the LORD had fast closed up all the wombs of the house of Abimelech, because
of Sarah Abraham's wife." God had closed up all the wombs of the ladies
of the house of Abimelech. Abraham prayed to God and God responded to
Abraham's prayer and healed the house of Abimelech.
In the life of Job God became
angry with Eliphaz and Job's other false friends and pronounced His judgment
upon them. Because of Job's prayers and their repentance God changed His
mind and did not pour out His wrath. Job 42:7-10, "And it was so, that
after the LORD had spoken these words unto Job, the LORD said to Eliphaz the
Temanite, My wrath is kindled against thee, and against thy two friends: for
ye have not spoken of me the thing that is right, as my servant Job hath.
Therefore take unto you now seven bullocks and seven rams, and go to my
servant Job, and offer up for yourselves a burnt offering; and my servant
Job shall pray for you: for him will I accept: lest I deal with you after
your folly, in that ye have not spoken of me the thing which is right, like
my servant Job. So Eliphaz the Temanite and Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar
the Naamathite went, and did according as the LORD commanded them: the LORD
also accepted Job. And the LORD turned the captivity of Job, when he prayed
for his friends: also the LORD gave Job twice as much as he had before."
In any study of the subject of
prayer it is fundamental and basic when we understand that if a man will
meet the conditions of God and pray, God will respond to his prayer and
perhaps even change the course of His direction. Naturally, such a teaching
is distasteful to those who advance the heresy of hyper-Calvinism, limited
atonement, irresistible grace, etc. These misguided students of the Bible
are often sincere but somehow have never learned how to enter into the great
heart of God to know His compassion, His love, His mercy, His
longsuffering. Hence, we must establish once and for all that God is
touchable, reachable and He will respond to the prayers of His people. This
does not mean that an immature Christian can frivolously approach the throne
of grace and change God's mind. It does mean that the great omnipotent,
omniscient, and omnipresent Jehovah God leans towards His children to hear
what they say and longs to have them present their petitions to Him that He
may give consideration to their requests.
