Before asking whether God changes His mind, one needs to understand God’s nature. God does respond to people’s situations and conduct in either compassion or wrath and therefore can be grieved when they do evil. This is related to God’s divine nature of perfect goodness, righteousness, justice, and full knowledge. God may thus choose to punish those who do evil while showing leniency to those who do not.
Let’s examine the following verses:
Firstly, Genesis 6:7
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 am sorry that I have made them.”
As a loving father, God may feel sorrow and sadness concerning his creation that had become corrupted and so said that he regretted making them. He had planned on wiping out all living creatures but then made an exception for Noah, his family, and representatives of each kind of animal. When God sent the global flood, He basically pushed the reset button, but by sparing the lives of some, He gave His creation a chance to do better.
Secondly, Exodus 32:14
”So the Lord relented from the harm which He said He would do to His people.”
When Moses climbed Mt. Sinai to meet with God to receive the Ten Commandments, the Israelites made a golden calf to worship. God was furious! “They have turned aside quickly out of the way which I commanded them. They have made themselves a moulded calf, and worshipped it and sacrificed to it, and said, ‘This is your god, O Israel, that brought you out of the land of Egypt!’ ” And the LORD said to Moses, “I have seen this people, and indeed it is a stiff-necked people! “Now therefore, let Me alone, that My wrath may burn hot against them and I may consume them. And I will make of you [Moses] a great nation.” (Exodus 32:8–10)
For the next three verses, Moses intercedes on the people’s behalf. God answered his prayer by relenting and deviating from His plan. So yes, He had intended to destroy them but chose mercy instead.
Thirdly, 1 Samuel 15:10-11
“Now the word of the Lord came to Samuel, saying, “I greatly regret 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.”
Saul chose to disobey God and didn’t adhere to the specific instructions given by Samuel when he made war on the Amalekites. God had left Saul king for many years while he continued living in disobedience, giving him ample time to repent and return to a life of submission to God’s will. But Saul never did, and so was punished. God chose not to relent. The story continues in the next verse below.
Fourthly, 1 Samuel 15:29
“And also the Strength of Israel will not lie nor relent. For He is not a man, that He should relent.”
This observation follows the preceding statement in verse 28 as an unconditional, unalterable decree. When God makes such a decree, he will not alter it. This does not mean God never deviates from his stated intentions or changes his mind.
God cannot, however, be compared to a fickle human being who changes their mind due to uncertainty or emotional influences. God is always involved and working actively for our Eternal life, inviting repentance but sometimes allowing tribulations for our own good. Therefore, it follows that God can change His mind.
But God would not change His mind on certain things, as He cannot change His divine nature. For instance, the difference between right and wrong has been firmly established in Scripture, and we can be sure He won’t change His stance.
You can find more articles dealing with the alleged contradictions in the Bible at the link below:
Category: Bible-Difficulties
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@SaintPaulCopticApologetics – Bible Difficulties
