Does God Change His Mind?

Here's what I came up with. It's really an issue with translation (and probably a little bit to do with our inability to fully comprehend God's nature). In regards to the Amos scriptures in chapter 7, my dear husband brought to my attention that this was a vision given to Amos, not a guarantee that God was going to do it. It was as if He was telling Amos, "This is what I can do." And Amos, in his distress of the vision, cried out to God for mercy. God simply answered him and said, "This I will not do." When it says "The Lord changed His mind about this" it was simply a way of saying that though God was capable of doing this, in His compassion for His people, He was not going to. I should note here that the word 'change' should actually be translated 'relented' which means to soften or to have pity upon, comfort. Some manuscripts translate it 'repented' which we know God has no need of doing in the way we view the need to repent of SINS so then there must be something lost in translation (of our minds!).

We know that God does NOT change in regards to His nature or character.

(Malachi 3:6) - "For I, the Lord, do not change; therefore you, O sons of Jacob, are not consumed."

God most certainly can be grieved and sorry for things He has done-although in His judgment and sovereignty, knew they would be done before the foundations of the earth. It does not mean that He has changed His mind because man was still created (though He knew the fall would happen and Christ would die), His wrath was still poured out (as was His grace), but He grieves over the act of the discipline that must be administered in His righteous judgment because of His compassion for us.

God was sorry he made people: Genisis 6:6
He was sorry for His people because of the oppression their enemies placed on them: Judges 2:18

In Deut. 32:36 the Lord let Himself be sorry or to have compassion. As in...for this time and space of history, God was sorry for what had happened here on earth.

The Lord does not grieve or become sorry so that He changed His mind as a human does: 1 Samuel 15:29 (I like this one so much, I'll write the whole thing out for you)

"And also, the Strength of Israel will not lie nor repent: for He is not a man that He should repent."

(I'm gonna remember that name of God for future Scattergories games)

The word 'Strength' here is 'nesah' meaning the kingdom, power, and glory. In this scripture, God is referring to HIMSELF as the power and glory of Israel. It also points to His eternal, truthful nature that is contrary to lying or changing. (So says Zodhiates.) Again, the word 'repent' is used in place of 'change.'

This is reminiscent of scriptures that say "God remembered His covenant" or "God remembered Abraham." Does that mean He forgot about those things? No, because He is omniscient or all knowing. It is simply a way of saying that God was acting in lives in a manner that our finite minds could once again see and comprehend.

I think what we need to keep in mind here is that God is not bound by time or space, but since WE ARE, He has moments of recorded sorrow and grievance for what has transpired here on earth according to our concept of time.

I think about my own moment of salvation and think...did God suddenly change His mind about me? No, because He knew me always (here's His ability to live out of time and space) my moment of salvation was simply the 'moment' that His grace was placed upon me in OUR time and space. We are seeing it from a human perspective.

Take, for instance, Ninevah. Did God know that the city would repent? Yes. Did He still talk about His wrath He would administer to them in their sins? Yes. Why? His warning of wrath was what brought them to repentance. In His grace and mercy, God brought a warning of wrath so that the city might know their sin and repent of it, as was His plan all along.

It's all part of the plan!