The NIV 365 Day Devotional

Change and the Mind of God

Scripture asserts that God does not change his mind (Nu 23:19; 1Sa 15:29; Mal 3:6). So how are we to understand passages that describe God as “regretting” (Ge 6:6,7; 1Sa 15:11,35) or “relenting” (Ex 32:14; Jdg 2:18; 2Sa 24:16; Am 7:3,6)? Don’t regretting and relenting involve a change of mind with respect to a prior decision? Is this a biblical contradiction?

It is true that from a human perspective, God does sometimes seem to change his mind. In the passages cited above, for example, God is said to act or think in a certain way for a period of time and then subsequently act or think another way at a later time. For example, he may bring judgment and then withdraw judgment in response to prayer or groaning (Ex 32:14; Jdg 2:18). He may raise up a king and then “regret” doing so (1Sa 15:11,35).

What is changing in these instances, however, is God’s response to changing human behavior. What is not changing is God’s fundamental nature. He continues to be perfectly holy, just, wise, and good. In fact, for God’s fundamental nature to remain the same, he must respond differently to changing human behavior. For example, for God to remain just, he must punish human sin. But when human beings turn away from their sin, that same divine justice (and mercy) demands that he “relent” from judgment. Not doing so would compromise his unchanging divine attributes.

So, when Scripture asserts that God does not change his mind, it means that his divine nature does not change. He does not respond to situations in a morally inconsistent manner, as do his human creations. His unchanging and perfectly righteous nature consistently manifests itself by means of his appropriately varied responses to vacillating human faithfulness.

Taken from the NIV Study Bible, Fully Revised Edition.