Apparent Contradictions: Does the Changeless God Change His Mind?

We've all heard that the Bible has contradictions.  I've been taking some time to debunk some of them and you've voted this next one in today.  So feast your eyes on these next two verses and think about them for a moment.

God is not a man, that he should lie, nor a son of man, that he should change his mind. Does he speak and then not act? Does he promise and not fulfill?  --  Numbers 23:19


When God saw what they did and how they turned from their evil ways, he had compassion and did not bring upon them the destruction he had threatened.  --  Jonah 3:10



If you're not familiar with the story of Jonah, let me give a quick recap.  God sent Jonah to Ninevah with a message.  In forty days God is going to destroy this city.  That's it.  The people of Ninevah from the king to the peasants and even their cows repented greatly.  Then we come to Jonah 3:10 as you read above.  God seems to change His mind about the judgment and holds back His wrath from Ninevah.

If God knew all along that He wasn't going to punish them, then was His threat a lie?  If He didn't know all along, then did He change His mind?  If He didn't know, then is He really omniscient/all-knowing?

I believe there is a way to make sense of all of this, but first let's clarify a few important things by looking at what the Bible clearly says about the changeability or lack thereof of God.  We'll see what God's immutability or unchangeableness does and doesn't mean.

God Is Unchangeable

In the beginning you laid the foundations of the earth, and the heavens are the work of your hands.  They will perish, but you remain; they will all wear out like a garment. Like clothing you will change them and they will be discarded. But you remain the same, and your years will never end."  --  Psalm 102:25-27

This passage is clearly teaching that God remains the same and never changes.  All of creation grows and ages but God will always be the same.  He has no beginning and no end.  Yet, at the same time, in the very same passage we see that God created all the earth and the heavens.  Why does that matter?  Because some say that if God can't change, then that means He can't take any actions either.  According to them, this is because taking action requires a change.  When I speak to my wife, I have gone from not speaking to speaking.  I have changed in my actions.  Clearly, this is not what the Bible means when it says God does not change.

Unchangeable means... God does not age or suffer from time.
Unchangeable does not mean... that God doesn't think or take action at specific times.

"I the LORD do not change. So you, O descendants of Jacob, are not destroyed.  --  Malachi 3:6

In this passage, God is condemning the Israelites for numerous sins including mistreating their wives and the widows among them and refusing to offer tithes to God.  God is letting the people know that their sin is so great that they should be destroyed.  The only reason He doesn't destroy them, is that He has made promises to their ancestors to do great things with this people.  God is extremely angry here.  Again, some would say that just having emotions means you change. That's not the kind of change its talking about here.

Unchangeable means...  that God does not break His promises.
Unchangeable does not mean... that God cannot feel different emotions at specific times.  


But the plans of the LORD stand firm forever, the purposes of his heart through all generations.  --  Psalm 33:11

Pretty straightforward.

Unchangeableness means... that God's plans and purposes do not change.

Defining the Unchangeableness of God

In light of all of these passages and their implications, its not enough to say that God never changes and leave it at that.  Does that mean He can never go from happy to angry?  Is that the kind of change we are talking about?  Based on the verses above and many passages that teach on this, I believe the following definition captures what the Bible teaches on this subject.  Wayne Grudem defines it in his book Systematic Theology by saying, "God is unchanging in his being, perfections, purposes, and promises, yet God does act and feel emotions, and he acts and feels differently in response to different situations." 

Can We Reconcile These Passages?

Let's take another look at where we started.

God is not a man, that he should lie, nor a son of man, that he should change his mind. Does he speak and then not act? Does he promise and not fulfill?  --  Numbers 23:19


When God saw what they did and how they turned from their evil ways, he had compassion and did not bring upon them the destruction he had threatened.  --  Jonah 3:10



Is there a way to understand all of these passages together that makes sense?  In order to be Biblical, this explanation would have to affirm the following three truths and explain the apparent change of mind.

1. God's plans do not change nor does He change His mind
2. God does not lie
3. God is all knowing

I believe there is a way.  Let's think of a father and son at home.  Imagine it is 9 PM which is bedtime for the young boy and his father is downstairs reading a book.  The father hears the sound of the boy's Gameboy coming down the stairs.  The father yells up, "Son, knock it off and go to bed."  Immediately the noises stop.  However, after a few minutes the father listens at the bottom of the stairs and can hear the quieter mashing of buttons.  He knows his son very well and knows that a stern threat will do the trick as it always did.  He yells up, "I'm going to come up and spank you."  The boy takes the threat seriously, turns off the game, lays down, and tries to go to sleep.  The father goes back to his book and doesn't spank his son.

Now, what was the father's desire and plan?  Was his desire or plan to spank his son?  No, it was to get his son to sleep.  Did the father tell a lie?  Well, he definitely said he was going to spank the boy but never ended up doing it.  However, I don't think any of us would actually call that a lie.  We understand that implicit in the threat is the idea that obedience will prevent the spanking.  Nobody would call this dad a liar.  This one is more of a stretch, but did the father know his son would repent after the threat was issued?  Maybe all dads wouldn't, but this father did.  He knows his son well enough and he knew his son would heed the warning as he always had in the past.  Was the threat any less real because of that fact?  No.  Dad would have followed through if the boy chose otherwise.

What was God's plan and desire with Ninevah?  Was it to destroy them all?  No!  It was to bring them to repentance!  Was God lying when He said that in forty days they would be destroyed?  No!  Just like the father's spanking, it was implicit in the warning that obedience would prevent it.  Does the threat mean God didn't know how the Ninevites would respond?  No!  God knew what they would do and knew the threat would be just what they needed to repent.  God knew all along that the Ninevites would repent when He threatened them and never once did His good plan change.

Conclusion

There are many passages that may seem like God is totally changing His mind throughout the Bible.  Exodus 32:9-14, Isaiah 38:1-6, Genesis 6:6, and 1 Samuel 15:10 are just a few.  These may at first glance seem like contradictions because the Bible says that God doesn't change and never changes His mind.

However, looking at God as a loving Father helps us to reconcile the issues and understand what is going on.  God's true plan and purpose never change.  His mind and decisions are never overturned.

I hope this helps you as you study God's Word.  I'd encourage you to do the following:

• Thank God that He never changes!  He will be loving and good forever!
• Thank God that He always keeps His promises, especially for the promise of salvation!
• Receive the unchanging promise of salvation through faith in Jesus if you never have.
• Vote for next Tuesday's Apparent Contradiction at the top left of the site!