Answer to: How Can God Repent?

This question comes up usually because of the following verses:

Malachi 3:6  For I [am] the LORD, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed.

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.

Heb 13:8 Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever.

1 Samuel 15:29  And also the Strength of Israel will not lie nor repent: for he [is] not a man, that he should repent.

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.

At first glace this would appear to be a contradiction.  There are a couple of things that we need to look at here.

God is indeed unchangeable in His character. 

God's attributes do not change.  His Holiness, His Justice, His Love, and all of His other attributes never change as Malachi 3:6, James 1:17, 1 Samuel 15:29 and other clearly teach.  God is perfect.  If God changed in His character, then He was either not perfect before or is not perfect now.  There is never any need for God to change because He is perfect and has always been perfect.  His perfection in character demands no change in character.

Because God is unchangeable in His character then His reaction to sin and it's need for judgment does not change. 

So if a man or a city (as in the case of Nineveh) changes in their attitude towards sin, then God's attitude toward them must change as a result  because God's attitude towards sin does not change. 

Since God's attitude towards sin and righteousness does not change, then His dealings with men must change as they change from the position that is hateful to His unchanging hatred of sin to a position that is pleasing to Him. 

There are many ways to illustrate this concept.  One way is a train and a train station.  The railway station remains stationary, it is unmovable.  The train on the other hand can be going towards the station or away from the station.  When the train starts out lets say it's position to the station is on the east.  Later in the day as the train passes the station it's position is now on the west.  The station never moved but the position of the train relative to the station has changed from East to West.  This change in position is due to the movement of the train and not the movement of the station.  The station is unchangeable in it position, but its direction relative to the train must change as the train moves.  It is the same with God's attitude with man.  God remains unchangeable in His character and His purpose.  So as man moves from sin to righteousness, God's attitude relative to that man must change.  The very fact that God does not change His mind about sin makes it necessary that God must change His dealings with men as they turn from sin to righteousness.

Another way to illustrate this with a fast moving river and a man in a canoe.  The river is unchangeable in its flow.  It is a powerful force always moving in the same direction.  The man in the canoe can change directions.  He can move with the river or he can choose to move against the river.  If the man is moving with the river, then the river is not fighting against him.  Instead the river is helping him along.  Now say the man turns around and changes direction.  The river itself has not changed its direction, but the river is no longer helping the man.  The river is now against the man.  Go get into a canoe and try paddling with the river and then against the river and you will see there is a huge difference in the way that the river reacts to you.  But the river did not change.  God never changes.  His will is always moving in the same direction, but the way He reacts to men changes based on which way they are going.  With God or against God.

 

Biblical repentance is a change of mind that results in a change of direction.  When a man repents he changes his mind of his sin and as a result changes his direction.  The man realizes that he is wrong and God is right.  This is not the case with God.  What changes with God is that He sees a man who has changed and now God's dealings with him must change because of His unchanging attributes.

Whenever you read in the Bible of God repenting, it always has to do with the man changing in relation to an unchangeable God.