"I the LORD do not change" (Malachi 3:6). In this text God affirms his unchangeableness, or immutability. This divine attribute is affirmed elsewhere in Scripture (see Psalms 33:11; 102:25-27; Isaiah 46:9-11; Numbers 23:19; James 1:17).Several years ago, after our family had suffered through a difficult stretch of church ministry, the elders granted us a six-week sabbatical. At the time, we weren't sure if we would even stay on at the church. The elders wanted us to (and, as it turned out, so did the vast majority of the congregation). But we weren't sure if we could or should continue serving in that context. However, after a lot of Scripture reading, praying, and heart-searching, we concluded that the Lord wanted us to stay and serve. But we were a bit squeamish about what awaited us when we got back. As we talked about this, Ruthie reassured me, saying, "God is the same God that he was six weeks ago." That truth strengthened our resolve and kept our hand to the plow. Despite whatever changes awaited us, God was--and would continue to be--our one true Constant.
Was our trust misplaced? Did our faith have firm footing? Is God really immutable, or does he actually change his mind? Verses like Genesis 6:6-7 seem to indicate that he does:
And the LORD was sorry that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him to his heart. So the LORD said, "I will blot out man whom I have created from the face of the land, man and animals and creeping things and birds of the heavens, for I am sorry that I have made them."Additional texts which indicate repentance or regret on God's part are Exodus 32:14; 1 Samuel 15:11, 29; Jeremiah 26:3. What are we to make of these texts? Do we have cause for concern when it comes to God's constancy and thus his dependability?
In a word, no. We need not doubt the Lord's reliability, which is rooted in his immutability. Reassurance comes as we cut Scripture straight (2 Timothy 2:15). Every word of God is inerrant and important. The Hebrew root behind all the above references to God's "repentance" or "regret"is nacham, which carries the idea of "breathing or sighing deeply." The term suggests a display of one's feelings -- sorrow, compassion or comfort. This Hebrew root is reflected in such names as Nehemiah ("comfort of Yahweh") and Nahum (a shortened form of Nehemiah).
When Scripture speaks of God's "repentance" or "regret," the point is not that God has changed in terms of his character or essential nature. Rather the idea is that God's feelings toward, and dealings with, certain people change in response to some change on their part. With this in mind, let's look again at Genesis 6:6 in light of its context:
- Genesis 6:5 says, "The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually." This is radically different from Genesis 1, where we read that "God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good..." (v. 31).
- What was it that changed God's outlook? Sin! Sin is viewed not as mere imperfection, but as something hostile to God's person and holy purposes. Sin is intensely personal ("the thoughts of [man's] heart"). Sin is pervasive (every intention of his heart was only evil continually"), i.e. everything man does is contaminated by sin. Sin is perpetual ("only evil continually").
- Hence the change on man's part (from good to evil) resulted in a change on God's part, in terms of his feelings and his dealings.
Here we see the importance of cutting Scripture straight, being as precise and accurate as possible in our understanding of God. We see such precision in theologian Wayne Grudem's definition of God's unchangeableness (immutability): "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" (Systematic Theology, p. 163). That is worth reading over a few times, even memorizing, for the sake of gaining an accurate understanding of God's immutability - what it means and what it does not mean.
The Lord in his infinite wisdom understands the limited capabilities of the human mind and how we might tend to question one scriptural truth in light of another. So in passages which indicate a change in God's feelings or dealings with man, we find also in that same context a reaffirmation of God's immutability. For instance, God says in 1 Samuel 15:11, "I regret that I have made Saul king, for he has turned back from following me and has not performed my commandments." (Notice how God's feelings changed in response to how Saul had changed.) Yet later on in that same chapter, after the Lord rejected Saul from being king, Scripture declares that "the Glory of Israel will not lie or have regret, for he is not a man that he should have regret." So did the Lord have regret (v. 11) or didn't he (v. 29)? The answer is that the Lord did have regret in the sense that he was saddened by Saul's disobedience and subsequently rejected him as king. Yet the Lord did not change or have regret in terms of his holy character, sovereign plan, and eternal purposes for Israel. To quote Grudem again,
These instances [of divine regret] should all be understood as true expressions of God's present attitude or intention with respect to the situation as it exists at that moment. If the situation changes, then of course God's attitude or expression of intention will also change. This is just saying that God responds differently to different situations.
To cite one more example, God had planned to destroy the city of Nineveh on account of its wickedness and sent Jonah to tell them so. But when Jonah finally did so, the people repented of their sin. "When God saw what they did, how they turned from their evil way, God repented of the evil which he had said he would do to them; and he did not do it" (Jonah 3:10). God's character and holy purposes experienced no change, but his short-term plan did in response to the situation as it existed at that particular moment.
A right understanding of God's unchangeableness brings reassurance to us as believers and strengthens our faith. Furthermore, the doctrine of divine immutability causes us to rejoice over our God who is not only sovereign over us but is also personally involved with us.
Praise to the Lord, who o'er all things so wondrously reigneth,
Shelters thee under His wings, yea, so gently sustaineth!
Hast thou not seen how thy desires e'er have been
Granted in what He ordaineth?