CAN GOD CHANGE HIS MIND?
There are passages that say God changed His mind (Gen 6:6–7; Ex 32:14; Jer 26:19; 1 Sam 15:11; 2 Sam 24:16; Jonah 3:10; etc.). The challenge is how to reconcile these with the truth that God does not change (Num 23:19; 1 Sam 15:29; Mal 3:6; James 1:17; etc.). Does it mean He realized that what He had done or planned to do was wrong? But He is also all-knowing (Ps. 147:5), which makes it puzzling that He would seem surprised by events and then suddenly change what He was going to do. In dealing with this issue, we should understand several things: The Hebrew term nacham was used in the OT to refer to God changing His mind. According to Strong’s Lexicon, it could mean “to be sorry, console oneself, repent, regret.” That’s why most English Bibles translate it as “relent” when the passage refers to God, while the KJV used the word “repent.” The meaning of a word can shift over time, which is why using “repent” for nacham today may be confusing—it could imply that God made mistakes ...