Godrulz, Knight, and Bob Hill
Godrulz, Knight, and Bob Hill
godrulz said:
A change of mind is personal perfection, not an imperfection or compromise of perfect character (e4e misunderstands this). A being who cannot change in response to changing contingencies would have to compromise His character.
I Sam. 15:10, 35, 29 (change of disposition/thought about a decision when Saul went bad; He will not change His mind about the subsequent judgment initiated) gives two seemingly contradictory verses (see Malachi 3:6 God will not change in a fickle, capricious way, but will be faithful to His character when He does change in response to prayer, repentance, etc....).
I understand when you take these instances one at a time they seem to denote a change of mind. However, when you look at them from the perspective of other statements which the Lord made, then you begin to see that statements don't conflict with God's intent. A good example is.......
Deut. 31: 15 Then the LORD appeared at the Tent in a pillar of cloud, and the cloud stood over the entrance to the Tent. 16 And the LORD said to Moses: "You are going to rest with your fathers, and these people will soon prostitute themselves to the foreign gods of the land they are entering. They will forsake me and break the covenant I made with them. 17 On that day I will become angry with them and forsake them; I will hide my face from them, and they will be destroyed. Many disasters and difficulties will come upon them, and on that day they will ask, 'Have not these disasters come upon us because our God is not with us?' 18 And I will certainly hide my face on that day because of all their wickedness in turning to other gods.
And when you consider the curses for disobedience which He laid out for the people beforehand, you see a plan and history unfolding throughout all of the situations which seem indicate a change of mind.....
Blessings for obedience and consequences of disobedience
The story of Saul is especially telling in respect to how God operates. Here's God suggesting a king over Israel which was foretold of in Deuteronomy. It was the peoples' wish to have a king rule over them just as was foretold of prior to the event.
Deut. 17: 14 When you enter the land the LORD your God is giving you and have taken possession of it and settled in it, and you say, "Let us set a king over us like all the nations around us," 15 be sure to appoint over you the king the LORD your God chooses. He must be from among your own brothers.
1 Samuel 8: 6 But when they said, "Give us a king to lead us," this displeased Samuel; so he prayed to the LORD. 7 And the LORD told him: "Listen to all that the people are saying to you; it is not you they have rejected, but they have rejected me as their king. 8 As they have done from the day I brought them up out of Egypt until this day, forsaking me and serving other gods, so they are doing to you. 9 Now listen to them; but warn them solemnly and let them know what the king who will reign over them will do."
1 Samuel 10: 23 They ran and brought him out, and as he stood among the people he was a head taller than any of the others. 24 Samuel said to all the people, "Do you see the man the LORD has chosen? There is no one like him among all the people."
Then the people shouted, "Long live the king!"
1 Samuel 12:16 "Now then, stand still and see this great thing the LORD is about to do before your eyes! 17 Is it not wheat harvest now? I will call upon the LORD to send thunder and rain. And you will realize what an evil thing you did in the eyes of the LORD when you asked for a king."
God did not say that He wouldn't remove His endorsement of a King. In fact, God removed His endorsement of Saul many years before Saul's death. God didn't replace Saul, but did develop a King which would become the forefather of Jesus. Just as Isaac was Abraham's second son, Jacob ursurped Esau, Jesus ursurped Adam,and Abel was greater than Cain, David(the second King) would become the greatest king of Israel.
The scriptures foretell Israel's disobedience from Moses' deathbead and of a king appointed according to the peoples' will during Moses' life. If you take the time to read the curses for disobedience, and then you consider in the next chapter God tells Moses specifically that Israel will be disobedient, and when you consider the entire history of the Jewish people you start to gain an understanding which is greater than the individual instances. An understanding which shows you a plan and intent from the beginning.
The tale of Hezekiah is similar to the story of the blind man which was made blind so that God could reveal His power to us through a sign. I've discussed the Hezekiah situation extensively on other threads extensively.
Rob
