Does God Change His Mind?

By Jared Green       In Exodus 32, we find the end of Moses’ 40-day stay on the mountain with God. By this time, the Israelites became impatient and worried about Moses. From the time God began his deliverance of the people from Egypt, Moses had been Israel’s connection to God. Fearing Moses was out of the picture, they decided to revert to idol worship. At the people’s command, Aaron melted the Israelites’ gold jewelry, formed a golden calf, and the people worshiped a false god.     This narrative represents Israel’s first idol worship since entering their covenant with God, and God was understandably angry with his impatient, untrusting people. When God told Moses of Israel’s transgression, he said, “I have seen this people, and behold, it is a sti,-necked people. Now therefore let me alone, that my wrath may burn hot against them and I may consume them, in order that I may make a great nation of you” (32:9-10). Hearing God’s plan, Moses begged God not to destroy the people, reminding God of both the work he accomplished in delivering Israel from Egypt as well as the promises he made to their forefathers (32:11-13).     Following Moses’ response, the text tells us, “And the LORD relented from the disaster that he had spoken of bringing on his people” (32:14). Thanks be to God that he decided not to destroy his people! From a study of this text, however, a question arises. The NASB, for example, translates Exodus 32:14, “So the LORD changed His mind about the harm which He said He would do to His people.” How does a God who never changes (Malachi 3:6) change his mind?     We must first understand that God was justified in either decision. God’s justice would have been served if he had destroyed the people for their sin, and God’s justice was served in the punishment the guilty Israelites ultimately received because of their actions. Therefore, God was just when he “changed his mind.” Ultimately, we find the biblical truth that God can and does change his course of action when given the proper grounds to do so. In Scripture, we find God changing his course of action based on a person’s intercession (Exodus 32:11-14), repentance of the people (Jonah 3:10), and his compassion (Isaiah 54:7-8). In Exodus 32, God did not change his course of action because he made a mistake. Instead, God changed his action based on Moses’ intercession, and therefore did not change his integrity, his character, or his ultimate plans and purposes for his people.     As we consider that God is willing to change his course of action, such a truth should push us into a deeper, more faithful prayer life. The prayer of a righteous person has power (James 5:16), so let us be a praying people. May we prayerfully intercede on behalf of our country, our leaders, our church family, and our own struggles, believing in God’s power. God loves you, and so do I.

- Jared Green preaches the Calvert City Church of Christ in Calvert City, KY.  He may be contacted through the congregation's website: http://www.calvertchurchofchrist.com