Picture Scripture: “Moved” (Genesis 6:5-7)

(Genesis 6:5-7)
“5 Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. 6 The Lord was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart. 7 The Lord said, ‘I will blot out man whom I have created from the face of the land, from man to animals to creeping things and to birds of the sky; for I am sorry that I have made them.’ ”

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On the surface, Scripture seems to say that GOD regretted something He chose to do. But if GOD regretted what He chose to do, wouldn’t that mean GOD made a mistake? And if GOD made a mistake, wouldn’t that mean He is not GOD because He is not perfect? As good detectives, we should never accept something on face value. Truth seekers and children of GOD need to fully investigate with integrity in order to explore the depth beyond the surface.

Perceived Problem:
Genesis 1:31 says, “God saw all that He had made, and behold, it was very good.” So, how could GOD regret the creation He called good?

Scriptural Solution:
First, Genesis 1:31 and 6:6-7 speak of humankind at different times and under different conditions. The former (1:31) deals with humans in the original state of creation; however, the latter (6:6-7) refers to the human race after the Fall and just before the flood. GOD was pleased with humans in their intended design while they had been free from sin; however, GOD was displeased with humans due to them freely choosing to live evil lives (as stated in 6:5).

But what does it mean when Scripture says that GOD was sorry? How could GOD be sorry? Was GOD admitting He made a mistake? No. GOD does not change, neither His mind, His will, nor His nature.(Numbers 23:19; 1Samuel 15:29; Malachi 3:6; Hebrews 6:17; James 1:17). The word “sorry” is the English translation of the Hebrew word נָחַם [H5162] nacham (naw-kham’), which is sometimes translated as “repent,” “to feel sorrow,” “to be grieved,” “comforted,” “changed his mind,” or “was moved.” Essentially, this word means “moved” or “turned.” While this word does mean that GOD felt sorrow, it also implied that GOD arrived at a turning point in which He would choose a new course of action and thus He turned and moved in that new direction. While GOD’s final purpose for humanity does not change, His means to carry that purpose forward may change according to the choices people make. And for this reason it is written in Ezekiel 24:14 that, “according to your ways and according to your deeds I will judge you.” Like a master chess player, GOD makes His move based on the moves people make, always positioning Himself with the winning position. GOD moves, but GOD doesn’t make mistakes; rather, humans make the mistakes and then GOD moves based on our mistakes.

In Genesis 6:6, it is written that GOD was grieved. Thus, GOD’s sorrow or turning point is directly linked with His grief. GOD was sorrowful that He created humans for a specific purpose yet they rebelled against His will for their lives and freely chose to live evil lives instead. And GOD’s grief is directly linked with 6:5 in that their wickedness was great and their thoughts were evil continually. The humans refused to turn (repent) from the path of evil and so GOD turned to act according to His nature in justice.

Now, the other side of the exact same coin can be seen in Exodus 32:14 where it is written “So the Lord changed His mind about the harm which He said He would do to His people.” The same word nacham was used to describe how GOD relented from immediate judgment.

Perceived Problem:
While Moses was upon the mountain receiving the Law from GOD, the people were at the foot of the mountain worshiping the golden calf which they had created (Exodus 32:4-6). When GOD instructed Moses to go down to them, He told Moses that He would consume them and instead make a great nation from Moses (32:10). When Moses heard this, he pleaded with GOD to turn from His anger. And in 32:14 GOD relented. But doesn’t this imply that GOD changed His mind and that He took an order from a mere human being?

Scriptural Solution:
It must be emphatically maintained that GOD does not change (Numbers 23:19; 1Samuel 15:29; Malachi 3:6; Hebrews 6:17; James 1:17). He neither changes His mind, His will, nor His nature. There are several arguments that demonstrate the immutability of GOD. We will consider three.

First, anything that changes does so in some chronological order. There must be a point before the change and a point after the change. Anything that experiences a before and an after exists in time, because the essence of time is seen in the chronological progress from before to after. However, GOD is eternal, outside time, and thus not limited by time (John 17:5; 2Timothy 1:9). Therefore, there cannot be in GOD a series of before’s and after’s. But, if GOD cannot be in a series of before’s and after’s, then GOD cannot change, because change necessarily involves before and after.

Second, anything that changes must change for better or for worse, for a change that makes no difference is not a change at all. Either something that is needed is gained that was previously absent, which is a change for the better, or something that is needed is lost that was previously possessed, which is a change for the worse. But, if GOD is perfect, He does not need anything; therefore, He cannot change for the better. Likewise, if GOD were to lose something, He would not be perfect; therefore, He cannot change for the worse. The logical conclusion is that GOD cannot change.

Third, relating directly to the passages under examination, if anyone were to change his mind, it must be because new information has come to light that was not previously known, or the circumstances have changed that require a different kind of attitude or action. Now, if GOD changed His mind, it cannot be because He has learned some bit of new information that He did not previously know, for GOD is omniscient — He knows all (1Kings 8:39; Psalm 139:1–4,15–16; 147:5; Isaiah 46:10; Jeremiah 1:5; Matthew 9:4; 10:29–30; 12:25; Mark 2:6–8; Luke 6:8; John 1:47–48; 4:18; 11:11–15; Acts 1:24; 1Corinthians 2:10–11; 1John 3:20). Therefore, it must be because the circumstances have changed that require a different attitude or action. But, if the circumstances have changed, it is not necessarily the case that GOD has changed His mind. It may simply be the case that, since the circumstances have changed, GOD’s relationship to the new circumstances are different because they have changed, not GOD.

When Israel was at the foot of the mountain engaged in idol worship, GOD told Moses that His anger was burning against them and He was prepared to destroy them in immediate judgment. However, when Moses interceded for them, the circumstances were changed. GOD’s attitude toward sin is always anger, and His attitude toward those who call to Him is always an attitude of mercy. Before Moses prayed for Israel, they were under GOD’s judgment. By Moses’ intercession for the people of Israel, he brought them under GOD’s mercy. GOD did not change; rather, the circumstances changed. The language used in this passage is called anthropomorphic, or man-centered, language. It is similar to someone saying, “The house is on my right” but then moving and saying, “Now the house is on my left.” Neither of these statements are meant to imply that the house had moved. Rather, it is anthropomorphic language from a human perspective to describe that the person had changed his/her position in relation to the house. Or in the specific Scriptures under examination, the Rock — the solid immovable foundation, who is the Lord (Deuteronomy 32:4; 2Samuel 22:2-3; Psalm 118:22; Isaiah 8:14; 28:16; Matthew 7:24-25; Luke 6:46-49; Acts 4:8-12; 1Corinthians 3:11; 10:4; Ephesians 2:20; 1Peter 2:4-8). When Moses said that GOD relented, it was a figurative way of describing that Moses’ intercession successfully changed the relationship of the people to GOD. Moses brought the nation under the mercy of GOD’s grace, and out from under the immediate judgment of GOD. And so GOD does not change, neither His mind, His will, nor His nature.

When GOD first initiated His judgment to destroy the people, He was acting consistently with His justice. When Moses interceded for the people, GOD relented in order to act consistently with His mercy. The truth is that as people change their actions and wills, GOD changes His response to them, according to their deeds. The Relentless Rescuer will relent if one decides to repent. Now, ponder: was the conversation between GOD and Moses a test for Moses’ leadership? Would Moses fight for his flock? Was he only concerned about what others would think or did he genuinely care about them? I believe that GOD relented from immediate judgment for at least two reasons: (1) GOD desired to honor the love Moses had for the people; (2) GOD wanted to give Moses an opportunity to see for himself why those wicked people deserved judgment. After all, GOD knew that the wicked people would die; in fact, it happened not much later (Exodus 32:27-28). Moses traveled back down the mountain to find the Israelites worshiping a golden calf. As soon as Moses saw what GOD had already seen, it was Moses who changed his mind, realizing that GOD’s judgment had been right all along. However, the delay of GOD’s judgment was GOD’s mercy and the people’s opportunity for learning.

GOD Himself explains what causes Him to nacham, to turn and move in that new direction. It is written in Jeremiah 18:7-10: “7 At one moment I might speak concerning a nation or concerning a kingdom to uproot, to pull down, or to destroy it; 8 if that nation against which I have spoken turns from its evil, I will relent concerning the calamity I planned to bring on it. 9 Or at another moment I might speak concerning a nation or concerning a kingdom to build up or to plant it; 10 if it does evil in My sight by not obeying My voice, then I will think better of the good with which I had promised to bless it.”

When GOD said He would “relent” or “think better of the good,” it is the same word nacham. In fact, this is exactly what happened to Ninevah when Jonah finally preached the message of repentance to them — they turned (repented), and then GOD turned (relented). It is written in Jonah 3:10: “When God saw their deeds, that they turned from their wicked way, then God relented concerning the calamity which He had declared He would bring upon them. And He did not do it.”

And so this word in proper context throughout Scripture needs to be understood as a turning point in how GOD responds to the turning points of what humankind freely chooses to do. It’s like a contract agreement with special stipulations of “if that, then this.” In GOD’s omniscience, with every turning point of what humans will choose to do, GOD has already planned ahead His turning points on how He will respond.

Joel 2:13 says, “And rend your heart and not your garments. Now return to the Lord your God, for He is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger, abounding in lovingkindness and relenting of evil.”

GOD essentially said, “Don’t tear your clothing in a pious performance. Stop putting on a religious show for the people. Instead, may your heart break so that you will learn to live righteously. If you turn, I’ll turn. If you repent, I’ll relent. I want to relent. But I am Holy. Please do not invite GOD’s wrath upon yourself because you refuse to separate yourself from sin.”

Our hearts should break just like Jeremiah and Paul (Jeremiah 8:21; Romans 9:1-3).

In Genesis 6:5-7, when GOD saw all the evil, His responsive action was to nacham — He turned and moved in order to enact judgment. Centuries later, in response to the same evil, the Lord’s action was to nacham — He turned and moved; however, this time He relented from judgment as the Relentless Rescuer, willingly sacrificing Himself on the cross in order to pay your debt of death due to sin (John 10:17-18; Romans 5:6-8; 6:23). On the surface, it seems as if GOD changed His mind from the Old Testament to the New Testament, but that’s not true. GOD never changed His mind — Christ on the cross had been the plan from the beginning. Every act of judgment had been in response to what humans freely chose to do. However, the free gift of salvation was in response to what humans could not do — save themselves.

Understand this: GOD had a plan from the beginning. His plan involved “very good” creation (Genesis 1:31) with the great gift of free will. Just as a parent expresses sorrow over a rebellious child, GOD expressed sorrow due to our rebellion. GOD’s plan involved a cleansing destruction from water (Genesis 6:17), a complete sacrificial atonement of sins (Hebrews 10:10), a cleansing death and new birth from water (Romans 6:3-4), and then a final destruction and cleansing of fire (Luke 17:29-30; 2Peter 3:10; Revelation 20:9). It pained GOD that His beloved people had to endure pain and suffering in order to inherit eternal life, but this life on this earth is the necessary furnace of faith for refinement (Isaiah 64:8; Jeremiah 18:3-6; Proverbs 25:4-5; 2Timothy 2:21) so that we can dwell in His holy presence. Remember: GOD loves us and wants us to live in His holy presence, but evil/sin and righteousness/holiness simply cannot coexist (1Corinthians 10:21; 2Corinthians 6:16; Ephesians 5:6-12). Every “coexist” bumper sticker you see on a car is evil illogical nonsense.

Now, if you want to fully understand why GOD would relent, then you need to fully understand why humans need to repent. The truth is that everything you do causes GOD to turn and move in a new direction according to the choices you make. But is GOD moved by your faith or does He turn because you have grieved Him due to the evil you choose to practice (Romans 8:8; Hebrews 11:6)? In GOD’s predestined “if this, then that” foreknowledge, the Lord chose to forgive and invite into salvation all people who place their faith in Christ Jesus (John 3:16,36; 6:40; Romans 8:29-30; Ephesians 1:4-6,11). From the very beginning, GOD had already “changed His mind” to remember your sins no more the moment you place your faith in Christ Jesus and walk according to His will (Isaiah 43:25; Jeremiah 31:33-34; Hebrews 8:7-13; 10:14-18). Therefore, GOD didn’t actually change His mind about sin. For everyone who places his/her faith in Christ Jesus, the circumstances have changed and thus GOD’s relationship to the new circumstances are different because they have changed, not GOD.

(Psalm 25:4-7)
“4 Make me know Your ways, O Lord;
Teach me Your paths.
5 Lead me in Your truth and teach me,
For You are the God of my salvation;
For You I wait all the day.
6 Remember, O Lord, Your compassion and Your lovingkindnesses,
For they have been from of old.
7 Do not remember the sins of my youth or my transgressions;
According to Your lovingkindness remember me,
For Your goodness’ sake, O Lord.”

Amen.

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The Artist J:

We know that God is all-knowing, unchanging, eternal, and transcendent, meaning outside of time. Everything that God does is good, and at no point can God ever do something not good. We also know that God is sovereign, meaning He reigns entirely over creation in accordance with His plans from the very beginning to the very end, as Ephesians 1:11 says when it says that God works all things according to the counsel of His will. God has planned out everything from all eternity with His perfect foreknowledge; not even a sparrow falls to the ground apart from the Father, as Jesus says in Matthew 10:29.

Yet there are verses in Scripture that speak of God regretting or repenting, or changing His mind on something, like in Genesis 6:5-7 which 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. And the Lord regretted [or was greatly sorrowful] 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.’ ”

Another verse like this is in the book of 1Samuel. During this time in history God appointed a man named Saul to be king over Israel because the people of Israel wanted an earthly king. God warned them in chapter 8 that it would be harder on them, but Israel didn’t listen to God’s advice and so God gave them Saul. Saul does turn out to be a bad king just as God warned them, but eventually God would use man’s evil choices of wanting a king over God to still work things out for good by giving them David, whose line of descendants would be Jesus Christ — God in the flesh — God as an earthly King. Yet in 1Samuel 15:11, God says “I regret that I have made Saul king, for he has turned back from following me and has not performed my commandments.”

So does this mean that God felt that He made a mistake in making Saul king? No. God doesn’t make mistakes, and He knows that. But God was still greatly hurt and sorrowful by Saul’s sinful actions. God is a very personal God, mourning with those who mourn, feeling joy and being pleased by faith, and anger and grief towards sin. But we can be positive that God did not feel like He made a mistake by His own actions, which are always perfect. Here’s why: the author of 1Samuel, in order to clarify the matter, writes in the same chapter (15) saying in verse 29 that “the Glory of Israel [God] will not lie or have regret, for he is not a man, that he should have regret.”

So 1Samuel 15 shows us that in some type of way God does regret or repent, but not in the type of way we as humans think of regret or repentance because God is not a man. Numbers 23:19 likewise says, “God is not a man, that He would lie, Nor a son of man, that He would change His mind; Has He said, and will He not do it? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?” So it’s not that God regrets, repents or changes His mind like He feels that He made a mistake as humans would, because these verses make it absolutely clear that God doesn’t change His mind as humans do. So whatever is going on here is not what we as humans would interpret as regret, or repentance. Yet it is similar enough that the author describes it in anthropomorphic terms such as regret, or changing His mind, which seems to be the closest way of describing what God is doing in limited human terms that we can relate to, but this type of “changes His mind” is completely unique to God.

We as humans regret, repent or change our minds when we ourselves have done something wrong, or become aware of new information. God, on the other hand, in His foreknowledge has all information and knows that He certainly did not make a mistake. What we can be completely and utterly sure of is that God did not somehow regret things because He was somehow surprised that man sinned. Though sin grieves God, God had already completely and entirely known that man would fall into sin before God even started creating anything. God had even planned on man’s fall. We can be absolutely certain of this through God’s plan through Jesus Christ to pay for our sin and show mercy to God’s elect (Christians).

God knew man would sin when He created the world because Revelation 13:8 tells us that all of God’s elect were written in God’s Book of Life of the Lamb from before the foundation of the world. Ephesians 1:4-5 says “Even as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before Him. In love He predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of His will.” Also, in 2Timothy 1:9 it says, God “saved us [Christians] and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works but because of his own purpose and grace, which He gave us in Christ Jesus BEFORE THE AGES BEGAN.”

Nothing surprises God. God knows all things, which means He cannot learn, because there is never any new information for Him to learn. A.W. Tozer, in his book “The Attributes of God” puts it this way:
“That God is omniscient is not only taught in the Scriptures, it must be inferred also from all else that is taught concerning Him. God perfectly knows Himself and, being the source and author of all things, it follows that He knows all that can be known. And this He knows instantly and with a fullness of perfection that includes every possible item of knowledge concerning everything that exists or could have existed anywhere in the universe at any time in the past or that may exist in the centuries or ages yet unborn.
God knows instantly and effortlessly all matter and all matters, all mind and every mind, all spirit and all spirits, all being and every being, all creaturehood and all creatures, every plurality and all pluralities, all law and every law, all relations, all causes, all thoughts, all mysteries, all enigmas, all feeling, all desires, every unuttered secret, all thrones and dominions, all personalities, all things visible and invisible in heaven and in earth, motion, space, time, life, death, good, evil, heaven, and hell.
Because God knows all things perfectly, He knows no thing better than any other thing, but all things equally well.”

So God does not “change His mind” due to a making a mistake or something He’s done wrong, or lacking information. How God is unique is because He does know that He must do what is RIGHT and enact justice for OUR wrongdoings, and that grieves Him, yet Scripture shows that repentance may cause God to shift from His administering of wrath into that of mercy.

As Jeremiah 18:7-10 says, “At one moment I might speak concerning a nation or concerning a kingdom to uproot, to pull down, or to destroy it; if that nation against which I have spoken turns from its evil, I will relent concerning the calamity I planned to bring on it. Or at another moment I might speak concerning a nation or concerning a kingdom to build up or to plant it; if it does evil in My sight by not obeying My voice, then I will think better of the good [no longer do] which I had promised to bless it.”

God may honor people’s faith in repentance by pardoning the calamity He was going to bring upon them. Micah 7:18 says, “Who is a God like you, pardoning iniquity and passing over transgression for the remnant of his inheritance? He does not retain his anger forever, because he delights in steadfast love.”

God’s “changing His mind” in Scripture seems many times to correspond with His administering wrath or grace toward people. God delights in showing mercy, so relenting from wrath is consistent with His nature. God is immutable, meaning that His very nature, or who God is will always consistently stay the same. And God has consistently and unchangingly let people know from the beginning of Scripture that sin and disobedience invokes destruction and brings about death. The wages of sin is death. On the other hand, God has consistently shown that repentance and obedience in faith pleases Him, and brings about mercy and eternal blessings. God stays consistent in this stance and never changes; rather, what changes is not God but a person’s obedience/disobedience towards God that is ever changing.

Yet when people and nations are disobedient to God to the point of invoking His wrath and severe punishment, instead of simply destroying the guilty party immediately, Scripture shows that God usually tells and warns someone that God is close to judgment. Then this person usually always prays and mediates on the guilty party’s behalf, or they may warn the people headed for destruction to repent and stop sinning so they won’t be destroyed.

An example of this is when God came to Abraham directly as a friend and warned Abraham that He was about to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah for their wickedness. God could’ve simply destroyed the cities without saying anything and He would have been perfectly just to do so. God can do whatever He pleases. But instead, Scripture says that the Lord said, “Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do?” God knew Abraham would plead with Him on the people’s behalf because Abraham’s nephew, Lot, was in Sodom. Sin requires God’s justice, but now on account of one man’s righteous plea, God allowed those who were obedient to His words to be called out of the cities’ destruction when He sent messenger angels on Abraham’s behalf to Sodom. God’s judgment did befall the cities, but Abraham’s mediation allowed for those who believed and obeyed God’s words to be saved. And this was always God’s purpose in telling Abraham.

Another example can be seen in Job 42:7-8 when God said that His anger burned against Job’s friends because they didn’t speak right about Him. God sent them to Job and he prayed for them. And God said “For I will accept his prayer not to deal with you according to your folly. For you have not spoken of Me what is right, as My servant Job has.” So Eliphaz the Temanite and Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar the Naamathite went and did what the Lord had told them (repented), and the Lord accepted Job’s prayer and God’s anger ceased from them.

Another example is in Exodus 32:7-14 when God tells Moses that the Israelites had created a golden calf to worship, and that He now was about to destroy them. God didn’t have to tell Moses, but He did. The Lord spoke to Moses as man speaks to His friend. When Moses pleaded with Him, it says, “the Lord changed his mind about the terrible disaster he had threatened to bring on his people.”

Now destruction did still come upon the unrepentant. Three thousand Israelites died that day when Moses came down the mountain, but like with Abraham, God spared the repentant who listened to God’s words through Moses on account of one man mediating on their behalf. God’s justice required their destruction for their sin, but by God telling Moses that He would have to destroy them, God knew that Moses, who was faithful to God, would pray for the Israelites in order that God would relent and show mercy to all those who repented and sided with Moses and God. God showed grace toward Israel who was sinning, by getting Moses to intercede on their behalf so that God would show mercy to those who repented. It’s a representation of God’s sovereignty and omniscient foreknowledge.

Another example is nearly all of the prophets in the Old Testament. They all have practically the same story. God was going to destroy a nation for their disobedience and sin toward Him, yet God in His mercy let His prophets know of this destruction in order that they would pray, and lament, weep over, preach, and tell these nations to repent and perhaps God would relent. The prophets mediated on the people’s behalf.

All these examples throughout Scripture have the same pattern. So why does God do this? Why does God always tell someone and warn of the destruction beforehand? There are at least two reasons. One, because God is by nature merciful as well as just. The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise, His promise being that His righteous judgement will come upon sin. Yet God is patient toward us, showing mercy, and not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance as 2Peter 3:9 says. Having to bring destruction grieves God, saying in Ezekiel 18:23, “Have I any pleasure in the death of the wicked, declares the Lord GOD, and not rather that he should turn from his way and live?”

And secondly and ultimately God established these examples to show us Christ. All these examples are a type and shadow of Jesus, our righteous mediator in our own dire situation.

The whole world is headed for the destruction of God’s wrath. 2Peter 3:7 says, “the heavens and earth that now exist are stored up for fire, being kept until the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly.” And all of us were once sinners and enemies of God, headed for that destruction, but Jesus knew from the Father just as Abraham, Job, Moses, and Jonah, and all the prophets, about this calamity. Jesus Christ interceded on our behalf through the cross, but unlike the examples, Jesus didn’t only preach or pray for us, but bore that judgment on our behalf! Because justice must take place, but Jesus rose again to life, showing that God’s wrath was satisfied in all those who repent of their unbelief and trust on Christ to save them. Just like Sodom and Abraham, and the Israelites and Moses, even though the destruction is still coming, all those who follow, trust and side with Christ will be delivered from that destruction on account of Christ. Even in spite of our previous sin. Because we have the ultimate mediator constantly speaking on our behalf between us and God. All the other examples were just shadows being casted by the light of the Father, pointing us to the object of our faith and those shadows. Christ Jesus! Jesus is our spokesman who for all eternity made the Father “change his mind”, whatever that may mean as apart from the human sense of the phrase, about His wrath toward us. For 1Timothy 2:5 says, “For there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus.”