Can Gods Mind Be Changed...?

 

Is it possible to change Gods mind? A lot of people point to the story of King Hezekiah, who was sick and God sent a prophet to tell him that he would die. Hezekiah then prayed and pleaded with God and God then said Hezekiah could have 15 more years.

Now… let me break this down, so we can answer the question at hand

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Hezekiah was a direct descendant of King David. In 1^st Kings 9 vs. 5, God is talking to King Solomon and He says ‘I will establish the throne of your kingdom over Israel forever, as I promised David your father, saying ‘you shall not fail to have a man on the throne of Israel’

God had promised David, that he would always have a man on the throne. At the time that Hezekiah was told he would not recover from his sickness, he did not have a child. Hezekiah’s son Manasseh was born 3 years after God extended Hezekiah’s life.

 If Hezekiah had died at the time the threat of death came, the promise God made to David would have been broken and we all know how God keeps His promises. In fact, God did not give Hezekiah an extra 20 years, or an extra 7 years. He gave Hezekiah just enough time to have a son and raise him to an age where he could reign. Hezekiah’s son became king when he was 12. Note that God did not have to think about His response to Hezekiah’s prayer. It was already in His mind, in His plan to extend Hezekiah’s life by 15 years. I’ve always thought that God just wanted Hezekiah to humble himself and He knew a death threat would lead to that outcome.

So…Did Hezekiah change Gods mind?

 

Another example given was when God revealed to Abraham that He planned to burn Sodom and Gomorrah to the ground and Abraham began to negotiate with God. Genesis 18 vs.16 is where this story begins. Abraham bargains with God and in the end, God tells Abraham that if He finds 10 righteous people in Sodom, He will not burn Sodom down. I’ve heard people say that this story shows that God can be negotiated with in order to change His mind. 

What happens after Abraham’s negotiation? 2 angels went to Sodom and stayed with Lot (Abraham’s nephew). When they had eaten, a crowd of people came to Lots house trying to break the door down so they could ‘know the angels carnally’. After this, the angels tell Lot and his family to leave the city as it was about to be burnt to the ground.

Notice that the angels did not take the time to try and find 10 righteous people in Sodom as Abraham had negotiated with God. They went to one house and made their decision from the crowd that came to that house. There may have been righteous housewives at home with their children, to bring the number of righteous people to 10. We don’t know who else was out there. What we know, is that even after Abraham negotiated and asked God to save the city if He finds 10 righteous people, God still burnt the city to the ground.

Did Abraham change Gods mind?

Final example (I promise) Moses. The children of Israel created a Gold calf for themselves to worship since Moses had been gone way too long. Genesis chapter 32 tells this story. Moses is up the mountain spending time with God and he is informed (by God) that the people have built a gold calf and are worshipping it. God then asks Moses to let Him be so His ‘anger can burn hot against them and they may be consumed’. God wanted to wipe out all of them. Moses pleaded with God and asked God to spare them since He had made a promise to Abraham about these people. God then relented from the harm which He said He would do to His people. Moses changed Gods mind…right?

If you read further into the story of the children of Israel, you’ll find that the entire generation of Israelites who had created the gold calf died before they reached the Promised Land. God still wiped them out, He just relented at that time (because of the promise He made to Abraham) and kept them around long enough to produce the next generation of Israelites, who would then go on to the Promised Land. 

Did Moses change Gods mind?

Now, I’m not trying to say God is stubborn and unreasonable. He is not. BUT… His purposes do not change. Based on existing relationship and our actions, we might be able to get God to change His method in a particular situation or His timing on a particular action, but ultimately, Gods purpose, His will, is what will prevail. 

Someone once told me that God told Abraham about Sodom and Gomorrah because He wanted Abraham’s permission to do what He planned. I must say, as nice as this idea is. The idea that God will actually seek our permission before He does something, is well…not true. He does not need anyone’s permission. If anything, God told Abraham because they were friends. God does confide in those He considers friends, but He does not seek permission from man to do anything. He is all knowing, all seeing. Our views are limited; we don’t know anything beyond what we perceive to be true; why would God seek our permission?  God does not seek permission; He simply confides in and builds relationships with His friends.