Introduction
One of the most comforting doctrines of the Bible is the doctrine of the immutability of God, that is, the teaching that God doesn't change. We love passages such as Heb. 13:8, "Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever," or Mal. 3:6, "For I am the Lord, I do not change; therefore you are not consumed, O sons of Jacob." The idea that God doesn't change is also essential to the biblical teaching that God is perfect. If God is perfect in his essence and then he changes in something that is essential, then he is no longer perfect. The beloved answer in the Shorter Catechism concerning the definition of whom God is says, "God is a Spirit, infinite, eternal, and unchangeable, in his being, wisdom, power, holiness, justice, goodness, and truth."
All that being true, this passage introduces a problem to our understanding of God's immutability because of speaks of God repenting. When we think of repentance, we think of change. So, how does this fit with the overwhelming teaching of the Bible that God doesn't change?
I. First, Seeing the Problem, 11, 29. 35.
A. Notice what these three verses say concerning God.
1. In v. 11, God says that he greatly regrets establishing Saul as king over Israel.
2. In v. 29, Samuel says that part of the glory of God is the fact that he does not relent.
3. In v. 35, the narrator repeats what God said in v. 11 that he regretted making Saul king.
B. The issue is that all three verses use the same word, which commonly translated repent.
1. The NKJV, the ESV, the NIV, and the NASB all try to soften the impact of these verses by using different words in English to translate the same Hebrew word in this context (naham).
2. It seems that the KJV translators were less afraid of letting this word stand as is.
3. It is as if the modern translations of this particular passage thought that the doctrine that the Bible does not contradict itself needed a little help here.
1 Sam. 15:11, 29, 35 (KJV) – It repenteth me that I have set up Saul to be king: for he is turned back from following me, and hath not performed my commandments…. And also the Strength of Israel will not lie nor repent: for he is not a man, that he should repent…. and the Lord repented that he had made Saul king over Israel.
C. So, what does it mean that God repented from establishing Saul as king of Israel? We will get there in a few minutes.
II. This Is not the only Place the Bible Says God Repents or Change his Mind.
Gen. 6:5-7 – Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And the LORD was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart. So the LORD said, "I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth, both man and beast, creeping thing and birds of the air, for I am sorry that I have made them."
Jonah 3:3-5, 10 – So Jonah arose and went to Nineveh, according to the word of the LORD. Now Nineveh was an exceedingly great city, a three-day journey in extent. And Jonah began to enter the city on the first day's walk. Then he cried out and said, "Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!" So the people of Nineveh believed God, proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth, from the greatest to the least of them. Then God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; and God relented from the disaster that He had said He would bring upon them, and He did not do it.
III. Back to the Passage: It Makes Two Very Different Assertions about God and Repentance.
"It is surprising to read that the everlasting God, the creator of the ends of the earth, whose wisdom is unsearchable and who knows the end from the beginning, repents, that is, regrets or is sorry that he made Saul king." Ralph Dale Davis
A. First thing to keep in mind is that whatever this means, repentance here is not over sin.
B. There are several things going on here that we need to keep in mind.
1. God uses language we can understand even though language is limited to describe God fully.
a. He uses human forms to get a concept across – the arm of the Lord, the mouth of the Lord, the hand of the Lord, etc.
b. He describes himself in terms of human emotions even though he doesn't feel things exactly like we do.
2. There is more than that going on though – God as a personal God is really grieved by sin.
a. Saul's sin really grieved him.
b. God is immanently involved with the life of his people and this repentance or regretting shows that.
3. The "change of mind" described in this passages is consistent with God's revealed and immutable mode of operation – key passage to help us understand what is going on here.
Jer. 18:7-10 – The instant I speak concerning a nation and concerning a kingdom, to pluck up, to pull down, and to destroy it, if that nation against whom I have spoken turns from its evil, I will relent of the disaster that I thought to bring upon it. And the instant I speak concerning a nation and concerning a kingdom, to build and to plant it, if it does evil in My sight so that it does not obey My voice, then I will relent concerning the good with which I said I would benefit it.
a. God always hates evil and always loves righteousness.
b. Notice that Saul changed his ways – from serving the Lord to going against the Lord's direct command.
c. This is exactly what Samuel expresses in v. 29
1) Saul expresses a very superficial repentance aimed only at saving his face with his troops, 24-25, 30.
2) Saul wanted God to essentially change how he relates to sin.
3) In other words, Saul wanted God to ignore sin.
4) Samuel says, "No way!"
"God does not change his mind; he does change his response…. His actions change not because he has changed his character, but because we have changed our attitude." Tim Chester
IV. We Have an Unchanging God Who Is Deeply Involved with Everyday Life.
Num. 23:19 – God is not a man, that He should lie, nor a son of man, that He should repent. Has He said, and will He not do? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?
Ps. 102:26 – They will perish, but You will endure; Yes, they will all grow old like a garment; Like a cloak You will change them, And they will be changed.
Mal. 3:6 – For I am the Lord, I do not change; therefore you are not consumed, O sons of Jacob.
2 Cor. 1:20 – For all the promises of God in Him are Yes, and in Him Amen, to the glory of God through us.
Heb. 13:8 – Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.
Jam. 1:17 – Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.
V. God's Immutability Meets Everyday Life
A. To the wicked within the gates.
1. God loves his church and he will not put up with impurity in it.
2. Repent of your wicked ways and turn to God in Jesus Christ.
B. To the ones who are outside the gates.
1. God's free offer of salvation is unchanged, you come to him in faith and he will save you.
Rom. 10:9 – … that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.
2. God's hatred for sin hasn't changed either and his wrath will be poured either on you in an eternal hell or on the cross of Jesus if you come to him by faith.
C. To the ones who are in Christ Jesus by faith, rejoice because all the promises he has made to you are unchangeable, they are yes and amen in Christ Jesus.
Ps. 16:11 – You will show me the path of life; in Your presence is fullness of joy; at Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.
Ps. 37:4 – Delight yourself also in the LORD, and He shall give you the desires of your heart.
1 Jn. 1:9 – If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Lk. 12:32 – Do not fear, little flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom.
Jn. 14:27 – Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.
Mt. 6:33 – But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.
D. To husbands and wives.
1. God hasn't changed, he still hates divorce.
2. He hates divorce and everything that leads to divorce.
E. To parents
1. When we capriciously change or are inconsistent in the way we deal with our children, we make it hard for them to understand the unchangeable nature of God.
2. Instead, be faithful to what God says in his Word.
3. Don't worry about how your kids are going to react.
4. It is not up to you to decide whether you should do what God tells you do because you afraid your child might rebel and stop talking with you.
5. God is unchangeable and he has promised to be faithful to you.
F. To all, but especially to the young people.
1. Everyone around you will fail you at some point, which is normal since they are not God, it is not the end of the world.
2. There is only one who will never fail you: the unchanging God of the Bible.
2 Tim. 2:13 – If we are faithless, He remains faithful; He cannot deny Himself.
Conclusion
God is faithful. He will not change who he is and what he has said. And this is utterly comforting in a world that is always changing around us.
http://olympiabp.blogspot.com/2015/10/the-problem-of-repentance-1-sam-15.html
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