When we read the Bible, do we read what we believe or do we believe what we read? God is clearly immutable in nature and character (Malachi 3:6, Numbers 23:19, 1 Samuel 15:29). Yet he also seems to change his mind (Exodus 32:14, Jeremiah 26:3, 13,19; Jonah 3:10). I was reading an article by Stacia McKeever called "Change of Heart" and she had these examples of supposed contradictions to God's immutability (inability to change), but had this insight;
Stacia explains, "God's grief and regret aren't expressions of "I didn't do that right the first time; guess I better figure out something else to do.' Instead, God is grieving over disobedience and wickedness: a response that we should all have to sin. Again, this doesn't indicate a change in his nature or character; in fact, it is His holy nature that demands this response of grief. As finite, created beings, we understand that there are consequences that matter (Gal 6:7). Yet, the "relenting of God is, in many cases, the voice of compassion and mercy from a longsuffering God extended to sinful creatures in need of grace.
God's character does not change. However, He can change how He chooses to respond to an individual or nations' actions."
(on a side note these "contradiction" verse also talk about God not being like man...From How can Jesus be God, when Numbers 23:19 says that God is not a man or a son of man?
From the Bible, we know that God, in HIs holiness and righteousness, must punish sin and that His decreed punishment for sin is death (Gen 2:15-17; Romans 6:23). Yet we also know that God is full of grace and abounding in mercy, forging the repentant of their sins (Exodus 34:6-7). The balance between these two aspects of God's nature may be best summed up in this passage from Jeremiah:God expresses emotions like grief and regret (Gen 6:6, 1 Sam 15:11), emotional reaction to sin in those He created in His image. His emotions show he cares and loves us, what we do and don't do matters.
"If I announce that a certain nation or kingdom is to be uprooted, torn down, and destroyed, but then that nation renounces its evil ways, I will not destroy it as I had planned. And if I announce that I will plant and build up a certain nation or kingdom, but then that nation turns to evil and refuses to obey me, I will not bless it as I said I would." Jer 18:7-10 NLT
Stacia explains, "God's grief and regret aren't expressions of "I didn't do that right the first time; guess I better figure out something else to do.' Instead, God is grieving over disobedience and wickedness: a response that we should all have to sin. Again, this doesn't indicate a change in his nature or character; in fact, it is His holy nature that demands this response of grief. As finite, created beings, we understand that there are consequences that matter (Gal 6:7). Yet, the "relenting of God is, in many cases, the voice of compassion and mercy from a longsuffering God extended to sinful creatures in need of grace.
God's character does not change. However, He can change how He chooses to respond to an individual or nations' actions."
(on a side note these "contradiction" verse also talk about God not being like man...From How can Jesus be God, when Numbers 23:19 says that God is not a man or a son of man?
It is critical to understand at this point that the Bible is true in detail and in total—both the Old and New Testaments. So, when Jesus began teaching new things, the old things did not become untrue; they became unveiled. Remember what He said about the Law: “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them” (Matthew 5:17). All of Jesus’ new revelations work exactly the same way. The old knowledge was shadowy, and, as the Light of the world, Jesus dispelled the shadows (see Colossians 2:16–17). This process is not destructive of the old knowledge—it is instructive, as Philip’s encounter with the Ethiopian shows (Acts 8:30–35).
We must also consider what the Old Testament is really saying about God when it says He is not a human being. The point being made in Numbers 23:19, 1 Samuel 15:29, and Hosea 11:9 is that God does not lie. He is not fickle. His emotions do not change His eternal purposes. This is unlike fallen humanity, who cannot see the big picture, who often breaks promises, and whose feelings often cloud discernment. In other words, the statements that God is not a man are contrasting one aspect of God’s nature with a corresponding part of man’s. Saying, “God is not a man,” has nothing to do with whether or not God can ever exist in the flesh.
