THE ATHEIST'S COMPLAINT:
Does God change? Malachi 3:6, James 1:17 and 1 Samuel 15:29 say He does not, but Jonah 3:10 and Genesis 6:6 say He does. Is there a contradiction?

RESPONSE:
To set the verses listed against one another, without thought for the context of each one is dishonest and misleading. Let us consider each text in context.

The text in Malachi 3:6 is an affirmation of the consistency of God's justice. In times past, His judgement was "...against sorcerers, against adulterers, against perjurers, against those who exploit wage earners and widows and orphans, and against those who turn away an alien.." (3:5), and so it will be when He comes for judgement again.

In James 1:17, the Lord is contrasted with the lights (ie. sun, moon, stars). With them, there is constant change. The Lord is consistent in what He does. We can trust and rely upon His unchanging nature.

In 1 Samuel 15, Saul is rebuked by Samuel for not keeping the Lord's will. Thus, he reveals that the Lord had taken the kingdom from Saul and given it to another (v 28). Of the Lord, Samuel says "...the Strength of Israel will not lie nor relent. He is not a man, that He should relent." Samuel speaks of two common traits among men, and perhaps especially among leaders. The Lord is not a man, and so why should we expect that He should conduct Himself with the same weakness of a man? Saul immediately repented (though following chapters prove it to be insincere), but that would not sway the Lord's decision to take the kingdom from him.

In Jonah 3, the prophet has spoken the word of the Lord to the people of Nineveh, saying, "Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!" (v 4). Notice the action these words prompted, "So the people of Nineveh believed God, proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth, from the greatest to the least of them." (v 5). The king made a decree, "...let man and beast be covered with sackcloth, and cry mightily to God; yes, let every one turn from his evil way and from the violence that is in his hands. Who can tell if God will turn and relent, and turn away from His fierce anger, so that we may not perish?" (v 8-9). The end result, God relented, and did not destroy Nineveh. This in no way contradicts the statement made formerly by Samuel. God is fully capable of changing his mind, of relenting. He saw that the people sincerely repented, and thus He relented from the planned destruction of Nineveh. His desire was that they not be destroyed, else He would not have sent the prophet to them.

In Genesis 6:6, we are told of the grief the Lord felt upon seeing the great wickedness which man had fell to. We are told "...the LORD was sorry that He had made man on the earth..." Thus, He determined to destroy them from the earth (v 7), and begin anew, with Noah (v 8). This situation is much like the former discussed, except that the Lord did not relent from destroying the people in Noah's day. As Jonah was sent to preach to the people of Nineveh, Noah preached to the people of his day (2 Peter 2:5), but none, except his immediate family responded.

What can we conclude from looking at these texts? God is unchanging in that He bestows good upon the inhabitants of the earth (Matthew 5:45). He is a just God, executing judgment on those who walk wickedly, and relenting from destroying those who are repentent of their evil ways. If there is a contradiction, in this, I fail to see it. Rather, we are witness to the "...goodness and severity of God..." (Romans 11:22).

There is no contradiction.

This article is a response to Skeptic's Annotated Bible, but original article is no longer listed

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