Does God change... His mind?

A few days back, a sophesticated friend reached out with this concern:

"If Numbers 23:19 says that God is not a man that He should change His mind, then how do we explain the story of King Hezekiah? Wasn't Hezekiah told he would die, only for God to add fifteen more years to his life after he prayed? Doesn't that mean God changed His mind?"

It's a thoughtful question and one that has been asked by many over the years. My response to them was as follows.

Inasmuch as your question sounds valid, it isn't. Here are my reasons for saying that.

1. The question is almost always asked out of the context of the passages in question. A text taken out of context becomes a pretext.

2. The question often seeks to justify men while accusing God of inconsistency. Men will always lose in such an undertaking.

I'm not here to defend Him though. He can do a better job at that.

So let's leave the texts for a moment and first look at the contexts in play. To note:

A. Two independent stories.

B. Two different individuals.

C. Two different situations.

D. Two different matters altogether.

What are the stories?

In Numbers, we find ourselves in a long-standing conflict between Israel and their cousins, the Moabites. Their king at the time was Balak, and his fear of Israel was not entirely without reason. As the Israelites journeyed toward the Promised Land, they requested passage through Moab, offering to pay for every drop of water they and their livestock would use. The request was denied, forcing Israel to take the longer route along the King's Highway.

Years later, God would address this hostility through the prophet Amos. But at this point in the story, Balak feared that Israel would eventually turn against him. Rather than seek peace, he sought protection through manipulation. He hired the prophet Balaam and requested him to place a curse upon Israel.

The rest of the story is familiar. Balaam could not curse whom God had blessed. Three attempts were made, and three attempts failed. In the process, seven prophetic messages were delivered. It is during one of these exchanges that Balaam turns to Balak and declares the words in question:

"God is not human, that He should lie, nor a son of man, that He should change His mind. Does He speak and then not act? Does He promise and not fulfill?" (Numbers 23:19)

Notice what is happening here. Balaam is not giving us a lecture on the doctrine of God's immutability. He is explaining to Balak why his plan has failed and will continue to fail. Balak believes that if he tries hard enough, pays enough, or asks enough times, God can be persuaded to reverse what He has already declared over Israel. Balaam's answer is simple: God is faithful to what He has spoken. He cannot be manipulated into abandoning His word.

Here we need to ask ourselves several questions.

1. Who was this said to?

2. Why was it said?

3. What did it mean to those who first heard it?

4. Which original Hebrew word was used for "mind," and what does it mean?

Now we shift to Kings.

Another story. Another king.

King Hezekiah develops a serious illness. It reaches a point where God sends the prophet Isaiah to tell him to set his house in order because he will not recover. Isaiah is simply stating the reality of the matter as it stands. Think of a doctor who has exhausted every available treatment and finally tells a patient, "We've done all we can. Prepare your family. You are not going to recover."

God is not saying, "I will kill you." He is saying, "You will not recover." Hezekiah, however, does something remarkable. He does not argue with Isaiah. He does not challenge the diagnosis. He turns to the wall and speaks to God.

In essence, his prayer says, "The situation is beyond man, but it is not beyond You. Here are my reasons. If it pleases You, heal me."

God hears his plea. He chooses to heal him. He then sends Isaiah back with a new report, together with the means through which the healing would come.

Again, think of a doctor who suddenly realizes that a procedure not previously attempted will actually save the patient. The prognosis changes because the intervention has changed. That is the picture I believe best fits what Isaiah is doing.

Here too, we should ask a few questions.

1. Is the word "mind" ever used in this story?

2. Does the passage itself say that God changed His mind?

3. Where, then, does the idea that God changed His mind come from?

My conclusion is this.

These are two completely different stories dealing with two completely different matters.

To Balak, God says, "Regarding this matter, I am not changing My mind." His blessing over Israel stands because He is faithful to His word. To Hezekiah, after hearing his petition, God says, "I will allow it and I will facilitate it."

Can God change His mind concerning a matter? Yes. Does God change? No.

His nature does not change. He remains the same throughout all generations. Malachi declares it (Malachi 3:6), James understood it (James 1:17), and the writer of Hebrews affirms the same truth concerning Christ (Hebrews 13:8).

So the issue is not whether God is consistent. The issue is whether we have allowed each passage to speak within its own context instead of forcing one story to answer questions that belong to another.