Martin G. Klingbeil
So the LORD changed His mind about the harm which He said He would do to His people. Exodus 32:14.
The idea of God repenting does not seem to be compatible with the idea of an unchanging, everlasting God (Mal 3:6) whose designs are laid out from before the foundation of the world (Isa 51:16). Exodus 32:14 is one of a number of texts that apparently points to God changing His mind and going back on a decision. For example, God repented of having created man (Gen 6:6); of having made Saul king (1 Sam 15:11); and of thinking to destroy Jerusalem after David’s census (2 Sam 24:16).
The golden-calf episode – Exodus 32:14 serves as the climax in a dialogue between God and Moses on Mount Sinai. After Moses had been on the mountain longer than expected, the people of Israel distanced themselves from their leader (32:1) and in a spiritual sense returned to Egypt by worshipping the golden calf (32:4-6). Thus, they deliberately broke the covenant and forgot the solemn promises they had made to God a short while before (19:8; 24:3). God revealed to Moses on top of the mountain the ensuing scenes of image worship at the foot of the mountain (34:7-9) and announced His decision to destroy Israel. At the same time, God intended to remain faithful to Moses and make him “a great nation” (34:10).
Moses the intercessor – This invitation to Moses to make him a great nation echoes the covenant promises to Abraham and the patriarchs and is identical to it in its wording (Gen 12:2; 17:20; 18:18; 21:18; 46:3). It turned the conclusion of the discourse between God and Moses into a test of faith for the latter, inviting him to start all over again with a new and not so stubborn people; but at the same time it probed Moses’ identification with the people of Israel who were apostatizing at the foot of the mountain. In response, Moses offered a number of reasons for Israel’s continued existence (Exod 32:11-13), going so far as offering himself in lieu of the people (32:32), an assertion that marks him as one of the greatest Messianic types in the Old Testament. It is the fact that God has found a true intercessor who is ready to die for His people, and not Moses’ argumentative ability, that convinces the Lord to go back on His decision in verse 14.
The meaning of “repent” – Most modern translations draw on a linguistic analysis of the crucial verb in the sentence and render it with phrases such as “changed his mind” (NRSV), “relented” (NIV), or “renounced” (JPS). The Hebrew word nacham, according to the grammatical form used in this verse, can have the meaning “to be sorry, have compassion, suffer grief, relent, etc.” It can refer to the processing of feelings related to a personal loss, often through receiving comfort given by God (Isa 40:1; 49:13) or by humans (Gen 24:67; 37:35). In a few texts it refers to human repentance (Job 42:6; Jer 31:19).
Reasons for God’s “repentance” – In about a third of the 31 occurrences in the Old Testament in which the Hebrew word nacham is used in reference to God,1 He changed His mind in response to human activity. In Genesis 6:6 it is the wickedness of humankind that necessitates God’s changing His plan and bringing about the Flood (Gen 6:5). In 1 Samuel 15:11 it is the fact that Saul has turned his back on God that requires a change in God’s actions and results in Samuel’s search for a new king. Yet, in the same chapter, God’s immutability is particularly emphasized (v. 29). God also can relent from executing judgment, based on human repentance, as can be seen in Jonah’s experience in Nineveh (Jonah 3:9, 10; 4:2). Another factor that results in God’s changing His mind is human intercession, as the detention of the destroying angel above Jerusalem shows (2 Sam 24:17); this is also the case in Exodus 32:14 in which Moses intercedes for Israel.
The conditionality of God’s judgments – The concept that God’s decisions are at times dependent on human repentance is perhaps most thoroughly developed in Jeremiah 18:5-10 in which God changes His mind toward nations, depending on the human response. It is important to note that the theological keyword that normally characterizes human repentance (shub, “repent, return, turn back, go back”; e.g., Ezek 14:6) is never applied to God in these contexts. Thus, God never repents in the human sense of the term, i.e., because He has committed a mistake or a moral transgression although God can turn (shub) toward the repentant (Zech 1:3) and His anger can turn away (shub) from a person (Hos 14:4).
The difference between human and divine repentance – The Bible sometimes speaks anthropomorphically, i.e., it refers to God in human terms, but in using these terms one should keep in mind that the connotations may not necessarily be identical. While human repentance is always preceded by sin, God’s changing His mind can be preceded by human sin, human repentance, or human intercession. The consequence of human repentance is a change of character and means moving into a new direction towards God; whereas God’s changing His mind leads to a renewed integration of the human element into His overall plan of salvation. “God’s repentance is not like man’s repentance. ‘The Strength of Israel will not lie nor repent: for He is not a man, that He should repent.’ Man’s repentance implies a change of mind. God’s repentance implies a change of circumstances and relations” (PP 630).
1 Gen 6:6, 7; Exod 32:12, 14; Num 23:19; Judg 2:18; 1 Sam 15:11, 29 (2x); 2 Sam 24:16; 1 Chron 21:15; Pss 106:45; 110:4; Jer 4:28; 15:6; 18:8, 10; 20:16; 26:3, 13, 19; 42:10; Ezek 24:14; Joel 2:13, 14; Amos 7:3, 6; Jonah 3:9, 10; 4:2; Zech 8:14.
God desires man to exercise his
reasoning powers; and the study of the
Bible will strengthen and elevate the
mind as no other study can.
CSA 47