Week 14 1 Samuel 15
Samuel told Saul something about the Lord: the Glory of Israel will not lie or change His mind; for He is not a man that He should change His mind. (Saul might have already known that. But in this chapter he got a reminder.)
I like this verse because it says something specific about what the Lord is like. But the verse is also a bit concerning because a few weeks ago I read another verse that said: so the Lord changed His mind about the harm which He said He would do to His people.
Samuel says that the Lord doesn’t change his mind. Moses says that he does. Who’s right? Maybe both.
The thing is that these are two different scenarios. Samuel is making a comment about the Lord’s basic nature. He doesn’t change. There are no character mutations with the Lord. He has original qualities that don’t metamorphize. In his essentiality the Lord is non-evolutionary. And why would he be? He’s constitutionally flawless so any change he made to himself would be a step down.
The situation in Exodus is different. In Exodus the Lord does change his mind because he’s changing his response to changing circumstances. Personally I think the verse is clearer if it said (something like) the Lord’s reaction is adjusted in response to developing circumstances.
The Lord is consistent within himself. And he responds to the environment.
Note: quotes from 1 Samuel 15:29 & Exodus 32:14 (NASB). End-of-month reading: 34% of the bible read.