I love stories in the Old Testament that have discussions between man and God. These are stories that help us respond to the challenge of knowing and understanding God better. As a young Christian I read a book by John White, entitled Daring to Draw Near. It describes 10 prayers/interactions between man and God which changed the people who were participating in the exchange.
I was reminded of this book over the weekend when I heard an Old Testament sermon which referred to a point which said ‘God repented’. That statement may give a few people pause to think about. Why would God ever need to repent? If God’s character, by definition, is immutable, why would He ever change his mind? (e.g. Numbers 23:19 says- “God is not human, that he should lie, not a human being, that he should change his mind. Does he speak and then not act? Does he promise and not fulfill?”).
God is immutable
In no uncertain terms, God does not change. If he was at all fickle and oriented to changing His mind, how could we trust His promises? If we start with the premise that God does not change, how can we understand passages in the Old Testament where it seems as though God is changing His mind? Let’s look at an example.
In Genesis 18:16 and following, Abraham pleads to the Lord for Sodom. Sodom had become a pretty bad place. In verses 20 and 21, ‘20 Then the Lord said, “The outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is so great and their sin so grievous 21 that I will go down and see if what they have done is as bad as the outcry that has reached me. If not, I will know.”’
In effect, God is talking out loud so that Abraham has an idea of what is about to unfold. In verse 23, Abraham questions God: “… Will you sweep away the righteous with the wicked?” The discussion that follows sounds like Abraham is bargaining with God. Will you destroy them if there are 45 good people? 40? 30? 20? …10? With each question, God confirms he will have mercy if that number of people can be found. When the count gets to 10, Abraham relents on the questions.
God is open to our discourse
The exchange reveals something about Abraham. When the question started, he was not certain if he could see God as a God of mercy and compassion. In a series of questions, Abraham learns by degree that God is merciful. God started the exchange with 50 people. Abraham was comfortable in his understanding of God when the count reached 10 people.
It is OK to question God. The opportunity to question God is not a bad thing. It is an opportunity to come to a deeper understanding of God. That may seem unbalanced in some ways. Why doesn’t God just impose His will so that we instantly know what He thinks? Merely by asking this question we can detect the answer. God provides free will to humans. It is up to us to make decisions about how we will follow. Therein lies the challenge.
There is a childhood guessing game called ‘hot and cold’ that many should remember. The game leader calls out ‘you are getting warmer/colder/hotter’, etc. Without giving away the solution, the leader provides clues to help us find our way to the prize. When we are not on clear terms of communication with God, perhaps the most effective way for us to understand God is with the ‘hot and cold’ game. The solution is the same, but our direction on how we get there is guided until we have a solution.
How is your relationship with God? Are you open enough with Him to feel comfortable to ask for understanding instead of blaming him? It can be a challenge if we had a rocky background or childhood. We have such a great and powerful friend in our relationship with God, that we cannot and should not avoid the challenge of getting to know Him, and questioning Him when we do not understand. He will help us to know Him.
