“And God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; and God repented of the evil, that he had said that he would do unto them; and he did it not.”
This text should be read carefully in line with the Thread about Elisha cursing teenagers who taunted him, in 2 Kings 2: 24. Also, in Isaiah 45: 7, we saw that God cannot create evil (in our day the word ‘evil’ refers to sin, but it had a wider meaning in older times). Just as God cannot create evil, so He cannot repent of evil, either. To repent is to stop sinning, turn from evil, and get back onto the narrow path. So, what does ‘repent’ mean in this text?
It means God had compassion on the people of Nineveh, and that forgiveness was already in His mind before Jonah went there. Jonah did not expect the people to call on God. He was terrified of going to Nineveh, a great city, but it was God’s command, so he had to go… though, at first, he tried to run away in a merchant ship! After being cast overboard, a “great fish” swallowed Jonah. After three days Jonah prayed earnestly to Jehovah to save him from the fish’s belly.
Jonah told the inhabitants that the city would fall. To his surprise the people all cried to God, hoping for forgiveness. When God saw they had turned from evil, he “repented of the evil” by not doing what He said he would do to Nineveh. Simply, it meant He had compassion and spared them. He did not change His mind, though He DID say what He would do if they rejected Him. If he had declared a strict punishment, He could not have ‘repented’. Nor can God change His mind. So, what we read means that God had forgiveness in His mind in eternity. As we see in Numbers 23:19, “God is not a man (and cannot) lie… or repent”. Instead, whatever He says He will do, He will do. What WE think was a change of mind, was actually what He planned anyway, if the people repented (were sorry and changed). We just need proper interpretation!
© 30 July 2024
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Published on www.christiandoctrine.com
Bible Theology Ministries
Swansea
Wales
United Kingdom