77
Q.
Is there a scriptural basis for God changing God’s mind?
Rebecca Bowman Woods
Who is...
?
Rebecca Bowman Woods
I have watched the soap opera All My
Children off and on since it began.A.
The book of Jonah contains one of the best-known examples of God
changing God’s mind. This Sunday school staple about a prophet’s
reluctance to go and warn the people of Nineveh that they are
about to be destroyed is probably not historically accurate, but that’s beside
the point. Although Jonah is often read as a gentle warning not to try to escape
God’s calling (unless you like being thrown overboard and swallowed by a
fi sh), it also contrasts human compassion (with its limitations, expectations,
and baggage) with God’s compassion.
God seemed intent on destroying Nineveh and the people who lived
there, but they repented—from the king on down to the farm animals (hint:
Animals in sackcloth and ashes might be a humorous touch on the author’s
part). So “God changed his mind about the calamity that he had said he would
bring upon them; and he did not do it.” (Jon. 3:10b).
One of my favorite examples of God changing God’s mind (if your
defi nition of God includes Jesus) is found in Mark 7:24–30. A Syrophoenician
woman, a Gentile, approaches Jesus and asks him to rid her daughter of a
demon. Jesus’ response is shocking: “Let the children be fed fi rst, for it is not
fair to take the children’s food and throw it to the dogs.” In other words, his
mission and ministry are primarily for his own people, not outsiders like her.
She turns his answer around, reminding him that “even the dogs under the
table eat the children’s crumbs.” Not only does Jesus change his mind; he tells
her that it’s because of what she said.
What is interesting to me is that in both cases, God (Jesus) changes God’s
mind to extend mercy and to be more inclusive. It would be interesting to see
if this holds true for the rest of the Bible.