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The intended effect upon the mind by the use of this disconnected "proof text" is that
God never did and never can repent, and that all contrary passages, such as those already
quoted, must somehow be modified in view of this oracular statement. The exact
opposite of the inaccurate construction thus put upon Samuel's words is the inspired
intention. What Samuel told Saul was, that nothing he did, or promised to do, would
cause God to change His mind as to repenting that He had made him king. If we hold the
truth we shall welcome the context of any passage. Here it is:
"Saul said unto Samuel, I have sinned . . . . . turned again with me . . . . . Samuel said
. . . . . I will not return with thee: for thou hast rejected the word of the Lord, and the
Lord hath rejected thee from being king over Israel . . . . . The Lord . . . . . hath given it to
a neighbour of thine, that is better than thou. And also the Strength of Israel will not lie
nor repent for He is not a man, that He should repent" (I Sam. 15: 24-29).
Lest we should think that God did "repent of His repentance" Samuel reiterates in
verse 35 what he had said in verse 11.
The reader who has been expecting words of comfort in times of trouble may find
much cause for disappointment in the reading of this article, but if he ponders the truth
that has been established, irrespective of the particular words "grieve" or "repent", he
will be convinced that God can and does feel grief; that He can and does change His
mind when wickedness or pity or any sufficient reason is forthcoming, and if this be once
established, the heart will be free from the thrall imposed upon it by the doctrine of fixed
decrees, wherein God is no more free than is an arithmetician free in the use of the
multiplication table. The heart will thus be free to rejoice in the teaching of Scripture,
that God enters into the burden and the misery of His creatures, and that the suffering of
the believer is in reality a share, small though it be, of the great burden borne by the heart
of God.
#3.
pp. 57 - 59
In our last article we were concerned mainly with establishing the fact that God can
feel grieved, that He can and does change His plans, and that He is not aloof from the
sorrow and misery of man, made in His Own image. We must now proceed to examine
other passages that bear upon this most important truth.
"How shall I give thee up, Ephraim? How shall I deliver thee, Israel? How shall I
make thee as Admah? How shall I set thee as Zeboim? Mine heart is turn within Me,
My repentings are kindled together. I will not execute the fierceness of Mine anger, I
will not return to destroy Ephraim, for I am God, and not man; the Holy One in the midst
of thee: and I will not enter into the city" (Hos. 11: 8, 9) [a reference to Sodom and
Gomorrah, as Admah and Zeboim (Gen. 14: 8) prove].
What a blessed passage, and what a light it throws upon the character of God! Some
may say that, as "He is God and not man", therefore He will remain adamant in His