Commenting on Jer 18:7-10, Protestant
Charles Feinberg wrote:
Verses 7–10 show that
in his rule over the nations, God treats all of them with grace. He does not
exercise his omnipotence arbitrarily or capriciously but conditions everything
ethically. Though the parable is meant principally for Judah (v.11), God deals
similarly with all nations. All people are given the opportunity to repent and
conform to God’s purpose. When the Scriptures speak of God’s relenting or
repenting, we must understand this in the light of Numbers 23:19. When used
of God, repentance never means what it does for man; it is a strong
anthropopathism. It must always undergo redefinition (cf. 4:28; 15:6). It is
impossible for God to repent as people do, for God has never done
wrong. He does act differently toward men and women when they turn from
disobeying him to obeying him (26:3, cf. also the case of Nineveh [Jonah
3:4–10]). In short, with God repentance is not a change of mind but is his
consistent response according to his changeless nature to the change in the
nation’s conduct. So in this parable the prophet is holding out the opportunity
for Judah to repent. (Charles L. Feinberg, "Jeremiah," in Frank E.
Gaebelein, ed., The Expositor's Bible Commentary, Volume 6: Isaiah,
Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel [Grand Rapids, Mich.: Zondervan, 1986], 491, emphasis added)
Such jives nicely with Latter-day Saint interpretations
of Num 23:19 and similar passages, as well as supporting the appropriateness of
using Jer 18:7-10 as biblical evidence of the contingent nature of prophecy.
For more on Num 23:19, see:
D. Charles Pyle on Hosea 11:9 (cf. Numbers 23:19)
John C. Peckham on Malachi 3:6-7 and Numbers 23:19
Francis I. Andersen and David Noel Freedman on Hosea 6:4; 11:8, 9
Francis I. Andersen and David Noel Freedman on 1 Samuel 15:29//Numbers 23:19
For more material addressing Jer 18:7-10,
see the discussion of this text at:
An Examination and Critique of the Theological Presuppositions Underlying Reformed Theology
