Wednesday, April 29, 2020

Reformed Protestant Apologist on God "Relenting" in the Book of Jonah


Notwithstanding the overall effort to be driven more by a desire not to concede any ground to those who hold to contingent foreknowledge, the conditional nature of prophecy and the like, the following from an Evangelical apologist about God “relenting” in the book of Jonah is rather insightful:

God Relented

Following the Ninevites’ repentance and petitions to God for mercy in response to Jonah’s message, the narrative informs us of God’s response to the Ninevites. “When God saw what they did, how they turned from their evil way, God relented [wayyināhem] of the disaster [‘al-hārā‘āh] that he had said he would do [’asher dibber la‘asôt] to them, and he did not do it” (Jonah 3:10). This statement clearly alludes to the statement in Exodus regarding God’s response to Moses’ intercession for the Israelites: “And the LORD relented [wayyināhem] from the disaster [‘al-hārā‘āh] that he had spoken of bringing [’asher dibber la‘asôt] on his people” (Exod. 32:14, cf. 32:12). The allusion adds even further confirmation that the account in Jonah 3 is deliberately comparing the sparing of Nineveh from judgment to the sparing of Israel from judgment in the wilderness

The verb for “relent” used in both passages, nāham, is sometimes translated “repent” or “be sorry.” In these and other passages God is the subject of this verb (Gen. 6:6-7; Judg. 2:18; 1 Sam. 15:11, 35; 2 Sam. 24:16; 1 Chron. 21:15; Ps. 106:45; Jer. 15:6; 18:8, 10; 20:16; 26:3, 13, 19; 42:10; Joel 2:13, 14; Amos 7:3, 6; Zech. 8:14; on the other hand, see Num. 23:19; 1 Sam. 15:29; Ps. 110:4; Jer. 4:28; Ezek. 24:14). From these texts arises the disputed question as to whether God can literally regret or be sorry for doing something, or can “repent” of doing or of intending to do something. The dispute results from confusing words with concepts. God can be the subject of the verb nāham, but that verb has varying connotations depending on context. In most of the texts in which God is the subject of the verb, the point is that God can and does, when he sees fit, do otherwise than what he had previously stated. Such statements do not mean that God “changed his mind” (an inaccurate translation used in some versions) or that he was caught by surprise by people’s actions and so forced to abandon or change his plans. Rather, they mean that God can and does take into consideration what his creatures do and responds to them appropriately and as he sees fit. If God could not do this, he would not be personal.

God’s action of sparing the Ninevites clearly shows that he understood his message to them through Jonah as giving them an opportunity to repent. (Robert M. Bowman, Jonah's Alleged False Prophecy, pp. 8-9)

For more, be sure to read the discussion of the contingent nature of prophecies at:

An Examination and Critique of the Theological Presuppositions Underlying Reformed Theology (Jonah is far from the only example of this, and the contingent nature of biblical prophecy, etc)