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Scripture says God doesn't change His mind,
but He seems to have changed his mind when he gave Hezekiah 15 extra years. Nothing
about God is contradictory, and much about God can be known. But there are also
things about God that remain a mystery to us. God only "changed His
mind" in our limited framework of time. A contradiction? No. A mystery?
Yes. God was showing us His perfect will is better than His permissive will. There
are no contradictions in God's character and actions, but there are many layers
of truth and mystery in them.
Gail Burton Purath
This is the second in the "Does God Change His Mind?" series.
There’s
a difference between a contradiction and a mystery.
Nothing
about God is contradictory, and much about God can be known.
But
there are also things about God that remain a mystery to us. (1)
For
example: “Does God change His mind?”
Numbers
23:19 says God doesn’t change his mind.
But
in Isaiah 38, God tells the good king Hezekiah to put things in order because
he's going to die.
Then
Hezekiah prays and God "changes his mind," giving Hezekiah 15
more years.
God
lives outside time. He knew he'd answer Hezekiah's prayer before Hezekiah
prayed it.
He
only "changed His mind" in our limited framework of time.
A
contradiction? No.
A
mystery? Yes.
Some
believe God was highlighting the importance of prayer.
I
am more inclined to believe God was showing us His perfect will is better than
His permissive will. (2)
In
the remaining 15 years of his life, Hezekiah made proud and foolish decisions
(Isaiah 39) and fathered Manasseh, the most evil king Israel ever knew. (3)
Hezekiah
could have died with a good record, but he didn’t.
There
are no contradictions in God's character and actions, but there are many layers
of truth and mystery in them.
(1) See Deuteronomy 29:29. Not being able to
understand God should make us happy. See If Understanding God Were Easy and Are
You Uncomfortable with Mystery?
(2) God responds to
selfish requests several other places in Scripture. He gives meat (quail) to
the complaining Israelites (Numbers 11). Read more: Quail. He answered Israel's
request for a king when it wasn't His perfect timing (1 Samuel 8). Read more: A
King.
(3) This does not mean
we shouldn't pray for healing. Hezekiah's situation was unique. God
specifically told him that it was his time to die, but Hezekiah prayed for more
years of life. Read more: Hezekiah.
Don't miss the other
devotions in this series:
Does God Change His
Mind: Nineveh
I'm Gail Burton Purath. I started
Bible Love Notes to give people a minute of Scriptural encouragement in their
busy day.
I don't have all the answers, but
since I asked Christ to be my Lord and Savior
in 1974, I've been learning from the One Who has all the answers!
I'm still a sinner, a learner, a student who falls down and disappoints God at
times. But it's my desire to grow closer to the Lord, day by day, minute
by minute.
I need to be challenged, encouraged,
corrected and comforted, and I think you do as well...so let's learn together
about the love of God--a love that is so vast that we will always be
discovering new and wonderful things about it.
https://biblelovenotes.blogspot.com/2019/04/does-god-change-his-mind-hezekiah.html
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