What Makes God Repent?

Joe Chandler · June 25, 2023

Genesis 6:6 ¶ And it repented the LORD that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart. 7 And the LORD said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them.

When God does not repent.

Numbers 23:19 God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good?

1 Samuel 15:29 And also the Strength of Israel will not lie nor repent: for he is not a man, that he should repent.

Psalm 110:4 The LORD hath sworn, and will not repent, Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek.

Hebrews 7:21 (For those priests were made without an oath; but this with an oath by him that said unto him, The Lord sware and will not repent, Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec:)

Intercession caused God to repent.

Exodus 32:12-14 Wherefore should the Egyptians speak, and say, For mischief did he bring them out, to slay them in the mountains, and to consume them from the face of the earth? Turn from thy fierce wrath, and repent of this evil against thy people. 13 Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, thy servants, to whom thou swarest by thine own self, and saidst unto them, I will multiply your seed as the stars of heaven, and all this land that I have spoken of will I give unto your seed, and they shall inherit it for ever. 14 And the LORD repented of the evil which he thought to do unto his people.

Mercy and pity.

Deuteronomy 32:36 For the LORD shall judge his people, and repent himself for his servants, when he seeth that their power is gone, and there is none shut up, or left.

Judges 2:18 And when the LORD raised them up judges, then the LORD was with the judge, and delivered them out of the hand of their enemies all the days of the judge: for it repented the LORD because of their groanings by reason of them that oppressed them and vexed them.

2 Samuel 24:16 And when the angel stretched out his hand upon Jerusalem to destroy it, the LORD repented him of the evil, and said to the angel that destroyed the people, It is enough: stay now thine hand. And the angel of the LORD was by the threshingplace of Araunah the Jebusite.

Psalm 106:45 And he remembered for them his covenant, and repented according to the multitude of his mercies.

When man repents of their evil.

Jeremiah 18:8 If that nation, against whom I have pronounced, turn from their evil, I will repent of the evil that I thought to do unto them.

Jeremiah 18:10 If it do evil in my sight, that it obey not my voice, then I will repent of the good, wherewith I said I would benefit them.

Jeremiah 26:3 If so be they will hearken, and turn every man from his evil way, that I may repent me of the evil, which I purpose to do unto them because of the evil of their doings.

Jeremiah 26:13 Therefore now amend your ways and your doings, and obey the voice of the LORD your God; and the LORD will repent him of the evil that he hath pronounced against you.

Jonah 3:9 Who can tell if God will turn and repent, and turn away from his fierce anger, that we perish not? 10 And God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; and God repented of the evil, that he had said that he would do unto them; and he did it not.

Jonah 4:2 And he prayed unto the LORD, and said, I pray thee, O LORD, was not this my saying, when I was yet in my country? Therefore I fled before unto Tarshish: for I knew that thou art a gracious God, and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repentest thee of the evil.

Joel 2:13-14 And rend your heart, and not your garments, and turn unto the LORD your God: for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repenteth him of the evil. 14 Who knoweth if he will return and repent, and leave a blessing behind him; even a meat offering and a drink offering unto the LORD your God?

God became weary of repenting.

Jeremiah 15:6 Thou hast forsaken me, saith the LORD, thou art gone backward: therefore will I stretch out my hand against thee, and destroy thee; I am weary with repenting.

Ezekiel 24:14 I the LORD have spoken it: it shall come to pass, and I will do it; I will not go back, neither will I spare, neither will I repent; according to thy ways, and according to thy doings, shall they judge thee, saith the Lord GOD.

Perhaps the key.

Luke 15:10 Likewise, I say unto you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth.

2 Peter 3:9 ¶ The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.

heartstrings · June 26, 2023

The closest meaning I have been able to ascertain, as to the meaning of the word "repent", as used in the KJ Bible, is to "turn from" or "turn against". Be that as it may I would ask a few questions concerning this verse:

Genesis 6:6 ¶ And it repented the LORD that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart. 7 And the LORD said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them.

So i have to ask some questions: Didn't God already know ahead of time that man would sin? The answer would be "yes". So why would He need to "repent" because He had made man if He already knew the outcome of creating him? He didn't need to "repent". So what does the word "repenteth" refer to here? Notice it never says that GOD "repented"; it says "it repenteth me". So the only conclusion I can derive from reading this is that it means that God's creation had "turned from" or "turned against" Him. Which begs the question again: Didn't He already know all this sin, evil, violence, pain and destruction before the flood was going to happen when it "grieved Him at His heart"? We all should know the answer is yes. So, was God changing His mind or "regretting" that He had made man? No. In this particular verse, God was not "repenting" aka "turning from" or "turning against" His decision to create mankind. He had made the right decision from the beginning and already knew the ultimate outcome.

However, in passages like Book of Jonah, where it says that God "repented of the evil" which He intended to do to Nineveh, yes, He did in fact "turn from" and "turn against" what He fully intended to do to Nineveh. But then you have to remember, that it was God who had just taken great lengths to ensure that Noah arrived on time to preach to the Ninevites. Yes, He fully indended to wipe them out, yet He WANTED them to repent(Turn from their sin) so that HE could respond by "turning from" the imminent destruction He was about to carry out. Did he change His mind here as well? Not really. Does God change His mind every time a sinner repents and believes the Gospel? Possibly. But, He has already declared that our destruction is imminent, just like Nineveh's was. But, again, God has also already made a way for us to repent, or "turn against" sin and self to Christ, in the same manner that He did with the preaching of Brother Jonah. As to "what makes God repent", I would say that, in most cases of God "repenting", God already WANTED to "repent", but sinners have to "repent" first.

Edited June 26, 2023 by heartstrings

Joe Chandler · June 27, 2023

7 hours ago, heartstrings said:

The closest meaning I have been able to ascertain, as to the meaning of the word "repent", as used in the KJ Bible, is to "turn from" or "turn against". Be that as it may I would ask a few questions concerning this verse:

Genesis 6:6 ¶ And it repented the LORD that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart. 7 And the LORD said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them.

So i have to ask some questions: Didn't God already know ahead of time that man would sin? The answer would be "yes". So why would He need to "repent" because He had made man if He already knew the outcome of creating him? He didn't need to "repent". So what does the word "repenteth" refer to here? Notice it never says that GOD "repented"; it says "it repenteth me". So the only conclusion I can derive from reading this is that it means that God's creation had "turned from" or "turned against" Him. Which begs the question again: Didn't He already know all this sin, evil, violence, pain and destruction before the flood was going to happen when it "grieved Him at His heart"? We all should know the answer is yes. So, was God changing His mind or "regretting" that He had made man? No. In this particular verse, God was not "repenting" aka "turning from" or "turning against" His decision to create mankind. He had made the right decision from the beginning and already knew the ultimate outcome.

However, in passages like Book of Jonah, where it says that God "repented of the evil" which He intended to do to Nineveh, yes, He did in fact "turn from" and "turn against" what He fully intended to do to Nineveh. But then you have to remember, that it was God who had just taken great lengths to ensure that Noah arrived on time to preach to the Ninevites. Yes, He fully indended to wipe them out, yet He WANTED them to repent(Turn from their sin) so that HE could respond by "turning from" the imminent destruction He was about to carry out. Did he change His mind here as well? Not really. Does God change His mind every time a sinner repents and believes the Gospel? Possibly. But, He has already declared that our destruction is imminent, just like Nineveh's was. But, again, God has also already made a way for us to repent, or "turn against" sin and self to Christ, in the same manner that He did with the preaching of Brother Jonah. As to "what makes God repent", I would say that, in most cases of God "repenting", God already WANTED to "repent", but sinners have to "repent" first.

Thank you for your input. God is a constant and His word is a constant. Man is the variable. God lives outside of time, but we live inside time. I think the times that God "repents" is the only way we can understand it. I assume you read the whole thread. God repents because of intercessory prayer, and because men change their behavior, for mercy sake, and for the sake of other men that God made a covenant with. All in all, it is good news for us that He accepts us when we repent.