Foreknown Remorse

The mind and character of God continually blow my mind. His capability of emotions on all levels of complexity beyond all human comprehensiveness, that I simply have to sit back and savor Him as God. John Piper's website Desiring God is a daily read for me, and today he has posted an article discussing God's foreknowledge in making decisions that He later "regrets" and "repents" of. One particular paragraph caught my attention:

"After Saul disobeys Samuel, God says, 'I regret [= repent] that I have made Saul king, for he has turned back from following Me and has not carried out My commands' (1 Samuel 15:11). Some have argued that since God 'repents' of things he has done, therefore he could not have foreseen what was coming. Else why would he repent or regret, if he knew in advance the consequence of his decision?

"However, this is not a compelling argument against God's foreknowledge. First of all, the argument assumes that God could not, or would not, lament over a state of affairs he himself chose to bring about. That not true to human experience; and more importantly, God's heart is capable of complex combinations of emotions infinitely more remarkable that ours. He may well be capable of lamenting over something he chose to bring about."

This brings up an important topic of God's all-knowing purposes and His promise that He loves us unconditionally. In Numbers 23:19, it seems to clarify that God knows what He is doing, and that His promise that all things work together for God are in accordance with His will: "God is not a man, that He should lie, Nor a son of man, that He should repent; Has He said, and will He not do it? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?"

I want to challenge you today, wherever your are to meditate on the character of God. Take time to think about His infinite complexity, and ability to possess emotions in dynamics far surpassing our own. To really rest assure in the promise that God is sovereign and loves His own should cultivate in you a heart to honor Him and love Him with your whole being- bearing fruit unto good works.

The "other" Joey