Q & A with Dr. Bob Burrelli

In this context, God is preparing to destroy idolatrous Israel and start over again with Moses, when Moses prays, “Turn from Your burning anger and change Your mind about doing harm to Your people (v. 12).” We read in verse 14, “So the Lord changed His mind about the harm which He said He would do to His people.” The translation of the Hebrew word in these two verses by the New American Standard Version, “change your mind,” gives the impression that God can and does change His mind.

But God’s word on the matter would put this teaching in serious question. The psalmist declares, “The counsel of the Lord stands forever, the plans of His heart to all generations (Psalm 33:11).” The prophet speaks for God, saying, “As I have planned, so shall it be, and as I have purposed, so shall it stand (Isaiah 14:24),” and again, “Remember the former things of old; for I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me, declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times things not yet done, saying, ‘My counsel shall stand, and I will accomplish all my purpose (Isaiah 46:9-10).’” Solomon wrote, “Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the Lord that will stand (Proverbs 19:21).” When it comes to the Lord’s decisions, or will, or decrees, it is fairly plain, “there is no variation or shadow of changing with Him (James 1:17).” In the words of God Himself, “I the Lord do not change . . . (Malachi 3:6).”

What did God do in Exodus 32:14, if He did not change His mind? He acted in a way that was consistent with His nature. God will deal with the humble and the proud differently. Does not God bless godliness and punish sin? Now, if God judges sinners, He is doing the just thing in giving them what they deserve. And if the same sinners repent, then God will act mercifully and forgive them. In this instance, did God change His mind or simply meet repentance in a way consistent with His nature? This is why God turned from judging the nation to forgiving them when He was met with Moses’ intercession. The His mediator, who represented them, repented on their behalf. Therefore, the New American Standard Bible translation “changed his mind” is not an accurate one for Exodus 32:14.

Worse still is the old King James Version, “repent.” Repentance refers specifically to a turning away from regrettable actions to better ones, or from sinful actions to godly ones. There is no hint in Exodus 32 of God turning from a sinful direction to godly one or a regrettable action to a better one. In the first place, God cannot sin. In the second place, all God’s actions are the best—no plan “B”. God never needs to repent of His actions or edit them. He declares of Himself, “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? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good (Numbers 23:19; cf. 1 Samuel 15:29)?”

If the context of Exodus 32 will not support translations such as “change your mind” (NASB), “repent” (KJV), or the like, what will it support? The English Standard Version avoids putting God in an unworthy light with its translation, “relent”, capturing the easing off a direction without implying that the direction was in anyway sinful. But we can still do better than translation. Among the wide range of meanings that our Hebrew word in question, in Exodus 32:11 and 14, has is “to show mercy,” and it certainly fits well in the context of Exodus 32. That is to say, God did not give these people what they deserved, namely, judgment, but showed mercy to them an abated from judging the entire nation with death. We might convey the thought of Exodus 32:11 and 14 this way: “Turn from Your burning anger and show mercy with respect to judging to Your people . . . So the Lord showed mercy with respect to the judgment that He said He would visit on His people.”